Battling Conor McGregor wins over the US heartland

The NFL and the UFC have a lot in common. Both are vaudevillian nightmares that shouldn’t work but really seem to manage just fine, says John Riordan.

Resistance is futile and they are both riding roughshod over the obstacles thrown their way. These are two organisations which combine the right amount of tears and odd grappling routines with enough blood and strange ritual to keep the whole mess ticking along.

Some of us feign sophistication and sneer and some of us are horrified and swear off being as absorbed as everyone else. We fail miserably and watch with confused delight as the Seattle Seahawks take us back from the brink of their own sorry demise.