Twitter is a cesspool of insecurity. This is no brilliant revelation. Twitter has long been considered the trolliest of all social media platforms, promoting short, anonymous posts from anyone with internet service. It’s prime real estate for someone to spew vile filth with no repercussions. That’s what Twitter user Cal Davies thought would happen when he tweeted at professional UFC mixed martial artist Casey O’Neill, calling her a “low-level fighter.” She’s not. O’Neill has a 9-0 record in her career. O’Neill broke the professional fighters’ code though, indulging in the troll’s comments, and challenged him to a fight.
The troll, cowardly in nature as most are, surprisingly didn’t back down at the first sign of confrontation. He didn’t actively accept the request, but tried to deflect the challenge, saying “Well, I don’t know where you train so I couldn’t possibly do that.”
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O’Neill obliged with the name of her gym. She also provided a time and date for when a fight could happen. Davies once again tried to deflect, asking for permission from the gym owner.
O’Neill knew this was coming and almost immediately sent Davies a copy of the gym’s waiver. As long as he signed that, he would be in the clear for any damages that he was so sure wouldn’t happen to him just half an hour earlier.
Now, there was no excuse. O’Neill had set everything up specifically for Davies to come and fight her. There was no way he could back down after making such misogynistic claims, right? He even said he was planning on showing up Tuesday and “proving [his] point.”
Well, it’s Tuesday, and not only did Davies not show up, but he also tried to erase any evidence that he ever made these claims!
O’Neill wins! And what better way than by humiliating forfeit!
Now, you might be thinking, “What was the point of this? Isn’t it a lose-lose for both parties?” I could see how you might think that. However, I wholeheartedly disagree. There were stakes for both O’Neill and Davies in this fight. The stakes were much larger for Davies though. Sure, O’Neill is a professional, but she didn’t instigate the fight. Davies did. He wanted to prove that she was a low-level fighter, and if he won, sure, O’Neill’s reputation would’ve taken a hit, but not much else. If Davies lost though, holy smokes, his entire worldview would’ve come crashing down!
“How is it possible that a woman could be me, a man, in a fight?” he probably would’ve thought to himself. “Is it possible that someone with years of experience fighting could actually hurt someone without such expertise?” He would’ve had a midlife crisis while lying unconscious on the floor after one swift kick to the temple from O’Neill. However, that defeat would’ve paled in comparison to the myriad of messages mocking him for not only losing to a woman, but also talking massive shit and then getting smacked harder than a bird in the path of a Randy Johnson fastball.
Davies decided that it ultimately wasn’t worth it. He’d rather quit the fight, continue living within his small, delusional bubble where every 12-year-old boy could kick the shit out of Ronda Rousey, and pretend this whole thing never happened. What a bitch!
