Issue 133
October 2015
A fearsome face-off can win you a fight before the opening bell, but what’s the secret to a predatory staredown?
The evolution of the UFC hasn’t just been in the Octagon. The industry leader has poured millions of dollars into greasing the wheels of its hype train to make spectacles of the pre-fight build-ups. Fans are fed interviews, Countdown shows and highlight videos to get them pumped, but anticipation nearly always reaches fever pitch at the weigh-ins, specifically, the staredowns.
The best staredowns are brief moments of intensity that can give you a window in to the athletes’ minds. You can gauge how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking and sometimes, exactly how they’re going to approach a fight.
Brian McCready is a renowned combat sports psychologist who’s worked with Olympic and professional boxers along with UFC and Bellator athletes. He insists the key to a good staredown is being able to dial into your predatory sense of self to psych out your opponent and make then feel inferior.
“I try and have fighters study animals because we have a prehistoric brain. If you take on the mantle of a predator you can tap into what you call energy psychology and heighten your presence,” he tells FO.
“This part of our prehistoric mind can take in all the information. If you watch a predator like a lion – in captivity or the wild – it has a strong sense of self. It knows who it is and it knows that when it gets out of the cage or when it sees its prey, it hasn’t got a plan B.
“When you’re doing a staredown you can convey a stronger sense of presence and a feeling that you are the predator and your opponent is your prey. If you get really good at this you can actually win a fight before you get to the Octagon. Conor McGregor is a strong example. He only has a plan A.”
Winning the mental battle
Brian McCready’s steps to honing a predatory mindset for a staredown and a fight.
Plant a seed
“I always believe in planting a seed in your opponent’s subconscious. Say something completely off key. Over 24 hours that will settle in their deep unconscious mind and can give you the edge.”
Don’t worry, be happy
“If you’re not convincing your subconscious you’re doing something you enjoy then you’ll tense up. Always have fun in the dressing room before it’s time to go in ‘the zone,’ or the nervous energy will take over.”
Heart of a lion
“If you study an animal you can always sense the presence it has – the way it walks and the way it looks at you. Essentially, you need to think when your opponent is standing across from you: that’s my lunch.”
See a sports psychologist
“Look to clear anything in your mind holding you back. Often a fighter that turns up on fight night isn’t the fighter that trains in the gym. Look why you may not be achieving what you’re capable of.”
Don’t blow it!
Cutman Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran answers your questions
Q Eddie Alvarez blew his broken nose against Gilbert Melendez, causing one of his eyes to close up. What’s the right way to deal with this injury during a fight?
A As soon as I saw Eddie Alvarez blow his nose during his scrap with Gilbert Melendez I knew his eye was going to explode and swell.
As cutmen, we always instruct the fighter to never blow their nose when they have a nosebleed or swelling around the orbital bone. This type of damage usually loosens or breaks the membrane around the eyes, and when a fighter blows their nose, it’s very common for air to enter the membrane area and create a bubble.
During a fight, this type of swelling is almost guaranteed to have a fight stopped. When it happens at the end of a round like it did to Eddie, it’s more cosmetic than dangerous and the swelling will eventually go away.
A fighter’s first reaction is to blow their nose. I recommend a couple of things. First, is to let the cutman clean the inside of the nose of any blood so that he can breathe easier, and, as last resort, have the fighter clean out his own nose by inhaling the blood in his nose and spitting it out so that he can go one more round.
Q What advice would you give to someone with ambitions on being a cutman?
A This is a question I field almost on a weekly basis, ‘Stitch, how do I get to do what you do?’ I have had this request from doctors, nurses, paramedics, and fans all wanting to know how they can become cutmen.
Like any field we enter, it takes time to perfect what you do. To be a cutman one has to spend hours, days, weeks and years in the gym learning what a fighter goes through. During this time, you can learn to wrap hands and work on cuts. Also, if you do it for the money, you are doing it for the wrong reasons. You have to love this game to be good at it and give the fighter one more round.
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