Issue 109
December 2013
Joe Bell Chartered sport psychologist and one of few mental performance coaches specializing in combat sport, each issue he provides tips to improve your approach
If you want to make it big in the MMA world you need to have personality by the bucket load
When it comes to truly expressing yourself as a mixed martial artist, and hopefully stealing the limelight, it takes a lot more than just skill and determination in the modern-day sport – you need a whole lot of personality too.
Managing the media and creating a public image is a discipline in itself these days, and the more self-aware among the current crop of top fighters are tuned into this. The likes of Ronda Rousey, Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor all understand they cannot rely solely on their fighting prowess to secure longevity and financial security in a sport where even the leading man, Dana White, admits: “This is a f**king short-term gig.”
By unleashing their true personality, refusing to use bog standard clichés like, ‘I let my fighting do the talking,’ and saying what they truly feel, they know they can earn something which in some ways is just as valuable as titles – precious airtime exposure.
Whenever two fighters start trash-talking ahead of a bout I’d suggest it shows how astute they are and how much they understand the nature of the beast when it comes to selling fights, namely the fans.
Since we climbed down from the trees man has had an impulse to watch members of his own species duke it out, and this impulse has never really left us. Most of the time it’s kept under lock and key in our reptilian brain (the most ancient part of the encephalon responsible for instinct and pleasure). But sometimes it’s set free when the right stimulus comes along, in this case two highly trained combatants who dislike one another and want to settle their differences the old-fashioned way.
And watching two men or two women knocking seven bells out of each other actually benefits the majority of viewers psychologically: it has a cathartic effect and purges any pent-up aggression they themselves might be clinging on to. Fighters who exploit this are simply giving the fans what they want and need. And the fans will show their appreciation for these fighters by forking out their hard-earned cash for TV events.
The martial art code of honor is upheld by the majority of fighters and is compounded by social conditioning which teaches us to toe the line. Yes, these are admirable traits but they rarely register on the media’s radar.
According to leading sports publicist Logan Lekanides, fighters often have brittle egos and are reluctant to play the antagonist/villain. He explains: “Generally they are afraid of how they will be judged by the masses. But to make waves in any professional sport you have to be willing to jump in.
“To achieve this athletes have to let go of conformism and decide which version of themselves they want to expose. Fans will always gravitate towards athletes with potent and magnetic personalities, but personalities can actually be manufactured to meet the demand.”
Of course this is a far cry from MMA at its birth when personality didn’t even come into the equation. The focus for the likes of the legendary Royce Gracie would have been to simply showcase the Gracie way by submitting anyone stood in front of him.
But the sport continues to evolve and the spotlight is currently shining on fighters who possess both skill and personality. With greater means to connect and communicate with their followers directly via social media, fighters need to understand that the fans are listening. So when they step out into the limelight they had better have something to say, and something worth remembering, because if history tells us anything it’s that you will be quickly forgotten unless you make waves.
