Has ‘Face the Pain’ received its last ever play on a UFC PPV?
No one’s ever willingly listened to ‘Face the Pain’ by Stemm.
If you’re looking at that sentence like it has 10 heads, you may know the song better as the UFC PPV theme song.
For as long as we can remember, this Nu Metal ‘banger’ that wasn’t even popular in its own era has provided the soundtrack to the marquee UFC events.
If your memory needs jogging, here it is in all its cringey glory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eUpf4f8LEU
Even someone who still wears outrageously baggy jeans and a backwards red baseball cap every day couldn’t successfully argue that Face the Pain is a good song. Music is only subjective to a point. This tune serves as proof of this fact.
However, some fight fans have grown attached to the song out of nostalgia. It’s hard to blame them considering it has been played before some of the greatest fights in the history of the sport.
At UFC 220 though, something noteworthy happened when the PPV portion kicked off. There was no sign of Face the Pain. For their first PPV event of 2018, the promotion switched things up.
To the people who despised the song, the silence was welcome.
No…no Face The Pain? pic.twitter.com/R3jwYxURMt
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/safisaad/status/954912837142368258
No Face the Pain! I am so happy about this! #UFC220
— Robert Winfree (@WinfreeMMA) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/CTudor88/status/954912630279495680
However, the folks who grew attached to it, and even the poor fools who actually enjoy the song, were left bitterly disappointed by its absence.
Where’s Face the pain? 😭 #UFC220
— Niall McGrath (@niallmcgrath4) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/DownedOpponent/status/954914294768029696
Unpopular opinion and don't @ me: LOVE FACE THE PAIN! Wouldn't feel like a UFC event without it!! 😂😂
— Matt Parrino (@MattParrino) January 21, 2018
Pretty hurt there was no "Face the Pain"
— Bloody Wind-Up Merchant (@Drinkmaaan) January 21, 2018
Might be cringey but I hate not having the face the pain intro! It’s god damn tradition @ufc
— J Martin (@Jmartin96) January 21, 2018
It will be interesting to see if the UFC keeps this up. Keep your ears open at UFC 221. If Face the Pain isn’t played then, we may never hear it in the world’s premier MMA promotion ever again.
This could be the end of an era.
