MMA photoThis is a follow up to a very popular article I did last year educating amateur fighters on the do’s and don’ts of MMA. I have been asked several times to produce a follow up so here it is.

1. Being a champion means enduring harsher criticism than normal, online bashing, and constant call outs from other fighters. Some fighters will do ANYTHING to get a title shot and I mean anything. Fighters who are 11-20 have gotten title shots riding an 0-5 skid just because they pissed the champ off enough to agree to fight. In some cases the worse fighter has won because he got inside the champ’d head. Worse than that, sometimes the champ never mentally recovers from the devastating loss. Let your coach/manager book you not your emotions.

2. Train to win and not to keep the gym status quot. Many fighters train the same in the off time that they do getting ready for a fight. Not good man. If you know something about your opponent add that weakness in to your workouts, whether it be yours or his. Training what you are good at like I said before helps no one in the long run. Ask Tito Ortiz about when MMA caught up to him and he did not evolve. Eat right, train safely, and train to prepare for your opponent, not just another fight.

3. This goes along with #1. Surfing the web for comments on other fighters, and fight promotions can be detrimental to your focus. You read propaganda about other fighters and their invincibility. You may read negative things about your school that to be honest may have a ring of truth to them. You will often read things about people you are fighting that include how they ‘killed” their last opponent via decapitating KO. None of these are your friends. Surround yourself with supportive, positive people and limit your social media time. 

4. Try not to get caught up in your school’s desire to use you as a marketing tool. I have seen schools, training centers that pretty much brag to the world that they produce champions. It’s not the marketing that gets you – it’s the pressure. The pressure to remain that selling point and be the poster boy. If you are uncomfortable with your name as the selling point of the legitimacy of your school make it known and tell them to tone it down. Exposure is great, but it can also put stress on you building over time.

5. Do not let a woman get involved in your career if you intend it to stay that way. Women have been the downfall of every fighter. Some gas your head up and some break you down mentally to control you. They are notorious for latching on to rising star fighters, but if/when you fade they will often stray and seek out another center of attention they can leech off of. If you are serious about your career you should find a woman who is too!

I believe that anything I can do to help build the future pros in the sport is exactly what I should be using my 15 years in the fight game behind the scenes to do.

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