BTG 98: All the way or nothing

Hello and welcome to breaking the guard. On today's episode, I wanted to talk a little bit about uh some events that happened yesterday. We had a UFC in Abu Dhabi and we also had a BJ Vikings in Brazil where there was a good matchup between David Hamos and Mika Gala. I guess we'll start there again. Two guys who are absolutely studs, although Mika is on the younger side. I think he's like in his early 20s. And then you got Davi who's 37 who's pretty much on the edge of the peak. Although physically the guy looked in superb shape, but you know that's definitely on the the end of the spectrum, especially for somebody who relies on a lot of athleticism and explosiveness. Their match started off pretty good. Um, and again, I'm going to spoil it, of course, so you don't want to hear it, tune out, right? Um, the match started pretty good. However, Ma was able to score a takedown and then just started dominating right away. Was able to he scored, if I remember correctly, it looked like a knee tap and then he from the takedown got right into North South and was able to camp out there. and they were using a weird like Abu Dhabi style rule set where there was no points uh for the first half. So he kind of camped out there for a minute or two looking for it looks like kimoras or arm bars but not really getting anything. Then once the point started m got neon belly mound uh and then just started working the mount quite a bit. s I was surprised how easily he was able to bunch up uh Davy's arms where when I mean like he was able to get them you know vertical very easily with very little effort but wasn't able to really finish. Um it looked like Davi was doing just enough to keep his forearms in play and not allow the arm triangle to sink in or give out the arm bar either. And it looked like uh I think Mika got a little comfortable and tried to set up a triangle which looked like it was all right but uh he never really got the the right clamp and eventually Davi was able to break free get back up to his feet. Now there was a good three minutes left or maybe two minutes maybe two minutes left at that point but there was time to work. It was he was down 4-0 and so basically the the guard pass the knee and belly was two the mount was two. So, a takedown is worth two. It was very possible to come back and win this match with two minutes left if you worked hard. But the problem I felt was that Davi didn't think he was going to win. I I believe at that point he was more in survival mode where he realized how dangerous Mika was on the ground and didn't really want to get involved in that. He didn't want to get tapped. So I believe for him it was a victory or the goal was just to make it out of the match without getting tapped or getting maybe perhaps scored on anymore. And because that's what's happened. He didn't really go for any takedowns. He didn't really try anything. With like 10 seconds left, he went for a flying arm bar that missed and that was it. That is I mean I've talked about this before about people going into survival mode and uh this is clearly to my mind one of those cases where he got put in such bad spots that he was mentally broken to the possibility of victory. So now it was just about losing gracefully. So losing by four points doesn't sound as bad as getting, you know, mounted triangled, right? But in my view, that's a loser mentality, right? Literally, you're going to lose, right? I mean, if I lost by one point versus 12 points versus getting tapped with an arm bar, they're all the same. At the end of the day, it's an L. Or I guess for you guys, this way, right? Uh so who cares? if I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose on my shield. You know what I mean? I'm going to be going nuts uh trying to get a victory. And with over two minutes in play, he had plenty of time to not have to be desperate to set up a victory, but having to be putting a lot of pressure, right? But it was Mika that was putting pressure on him that was walking him out of bounds constantly and then then getting restarted. And uh it it's just weird to me because he didn't look tired. I mean, I'm sure he was tired, but he wasn't to the point where he had no gas. You could tell when someone's truly fatigued, they're like limping around, the heads dropping, you know, and they they can't compose themselves. He was still very athletic at that point. He just didn't have the will, right? So again, even somebody as tough as him who's an ACC champ who like destroyed people in his ACC run can still be broken, right? And that's a lesson for everyone. I feel like where you might see someone who's a stone cold killer and think, "Oh, that guy is unbreakable." It's like, no, there's always a condition where someone could be broken, right? Um and you have to be careful of not being put there. And you also have to be I feel more mentally resilient in the sense that you have to find ways to motivate yourself. I know my brother is one of those guys who instilled in me early on that uh when he started his high school wrestling career, he got destroyed. Unfortunately, we were in a small team that and he was a varsity spot on day one, right? and he was um I think wrestling at 145 lbs everybody remember or 135 140 somewhere around there but he was starting at varsity and with zero experience so it's a rough time and you know he wasn't an athlete before getting into it so he wasn't really physically imposing or whatnot and uh he lost his first 11 matches in a row but even that early in. He had the goal. He told me that that even though I know I'm losing, I'm going to make them remember me. And his way was by being very physically imposing with his head, which he had a huge head. Still does. But he would like headbutt people. He would grind. He had a lot of head fighting. Like my brother always had like a ridge of bruising and whatnot on the crown of his head. So, uh, he didn't have the ability to just be like totally broken, right, in the sense that he was just going to let himself get pinned. He was there to try to deliver as much damage as possible, right? And then, you know, once he went to his second year, he started dominating and started winning and had a great record. So, um I feel like even if I knew I was going to lose a match, like let's say it was physically impossible, there was like no submissions, right? So, it was just points and I'm losing by 100 points. I still I'm going to be doing work, right? I'm going to try to make that guy hurt somehow, right? I'm going to show that if this match was longer that I would win, right? that that is the type of spirit that I feel you need to have as a as a fighter, as a warrior, somebody that is going to continue despite the odds, right? Um, so Davi didn't show that that night, right? And that doesn't mean that he doesn't have it. He could have had an off night or just, you know, whatever. But, uh, you can see it, right? And in MMA, it's a lot more obvious because the fatigue sets in faster with the striking and you can see when people are broken. But uh with Davi, yeah, I was a little disappointed in that performance because I've seen his past performances and he was very impressive, but just got put in a bad spot early and it looked like he felt he was outclassed, didn't want to try because the more he would have tried, the more he he might have gotten finished, right? That it would increase the probability. So, I feel, you know, when you're competing, you can't be afraid of losing. It's a 50-50 probability, right, from the get-go. So, what you got to be afraid of is not showing your best. In my mind, that's more disgraceful, right? Where you held back, right? I I should show my full hand, right? I I the ultimate goal for me to be able to compete as an entertainer on one hand and as a athlete is to perform to the fullest of my ability. But if I'm scared of that, I'm not going to show the full of my ability and you're going to disappoint your fans and yourself, right? So, you can't be afraid of putting out your all, even if it's not enough, which sometimes it won't be. But I can tell you, you're not going to have any regrets, right? If you go out and give it your all and you still lose, there is nothing more someone can ask of you. So, how could you be disappointed? As a coach, if I know my athlete gives it their all and they still lose, I'm like, "Hey now, we know what we got to work on." Right? But there's nothing that I can tell you that you should feel bad about. It's just you don't have enough experience yet. You don't have enough technique or you don't have enough strength or stamina, whatever it is. But you executed to the fullest of your potential, which is an admirable thing. And you might think that's not a big deal, but it is. Most people never show their full potential. They're afraid, right? Or they don't have the courage to do so. Um, so I I feel as a competitor that's one of the things that we want to get out early is to be courageous, not to be afraid of letting it all hang out, right? You got to be able to show everything you have. And the people who perform in competition and like they rise to the occasion are those type of people that are not afraid to show their all, right? They're not going to hold back or take a knee and and lose gracefully. In my mind, losing gracefully is cowardly. It's shameful to me. I've always, if you watch some of my matches, I've, you know, you know, I got famously got my knee torqued out. I've been choked unconscious on the mats, right? Uh I've had matches with Jeff Monson where I was losing. I'm throwing flying triangles and flying arm bars with a the closing 20 seconds trying to get something, right? Like I'm going to go out hard, right? Um I I can't recall a match where I just like, okay, whatever. Like that hasn't happened to me. I remember even with Dave Terrell, I was down I think two zero or maybe it was 4-0. I forget what it was. He had a takedown or two. know me and I'm throwing up flying triangles, you know, like you got to do it, right? Like I'm here to win. I'm not here to look good, right? So, whatever it takes, I'm going to try to do anyhow. So, that was on that match. Now, with Abu Dhabi, I'm not Abu Dhabi, sorry, the the UFC, well, I guess it wasn't or Saudi Arabia, right? Uh there was one match that struck me as uh odd which was uh Michael Kiesa with Tony Ferguson, right? Tony has had a rough run, right? I think they said he's dropped the last seven matches or something crazy like that. He shouldn't be fighting anymore in my opinion, right? Of course, he's a man. and he could do what he wants. But as a coach, I would have told him to he's got to put the gloves down like years ago, right? It's just this the reality of the situation, you know, did he get his, you know, just dues had a title shot? No. Life isn't fair. He never got the chance, but uh I think he was an interim champion at one point, but never got to unify it. and due to life circumstances and just politics never got the the title that many people people felt he deserved. But that doesn't mean you hang around and try to stay in the fight game forever, right? It's going to get you hurt. And um in his case, I mean this fight again, spoiler here, Michael Kessa was able to take him down and get right into the back mount with a Reneg finisher. Kind of embarrassing, right? Uh for a guy who's was known as a good grappler, uh he just totally got outclassed. Now, Michael Kiesta is a very good grappler also, so no shame in that. But he just dispatched him quite easily in my opinion. And Tony looked a little bit out of sorts like he has in his last few fights. So, and I think I've also talked about this before, unfortunately, but it's like you got to know when to call it quits, right? You can't be the same thing forever. And I know Tony's pretty much been a fighter his whole life and I don't know if he knows how to not be a fighter, right? And uh even when he was given the opportunity to give his like retirement speech there, he didn't. Right? He said, "I'm going to keep one. I'm going to put one glove down. Keep one glove cuz I'm not sure yet." Right? He said something in there which I felt bad about. And he said like, "Oh, I know I'm better than this." Right. And to me it's like yeah you the way I see it you know you were better than this right in the past of course you were much better than this but what you are now was this that's why it happened and and I feel this is a problem of not letting go of things right like this is somebody who has not accepted the reality of their situation and this This is hard for fighters because we pretty much most of us fake it till we make it, right? Like we are telling ourselves we're champions when we're just starting off and we're not champions, right? And we are constantly fighting the odds. So this is actually going against what I just said in a way, right? Uh because everything in the in the world tells you that the odds of being the greatest are, you know, one in eight billion, right? how many people on the planet there are and you have to develop this type of ego that's impervious to outside criticism. But the problem with it is at a certain point the criticism is valid, right? And you are still impervious to it even to your coaches and your trusted friends. You stand alone in this belief, but you lack the execution or the ability to be able to follow through and be that person that your ego wants you to be, right? Unfortunately, pure willpower alone isn't enough in sports, right? Like we we need the physical ability. And I think for Tony, that physical ability has passed him, right? And everybody's prime shifts and it's not the same, right? We're all different. There's some people. I mean, Randy Couture somehow was fighting in his 40s and still winning titles, you know? It's insane. Um, but Tony is not going to be that guy, right? And you I feel like there has to be somebody in your trusted circle that you will trust enough that is looking out for you and that is not sabotaging you that is trying to guide you into a better path. And I don't know if Tony has it right if he has somebody that he believes over himself. Again tricky. It's a I I'm not trying to be mean to him or critical because it's I understand it's a hard situation because I know when you when you're coming up everybody's doubting you and then when you start proving them wrong like you see I I know what I'm capable of you don't but you know at a certain point your potential is no longer your physical potential has left you right I'm sure mentally he's he's sharp and he knows more technique than he did in the past but physically he's not able to produce it Right. And it's no fault of his own. It's just father time, you know, doing what it does. I feel like it's just sad like to see him get kind of dragged in the mud like this because it's like he he needs to to move on, right? And I know he has a family and stuff like so like fortunately he hasn't sustained any serious damage, but like at some point somebody might. And you don't want to see that happen to a guy like him. And to show how much he's remembered in that fight card in Saudi Arabia, I believe it was Fight Island, right? The crowd was going nuts for him, which to me is surprising. I didn't know he had a fan base in Fight Island, right? But the crowd was going nuts. You know, they really loved him at the weigh-ins and they loved him at the fight. So, he has a legacy, right? Even though he didn't get the the goal of having the strap uh undisputed, he still has a legacy that he made. So, he shouldn't feel bad about it, about walking away at this point, right? Like, you know, at a certain point, anybody's going to get beat, you know, if Randy Coutur decided to step in there, he's going to get beat if he fights, right? And it doesn't make his accomplishments when he was younger diminish. It's just no, it's reality, right? So, him deciding to put the gloves down and retire doesn't make him look bad or worse, right? Like, yeah, he suffered a couple of losses that we might perceive as humiliating or whatnot, but whatever. You know, if anybody in his circumstances would have had a similar situation happen, right? Uh but I do think for his longevity uh he should step down and start moving on to the next phase of his life whether that's coaching or whatever the case may be. I think it's important that people understand that where you're going to have phases in your life where you do different things. You don't have to be the same thing the whole time. Right? So even though you may have spent your first 30 years of life, pretty much your adult life being one thing, it doesn't mean that's all you're ever going to be, right? You can become other things. And they don't even have to be in different disciplines. Like I went from martial arts student to competitor and then became a coach, an instructor, right? like they're all in the same family but they're different aspects right and of course these have different ranges of longevity so I think fighters are so singular in their focus of being a champion that it clouds their whole life and they feel like if they didn't get to that point there's something missing there's a black hole and there's there's nothing that can fill that hole in their mind. Right? And this is a flawed concept because I can tell you you're going to win the championship. And if that's all you prescribed for your life, there's going to be another black hole, which is what do I do with the rest of my life now? Because I got this thing that I said was everything. But it's not a movie. The movie doesn't end. In your case, your life continues, right? And if you got a title in your 30s, well, now you got another at least 40 or so years that you got to figure out what you're going to do with yourself because, you know, the screen didn't dim, right? The curtains didn't draw in. Like, you're still playing. And uh that's why I feel like as a coach, this is also part of the things that you have to prepare your fighters for, which is the life after fighting, right? with our crop of fighters that we had made. My brother was very instrumental in teaching them other life skills so that besides fighting and coaching, they had other aspects of their life that they could pursue. And I'm happy to see that all those young guys have very successful careers uh doing all sorts of different things, right? and they're still practicing martial arts, but they also now have uh another life that they're living and that's great. You know, I think that's something that everybody should be able to acknowledge. There there is of course when you're in your competitive years a phase where you quote unquote burn your boats, if you will, right? Where you're giving it all to your fight game. But even when you burned your boats, now that you conquered the the the nation that you were in, you can't be at war mode forever, right? You had to switch, right? So all because when you entered a particular phase, you're singularly focused doesn't mean you're going to stay there forever, right? you have to become something else from the conqueror to the just ruler, right? Um and this is not just fighters that have this problem. I'm sure lots of phase of life changes people have, you know, from becoming a single person to being in a relationship or from not being a parent to a parent, right? Um, these are shifts that are made and if you don't have the the software to mentally shift and adjust to the new phase, you might get stuck in one particular phase and not know how to move out of it. And I think that causes a lot of conflict. But we see it a lot in the fight world where people are just stuck being fighters and don't know how to do anything outside of fighting. All right. Um, so it helps if you're prepared beforehand and know how you're going to pivot once you get to a particular point where you've either reached your goals or the time that you had a loted to reach that goal has expired. So, we'll end it there. We'll keep it short for today. Um, hopefully those little things helped provide some insight. Uh again, knowing when your time is done and fighting important for keeping yourself sane and healthy and always having a fighting spirit, right? Like again, I feel like you have to whenever you compete, give it your all. Don't be worried about how big the loss margin is or how humiliating it might be if you just empty the tank and totally gas out. A loss is a loss, right? So, if I lose by 100 points or I lose by one point, it's still a loss. So, if there's more you can do to try to win, you should be doing it. Thanks guys and I'll see you all next