Fighter Mentality on Display in Belfast
Mixed Martial Arts is a different type of sport than most around the world as it is a singular event that truly threatens the health of every participant.
Some sports may be individual and every sport has a risk of injury involved but in MMA it is about individuals locked into a cage in what must be one of the most solitary feelings in sports.
It is also a sport where injury isn’t just a risk but a guarantee as there is no fighter that leaves a fight without at least taking some damage even if it isn’t noticeable as they will all likely take at least one shot in a fight.
That makes the sport a unique one and it makes the athletes involved unique themselves but despite that uniqueness the basis of every athlete remains much the same.
There are two aspects for every athlete to master in order to be successful in their chosen sport, the physical and the mental.
The physical is fairly simple as it is all about training and finding the right training to make someone successful.
It can be tough to find but it is far from the toughest part of the sport as the toughest part is the mental game.
Mentally it takes someone that is truly different to voluntarily step into a cage and fight someone else.
The entire basis of the sport is that you are entering a cage with someone who is truly trying to hurt you at every second.
Mastering the mental game can be that much tougher when a fighter begins to lose despite all of their hard work.
It can creep into a fighter’s head that maybe they aren’t meant to be fighters or that they might not have what it takes to win.
When that gets into the head of a fighter bad things happen as fighters without that focus can get hurt and will likely lose leading to them not having a spot on any roster.
There needs to be that mental toughness, in order to get to the level that everyone gets into any sport, aspires to be at, a champion.
This has been the issue of multiple fighters that have fought in MMA and in the UFC as they might have everything they need but can’t figure out the mental game.
Uriah Hall might be the perfect example of that type of fighter as he is clearly one of the most athletic and unique fighters in the UFC.
He lands big strikes from everywhere and is willing to take a risk to land those strikes like spinning or jumping that can result in some bad things for most fighters.
It has led to highlight reel knockouts that continue to play in promotions but he has always struggled with his mental game.
There is this aura around Hall that he might not entirely enjoy fighting and often he has made comments that make it seem like he is not that confident in his abilities.
It has been the biggest issue in his UFC career and is could be the main reason why he has yet to truly rise through the rankings.
Aside from some lone bright spots he has not been able to string together enough wins to get any recognition in the division.
One of those lone bright spots was his win over Gegard Mousasi in September last year which ended in another highlight real finish after Hall landed a spinning back kick and a flying knee to beat one of the top fighters in the middleweight division.
After that win, Hall dropped two straight fights but he got the chance to face Mousasi again and try to get another good finish to get back on track.
A win against Mousasi for the second time was sure to have the UFC forget about his recent issues in the octagon and would put him back on track towards a title shot.
Leading up to the fight Hall did seem slightly more confident than usual as either he got some confidence from the first win or was motivated from Mousasi claiming that the fight would be an easy one the second time around.
One way or another the attitude seemed to be different from Hall and if it was the case and he did figure out the mental game things could get interesting.
After the first fight almost ended on the ground in the first round it seemed like Mousasi would try to repeat that performance but finish this time around.
That was the opposite of what he attempted as Mousasi stood and traded with Hall throughout the first round looking like he was confident enough in his stand-up ability.
Eventually, he did get through and land some massive punches only to take the fight to the ground where he began some devastating ground and pound.
Instead of defending Hall laid there and covered up leading the referee to end the fight with a TKO in favour of Mousasi.
That mentality that Hall needed didn’t seem to be there this night and as a result, he may not be on the UFC roster for much longer with three straight losses.
Mousasi meanwhile, has always had that mentality and despite his first loss against Hall always believed he was the better fighter.
He proved it and avenged his loss in the UFC to ensure that his run towards the middleweight title continues.
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