Legendary cutman Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran explains how mixed martial artists have continually astounded him by never saying die.

A few years ago I interviewed Mike Tyson for a documentary I was filming and asked him a simple question, ‘What makes a fighter?’ Mike answered immediately, ‘Take the pain. You have to take the pain.’

Strong words coming from a man who practiced what he preached. Many fighters throughout the years have been unable to take the pain and were knocked out both figuratively and literally.

Latin legend, Roberto Duran took the figurative route on November 25th, 1980 when Sugar Ray Leonard frustrated him with superior boxing skills forcing him to cry out the now embarrassing words, ‘No mas.’ This was Duran’s way of tapping out without ‘taking the pain,’ or at least any more of it. And he regrets those two syllables, even today.

Many MMA fighters never utter the words ‘no mas’ and often take the pain. The result can be getting KO’d, or put to sleep like Lyoto Machida against Jon Jones at UFC 140, or having an arm broken like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in his last fight with Frank Mir at the same event.

MMA fighters are real-life gladiators who take pride in not tapping out. A fan asked me a question on Twitter: “Did Frank Mir go too far in applying the kimura on Nogueira and breaking his arm?” My answer is no! Mir did what he has trained years to do and that is to submit his opponent. Like many MMA fighters, Nogueira is a proud and courageous Brazilian who was not going to tap out and cry out the humiliating words, 'no mas,' - instead he took the pain and it cost him severely.

In the UFC, safety is the most important part of the game, and with all the fights I’ve worked I have only seen a handful of serious injuries, but Mir is a master of jiu-jitsu and Nogueira isn’t the only fighter who has had his arm broken by Frank. I was in Tim Sylvia’s corner way back at UFC 48 in 2004 when Herb Dean suddenly stopped the fight as Mir was applying an armbar. The fans instantly yelled with disapproval – until they saw the replay of Tim’s arm snap in two. Like me, their response was one of complete shock. With adrenaline flowing through his body and having the ‘take the pain’ mentality, Sylvia wanted to continue to fight. 

I was in the dressing room shortly after the fight as Tim’s adrenaline left his body and I could see how much pain he was in. I am sure Nogueira felt the same. Mike Tyson was right, you have to take the pain to be a fighter, and it’s not easy.

Another fight that makes me think of how taking the pain isn’t easy is Corey Hill versus Dale Hartt. They met at UFC’s Fight for the Troops in December of 2008, but I remember like it was yesterday how Corey’s shinbone snapped when Hartt checked his leg kick. Corey tried to stand, but his break made it impossible. He instantly went to the canvas in pain. I rushed into the Octagon to comfort him and saw his leg and foot going in opposite directions. It is probably the worst injury I have seen in all my years in combat sports. 

I immediately got on my knees behind Corey’s head and cradled it in my hands. Corey was crying out in serious pain. ‘Stitch, what happened,’ he asked between gasps. ‘Corey your leg is broken, scream all you want,’ I said, in as calm a voice as I could. 

That moment should have been reserved for Corey to ‘take the pain’ and be concerned strictly with his own wellbeing. Instead he asked if his father, who was there, was okay. I remember thinking, ‘What a true warrior.’ Corey’s mentality was the same as Nogueira’s and Sylvia’s.

He was injected with morphine and placed on a stretcher and before he left the Octagon his final comment for me was: ‘Stitch, I almost had him.’

Wouldn’t it have been easier for these guys to yell out, ‘No mas’? Wouldn’t it have been easier for Big Nog, Tim and Lyoto to tap out, and Corey to be concerned for himself only? Instead they took the pain and sealed their legacy. It came at a high expense, but fighting isn’t easy.

During situations like these, and any other form of injury, we cutmen and trainers try to give the fighters as much support and comfort as we can. We often feel their pain as well, and have to read the situation to determine the best way to respond to them and support them. 

Everyone wants to see a great fight, and what makes MMA such a great sport is that these athletes respect each other, win or lose. They are an elite group. They can take the pain.