Issue 062

May 2010

Professional fighter Rosi Sexton is a sports therapist and osteopath-in-training. She has fought in countries such as Russia, Canada and the USA, and is ranked as one of the top competitors in her weight class.

I had my first loss in an MMA fight a few weeks ago. I didn’t think it would bother me that much, but now I’ve lost all my motivation to train. I’d been hoping to make it to the UFC one day, but now I’m wondering whether I’m cut out for this sport at all, or whether I should give it up.

Losses can be tough to deal with, especially the first one. After you’ve put so much work in to training for a fight, you might feel like it’s all been for nothing, that you’ve let your coaches and teammates down, or worry that you’re not as good as you thought you were. Everyone handles this in their own way. Some fighters will throw themselves straight back into training and get another fight as soon as they can. Others prefer to take some time off and concentrate on things in their life such as family, work or hobbies. 

The saying goes that you learn more from a loss than a win. Whether this is true depends on how you deal with it. If you’re in MMA for the long term, though, being able to bounce back from a loss is a vital skill to have. Nearly everyone will lose a fight eventually, and it’s where you go from there that’s important.  

First things first: Don’t make excuses. If you went into the fight carrying an injury, were giving up a lot of weight, had the world’s worst referee, the weight cut from hell, or were the victim of an alien abduction the night before, it’s natural to want to tell the world. After all, you know you’re a better fighter than that – why not offer an explanation for your mediocre performance? Be careful. It’s almost impossible to do without sounding at least a bit whiny. It never comes across well and, more to the point, it distracts from the important process of working out what you could do differently next time.    

You might not want to think about the fight again straight away, but, when the dust has settled, sit down with your coach or a teammate who can offer feedback and go through everything – the training, preparation, weight cut, traveling, warm up and the fight itself – and figure out what you can work on. Perhaps there were some big mistakes that you made, or maybe you were just matched up against someone who was a better fighter on that day, but either way there’s always something that can be improved.  

Consider working with a sports psychologist, especially if you find that your confidence or motivation have been affected by a loss. Everyone agrees that mental skills are crucial to being a successful fighter – so learn how to train those skills effectively.  

And remember that you’re not alone. If you need a reminder of this, look up some of your favorite fighters who are currently doing well, and go back and watch the fights they lost. Then take a look at how they came back from those losses.