Issue 147

November 2016

It takes a certain kind of mindset to finish a fight with your fists 

There is nothing more entertaining in sports than a knockout. The fans love to see a knockout and the fighters love to land them, too. But they don’t come easy. For some it’s a natural thing, but for most fighters they have to work hard to perfect finishing fights.

One-punch knockout power is different again. You can train and you can improve, you can become a better puncher, but you can’t learn to be that guy. Punching is not about how much you want to hurt the guy, so you can’t make yourself do it, you just do it. It’s about nature, not nurture. 

All the women in my life are aggressive. Me and my brother – who’s six-three and 250lb – we’re very doubtful. But my sisters and my daughters, they’re all very aggressive. That’s just the way they are. Me and my son are very doubtful guys. My wife takes over. 

The girls are aggressive in my family, they’re normally the boss. They have the nerve. Put the girls up against the wall and they’re animals. You’re not going to go up against them. 

In fighting, you need that nerve. You need to be aggressive to get the knockout. I had it when I was a younger man, I had that anger to prove myself. But not any more.

The only place I score knockouts now is in the UFC video game. But there are fighters in the UFC who have knockout power. Fighters like ‘Rumble’ (Johnson) and (Andrei) Arlovski – man, those guys can punch. But also the little guys too, like Conor McGregor.

He can use his power to move up the weight classes, as he’s proven already. He’s going to be a force at lightweight because he has the knockout power to do it. Look at boxing, Manny Pacquiao did it. It’s not about how big the man is, it’s about how desperate he wants the fight. And the bigger guys may be easier to hit. 

He’s just built differently. His frame is different. He’s not big but it’s almost like iron. He can really punch, he’s proved that. And that’s what will take him even further in the sport. He’s dedicated and he’s a showman, but he’s a puncher first. When you combine natural power with dedication you can achieve anything. I tell fighters, ‘Dedication is key’. Never get discouraged, and if you want to be a fighter you have to have pride in your chosen path. You have to be monogamous with the art. You have to be totally loyal. No lying to yourself and making excuses instead of training. 

You have to be monogamous with yourself in fighting like you should be with your wife. You can’t cheat on being a fighter. You can cheat on your wife, but you can’t cheat on this one iota. In fact, even just when you think about it, you’re cheating already. 

You have to be driven by fear. Fear is a constant. But fighting has to be your life, it has to be your god, it has to be your religion. When you are committed to the sport like that, single-minded in your approach and your training, that’s when the knockouts will come too. Knockouts can be a byproduct of training with no looking back – like a reward.