Issue 080

There’s plenty of room at the top, argues legendary UFC cutman Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran.

Recently, I spent time at the UFC Fan Expo for UFC 162. It was of course a mega event that had people coming to Las Vegas from all over the world. I personally knew people from Italy, Germany, England, Japan, Brazil, Canada and Thailand.

I was mostly at the Qwick AID booth with many other cutmen (and women) and the Qwick AID team. It was great to see my products on the table. As I saw everybody working together it made me think about how the game has changed through the years.

When I was a young cutman and desperate for information on how to hone my skills I’d spend time in gyms or at fights just watching other cutmen do their job of wrapping hands or fixing cuts. Numerous times I asked a cutman if he’d tell me his technique. I’d always get a version of the same answer that began with an ‘F’ and ended with a ‘U’. It had a ‘CK’ in the middle for those of you who are scratching your head.

When I became more established, I had guys glare at me when I went into their “territory” to work fights. They’d act like a dog peeing in their yard to mark their territory.

I never understood this attitude toward helping others, and I vowed to never be that way. A long time ago I told the co-author of my book: “I’m driving the bus to the top. Anybody can get on board or let the bus drive on by.”

What I meant is that I’m going to do everything I can to succeed. On the way I’m willing to help anybody who wants to board the bus provided they aren’t just a total a**hole. At the same time, if somebody doesn’t want to board the bus and tries to throw up road blocks on the road to success, I won’t pay any attention to them and I’ll keep right on driving.

I believe many fighters have adopted a similar attitude or philosophy as well. Not long ago, most guys chose a gym and that was it. They were fighting out of that particular gym, and other gyms were nothing but bitter rivals. It was like committing an act of treason to go somewhere else for any part of your training. These days, that one-gym mentality has faded away a bit. Now, fighters will go to different gyms (or trainers) to hone their skills.

In a sense, the bus doors have been opened for others and the fight community is more connected. Some might say this is just a product of the increasing money opportunities swallowing up egos and forcing many to sell out from their allegiances.

But this is a close-minded view. Instead, this increasing openness to working with others to achieve ultimate success is part of the evolution of the game.

Back to the expo… as I talked with fans and took photos at the Qwick AID booth, Cole Miller stopped by. It’s always great to see Cole. He has been in the UFC for many years now and puts on great fights. He’s also one of those guys that jumped on the bus many years ago when it comes to learning the art of hand wrapping. I’ve helped Cole with hand wrapping and his skills have gotten better and better.

We talked for a little bit and then he had a really unique request. “Can I wrap your hand, Stitch?”

This is a first for me. I’ve shown so many people how to wrap hands and I’ve critiqued their abilities and provided pointers, but never had anybody want to wrap my hand. “Sure,” I replied.

Cole sat down and got to work. I could tell he was a little bit nervous at first, but I provided some tips as he worked and I ended up with a great wrap. As soon he finished he asked me how it felt. “Great,” I said.

“Good, now can I do it again because I’m not nervous now,” Cole said with a laugh.

It was an awesome moment, and it led to my hand being wrapped many more times during the day. I could have been like the old-school cutmen and kept that bus door closed, and Cole could have never taken the opportunity to get on board. But then we wouldn’t be on the road to success.

We need a bus full of people because when something happens that derails us we want others to help us get back on track. Just look at UFC 162. Anderson Silva was shockingly knocked out by Chris Weidman. Now he has to get back on track if he wants to reclaim his belt, and he won’t be able to do so with an empty bus.