Few have ventured into the mind of a pro MMA fighter in the days leading up to a fight. The mental aspect during these last few days can often make or break even the best of fighters.
On February 20th, Phillip “The Wicked” Wyman and Coach Buck Grant travelled to Atlanta Georgia to fight in an event called “Bangkok Fight Night.” He faced hometown favorite Tim Stout, in what proved to be an all out battle in the main event of the night. Phillip, a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corp., baptist Minister, and loving husband and father, recaps in his own word the events leading up to his fight in Georgia.
Three months of sacrifice. Every morning I wake up and think that I am one day older. I have written down my immediate goals and my long term goals. One question has come to my attention. Will I be remembered for my accomplishments when I have moved on? What will be my lasting legacy? Who will say my name when I am gone?
I have heard it is not the destination but the journey that the experience can be measured by. Each training camp is about three months long and can take a toll on you body and your mind. The hardest part about the actual fight is the mental preparation. Feelings of “have I done enough,” “have I put in enough training, conditioning, drills in?”
You become dependent on those training partners that help you get to the fight. What challenge faces me this afternoon? Who will give me the most trouble in the gym today? What do I do about this injury that is nagging me constantly? Push hard one more day.
The day before the fight is rough, the dieting, weight cutting and sacrifice to get to a certain weight just so you can fight. Hunger is on your mind and you become uncomfortable to say the least.
The day of the fight is the easy part, rest relaxation, mental preparation. Three months for fifteen minutes of battle, seems hardly like an even trade. What type of sacrifice goes into the preparation of those fifteen minutes? The sacrifice of family, not spending quantity of time with my little boy, but sharing quality minutes with him. The sacrifice of sharing time with close friends in a social setting. The sacrifice of eating the foods that I really enjoy in fear that they will add unnecessary pounds. The sacrifice of sharing time with my wife. Is all this sacrifice worth the test I will put myself through for only fifteen minutes?
All this runs through your mind while you prepare for battle in only a few hours away. In the locker room you use self talk to ensure yourself you are ready, pray to your God that He will ensure you come out without any serious injury, to Him I am grateful that I continue in this sport. As you warm up you dial in on your coach and take last minute instruction, you know you are ready.
They announce my name and a mix reaction has happened, half the crowd is cheering me on the other half is booing me. As if they hate me because I represent the away team. They are supportive of their favorite fighter the home town guy that has a strong community backing, I respect this. I stand in their way of a happy ending. They do not boo my talents they boo what I represent. I use this as inspiration.
I pay homage to those who have competed before me and jump over the top rope. I do not seal off the ring this time I only bless the corner I am fighting out of and render proper respect to my trainer, my mentor, my coach and one of my best friends.
They announce us both and we meet in the center of the ring, final instructions are given and we are sent back to our corners. At this moment I am focused at the task at hand.
I cannot give you a play by play because that would require a third person account for I was in it, I was in the moment. What I can inform you of is at one point of the fight they cheered his name, and later on they started to cheer my name. The battle went back and forth. At one point I had him in a submission and he was ready to quit. Another point in the fight he hit me so hard I was dizzy and almost fell.
I did loose by a decision, but I feel like I fought hard and perhaps one of my best fights to date.
It was a great test of two men.. The full measure of a man is weather or not he will again climb in that ring or cage, will he become a better man or just be a fighter?
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