MMA Spotlight 5.29.08: Mixed Martial Arts is the Ultimate Mental Game

Posted by Reuel Mante on 05.29.2008

Winning an MMA fight is largely due to physical capabilities but what many people don't understand is that it is more mentally taxing.



The other day I was watching the Detroit Tigers draw out an inevitable loss to the Los Angeles Angels with my buddy, Adam. He told me that he was willing to argue the fact that when it comes to the mental aspect of any sport, baseball takes the prize over any other. Figuring I would take his mind off of how bad his team was playing, I decided to take him up on that challenge. I started arguing how mentally taxing boxing is compared to baseball. Then, I realized that an even stronger argument would lend itself to MMA. Winning an MMA fight is largely due to physical capabilities but what many people don't understand is that it is more mentally taxing.


The concept I wanted to start off with was the team work. In sports like baseball or football or basketball, there are a number of people who surround you that are geared towards a similar goal as you. Sure there is drama, stress, and adrenaline involved like any other sport. But if you don't win or a play is messed up or you drop the ball (literally and figuratively), there is someone else to blame or someone else to shoulder the responsibility. MMA is all about one man or woman.

In MMA, you control your destiny. There is no one else to blame. Of course there is more than just the fighter when you include a trainer and coach guiding you through the fight. However, once the bell rings there is no one else in the cage or ring but you, your opponent, and a referee. The performance aspect of the game is all up to you. Don't believe me? Let's take a look at Matt Hamill. He is an exceptional athlete with great wrestling, heavy hands, and extreme power. He is also deaf. What does that mean? That means that everything he has learned in training he must retain. In the middle of a fight, he can't hear what his coaches are saying and surely can't look over to see them, taking his focus off of the task at hand. The only time he gets instructions are before the fight and in between rounds. You want to talk about being truly alone in a fight and controlling your destiny, every five minutes, Matt Hamill is by himself.


Sure, fighters will take exception to what I just said and say things like their coach was bad or their cutman sucks or their training didn't fit their style or their steroids were past the expiration date. Normally, I'd be inclined to agree and drop the subject altogether but I can't. It's called Mixed Martial Arts. In order for one to be successful, they must be flexible enough to learn all aspects of the game. Flexibility needs to be exercised all over the board. A fighter is not getting the knowledge or the performance they feel is best. Get a new trainer. If a trainer is only teaching boxing, the most logical thing for a fighter to do is find a trainer who will coach in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Georges St. Pierre did that a lot before joining Greg Jackson's camp. He would travel to numerous places, including New York City, just to train in different aspects of his game.


An important tool for a person to have when going into a fight is a gameplan. After training is finished, the next step is establishing how a fighter will come out with a win. Most of the time, fighters tend to use their bread and butter to a victory. However there are times we see fighters prepare themselves in ways to catch their opponents off guard. Case in point, Josh Koscheck vs. Diego Sanchez. The Kos knew that trying to wrestle Diego, which is his greatest strength, would play into his opponent's hands. As evidenced by Josh's performance, his boxing training paid off as only once throughout the fight did he find himself on his back. Koscheck maintained his composure and never got overzealous. In his mind, he knew he was better than Diego that night and he proved it. Yeah, I know the fight sucked but Josh still won.


Maintaining or even adapting a game plan in the middle of a fight takes a true professional to pull off. Many times have I seen a young or inexperienced fighter try to stick with a certain strategy and when it doesn't payoff immediately, they will go back to what they know as second instinct. One of the fighters I can think of who has mastered the art of the strategy is Randy Couture. Primarily a wrestler, the Natural out-struck Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 and Chuck Liddell at UFC 43. His game plan was simple: stand toe to toe, impose your will, take them to the ground once you see an opening. If you've been living under a rock and haven't seen these fights, I strongly urge you to do so. Both men looked perplexed as their will was being stripped by Couture. Both Liddell and Sylvia were not at the best mental state to deal with Randy.


Watching UFC 84's main event couldn't be a better example of two men imposing their plan of domination. Sherk immediately tried to take BJ down and realized it was a bad idea. Plan B went into effect and Sean was confident that his boxing was good enough to trade with BJ. Penn intended to strike with Sherk and then take him down. He tried a takedown in the second round and Sean shrugged him off. BJ's plan B went into effect and he got the best out of it, obviously.


There was so much drama in that fight. The Muscle Shark was landing some good punches on Penn and he still couldn't knock the champ down. I'm pretty sure that BJ's mental state was in better form than Sean's. Sean had to deal with being away from competition for 10 months, proving everybody wrong about the steroid scandal, and trying to regain the belt he never lost. What did BJ have to worry about? Beating Sherk. He already knows how good he is and his training has been top notch. Honestly, I was hoping that Sean would pull through...to some degree. I put myself in his shoes and knew that his mental state would be everywhere. It takes a special person to be able to put a lot of personal things aside to give 100% in competition.


Georges St. Pierre is another prime example of a man who falls under the outside pressure and his performance suffers. We all know that UFC 69 featured a match that GSP should have won. What many people don't know is that there were a lot of personal problems that he was dealing with prior to his fight with Matt Serra. Things got so bad that he is seeing a sports psychologist. Ever since that fateful April night, St. Pierre has been unstoppable. Clearly his mind is back in the game and there truly seems to be no end to his momentum.


When I think about the mental game of MMA, the most prominent image in recent history was the readiness that was so apparent on BJ's face as he sauntered calmly to the cage this past Saturday. Compound that with his awesome performance that he delivered, it truly exemplifies that he's not just a lucky fighter but a champion who is prepared in every way possible. If more fighters could learn from examples like him and prepare themselves to where they are both mentally and physically at their peak, it would surely benefit them more than just relying on skill alone.



Before I close, I would like recap UFC 84 and I have to say there was no disappointment on my end. In fact, I should mention that all of the predictions I've made in previous articles came true. My prediction of who was going to win was right but the when and how aspects I was way off on. The most satisfying fight to me was the Keith Jardine/Wanderlei Silva bout. The only thing I can say that will sum up my feelings is this: The MAN is BACK!!! As an answer to some comments on my previous articles, let's do the math now that Silva is back in the winning column. Silva has defeated Keith Jardine who defeated Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. Plus, there's Forrest Griffin who recently defeated Shogun. Silva has defeated Quinton Jackson twice who defeated Chuck Liddell twice. Given the fact that Jardine would have been the number one contender had he defeated Wanderlei, wouldn't this make Silva the number five light heavyweight in the division? Just a thought.


I like to think of myself as a knowledgeable individual when it comes to MMA. When I get into something and my interest is piqued, I do some research to get to truly KNOW the thing I'm interested in. In that light, I'd like to mention that I had no idea that Lyoto Machida's nickname was the Dragon. When you think about it, isn't it a fitting name? Because his fights tend to "drag-on". I can already hear the fives of you reading this groaning. Come on, that was a great setup!


Another thing I'd like to share is that Sean Sherk impressed me on Saturday. I have written some scathing remarks about the Muscle Shark and still hold some doubts in his placement in the lightweight division but I felt that he had a strong showing in Las Vegas. He knew that taking down the Prodigy would be the most difficult task of the night and when he realized that a fresh BJ would be dangerous enough on the ground, he kept the fight standing and traded blows with the champion. Ten months is a long time to be away from a sport you especially when you believe you've done nothing wrong. The rust was apparent when watching Sherk fight. I liken his performance to when Josh Barnett came back from a shoulder injury to fight Mirko Cro Cop. He wasn't 100% but he kept fighting. Shifting to BJ Penn, is anyone else disgusted when he licks his opponents blood? My fiancé was adorable when she sarcastically stated that hepatitis is sexy. God, I love her. Anyways, Penn did exactly what I expected him to do. He countered, jabbed, and power punched his way through three rounds and then exploded in an unexpected finish on an opponent who has only been TKO'd once. I am now firmly excited for a BJ vs. Roger Huerta fight. That's right; I withdraw my stance on a GSP vs. BJ rematch.