Respected cut master Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran stresses the importance of acting professional at all times.

You can’t just go to school or earn a degree and instantly become a world-class cutman or trainer. No simple certificate or test is required.

A license by the athletic commission is all it takes, so it’s imperative to learn as much as you can from people who are recognized as the best in order to one day become the best yourself.

There are relatively few seminars available for the aspiring cornerman – that’s why being a professional at what you do is very important for the growth of MMA.

Professionals do little things both in and out of the ring that separate us from amateurs. They are important in how fighters and fans look at our performance. For trainers, I love working with guys like Greg Jackson, Mark Dellagrotte and Emanuel Steward because they look at every angle to get the most out of their fighters. 

Jackson stays calm and gives his fighters one or two specific instructions during the minute break.

He doesn’t panic or give too much information, which could lead to confusion. A cornerman is the fighter’s second set of eyes and pros like GSP and Jon Jones follow Jackson’s instructions to a ‘T’ because they believe in him. It’s always a team effort.

When Wladimir Klitschko fought Samuel Peter he was knocked down three times. I got to see a top professional at work with Emanuel Steward. He easily brought Wladimir back into the fight by staying calm, giving encouragement, and then giving him the proper gameplan to beat Samuel. When working that corner with Emanuel and Vitali Klitschko I knew I was working with ‘A’-level professionals.

I was proud to be part of the victory.

Another true professional that I work with on a constant basis is UFC fighter coordinator Burt Watson. Burt is a veteran Marine and he brings that discipline to his job every day.

You can always count on Burt to be prepared physically and mentally and he has the respect of every fighter, trainer and cutman in the industry.

Like me, Burt has set a pattern for himself that makes his job easier because he is a true professional.

The skills of a cutman are just as important. I pride myself on being a true professional. My actions are followed by trainers, cutmen and fans. Years ago I studied trainers and cutmen and learned some good habits, yet I also saw techniques that didn’t make sense.

I have read remarks about cutmen not wearing gloves, a pet peeve of mine. I instruct every cutman to wear gloves because it minimizes the possibility of contamination for both you and the fighter. 

With today’s technology, fans worldwide study us and voice their opinions. Recently, I got questioned about Diego Sanchez vs Martin Kampmann. Rudy Hernandez was working on Diego, and as my fellow UFC cutman Don House said, “It looked like he got attacked by a chainsaw.” 

I was a spectator enjoying a great slugfest. Diego had about five cuts, three were major, and as the bell rang Rudy asked me if I could help him clean Diego up.

I did without hesitation and entered the ring without gloves. I knew I’d hear it from my wife and the fans. Sure enough, right after the fight Twitter and Facebook lit up. I felt bad because I’ve preached for so long the importance of gloves but this was a situation where I needed to help out immediately, so I didn’t take time to put them on. 

I learned from that experience and it won’t happen again.

We’re dealing with blood and the fighters prefer someone with clean gloves opposed to dirty hands. As one cutman once said, “Wearing gloves is like screwing with a rubber, it don’t feel the same.”

That was the dumbest statement I’ve ever heard from a cutman. Things like this are what separates a professional from a wannabe.

The old veteran cutmen – and new ones who follow their techniques – put swabs in their mouth or behind their ears thinking it makes them look like a pro. Bulls**t! I instruct them to find a different method and keep the swabs bacteria free. Mine go in a sanitized plastic bag.

Something as simple as ironing your uniform is also a must.

Image is just as important as performance. Looking professional will help you perform as one. Years ago when Strikeforce president Scott Coker promoted a kickboxing show in San Jose, I worked the corner of female fighter Fredia Gibbs. Another cornerman pulled his jacket out of his bag and put it on. It was so wrinkled that I told him to take it off. Fredia was fighting for a world title and it wasn’t a good image for the team. While this may sound pedantic, there’s no space in the world of mixed martial arts for amateurism. MMA is a fast-growing sport and for it to progress, the characters involved must be professional at all times.