PREFIGHT PREP
The final 48 hours before a show is nerve wracking. Having a solid team around you is
essential. You need competent people to handle the details, leaving you to relax, develop
the mindset, the game plan and then take care of business.
There was this training partner who used to be a pro fighter show up with 7 of his friends for a pro fight. They were his entourage. They smoked in the car on the way to the show.
They partied until 4 a.m. 2 days before the show, and 5 a.m. the day of the show. They
all got lost on the way to the show. The showed up for a 7:30 pro card at 7:45 pm. They
were all in the locker room screaming and hollering and shooting video. I’m not
kidding...it was a scene from a comedy. Want to guess how the fight went? Worst ...
fight ... ever.
You do not need an entourage, especially a bunch of wannabe gangsters blazing all the
time. Save it for the rap videos.
You came to fight. Surround yourself with people who are there to help make your life
easier.
Fighters Checklist
2-3 pairs of ring shorts
jock
2 mouth guards
dojo t-shirts
3-4 pair of underwear
Black Sharpie
2-3 pens
PHOTO ID
Phone number of promoter, hotel, venue
water
food
ipod w/ headphones, mp3 player (any audio device)
sandals
camera towels
4 oz gloves and focus mitts for warm-up
Pedialyte (for rehydrating)
Vaseline
Garbage bag(black bag)
Medical records (copies)
Cornerman's Kit
1 plastic red bucket3 small Ziploc bags of ice
Vaseline
Q-tips
3 rolls of wide Gauze
4 rolls of white 2' cloth tape for hands
2 mouth guards2 copies for entrance music (if the promoter would require it)
Round-edge medical scissors
4 bottles of cold water
cold iron
full ice bag
2 large towels
DAY OF WEIGH-IN
Depending on a fighter’s weight, sometimes we are up early and in the sauna, otherwise take it easy and rest. When I am cornering, I always find the promoter, and find the official weigh-in scale that the commission will be using. Scales are like clocks, everyone tells a different weight. We do checks throughout the morning.
Here is a checklist of Weigh-in Day
1. Map to weigh-in (drive if you can, taking the team bus means a lot of waiting)
2. Phone numbers of venue and promoter
3. Towels
4. Sandals for fighters feet
5. Ice cubes
6. PHOTO ID
7. Copies of medical records
8. Pedialyte or Gatorade
9. Garbage bag and Vaseline or makeup remover (last minute weight-loss)
At the weigh-in if you have done your homework and prepared, you will look dry,
muscular and frankly, in the best shape of your life. When you step on that scale
remember to hit a pose, smile, look confident and show the world you are ready to win.
It is important to listen to the commissioner give the guidelines on fouls. Every region and promotion is different. Are elbows to the face allowed? What about knees? Make sure you and your team discusses the rules and how they may play into your game plan.
For Cornermans
Always hand-deliver a cd with the entrance music, clearly labeled with a black sharpie,to the guy handling the sound system. Catch his name, and spend 30 seconds schmoozing so he remembers your guy and doesn’t make a mistake. Bigger shows like have strict rules on royalty-free music so be aware ahead if that is the case.
Being ringside at a pro MMA show is easily one of the most intense feelings. You have thousands of people screaming, you’re completely, emotionally invested in the outcome, and have little or no power to influence the decision. It is unbelievable.
Find out if one or both corner men are allowed in the cage between rounds. When I was cornering, only one could enter between rounds. Our fighters’ trainer went in, and gave him pointers. I made sure the trainer had water, ice, and a towel before he went in. There is no point in a bunch of guys yelling ideas at a fighter. Figure into your game plan who is going to talk, and who is going to hydrate the fighter.
AFTER THE FIGHT
I hope you won. I know you trained hard, prepared right, and gave it your all. Unless
you are carted out on a stretcher, you need a game plan for immediately after the fight.
WORKING THE STICK
If you are victorious, there is a chance that a promoter is going to stick a microphone in
your face in front of thousands of people plus the millions watching around the world on
TV, video or the web. What do you say?
It is your corner man’s job to pull your sponsorship t-shirt on, put a hat on your head,
your Xyience drink in your hand, and give you a slip of paper with people to thank.
Regardless of what the promoter says, you will have so much adrenaline still pumping
through your body that you will probably be deaf. Start by thanking your team and your
sponsors. You can’t imagine how it feels to have a winning athlete mention your name in public. You will score major points my friend!
Be professional, don’t swear. You are amped up, pumped up, but try to maintain your
composure and marketability. Be engaging, be humble and if you feel like it, stir up
some controversy. Remember to thank the fans. Back in the old “rasslin’s” days of pro
wrestling they called it a “cheap pop” when you said, “The best fans in the whole MMA
world are right here in Broken Toe Idaho
If you lost, hold your chin up. Be gracious, shake hands with the victor.
You will be back. The composure you show in defeat goes a long way to showing a promoter that they need to book you for a rematch.
THE FOLLOW-UP
Here is where you can shine my friend. No one gets handwritten cards anymore. You
are going to stand out from the crowd and get noticed.
Send a handwritten thank you card to the promoter, all your sponsors, and anyone and
everyone that was involved in the event. If your support team took lots of photos, upload them to your My Space page or blog and mention it in the note. You can’t imagine the impact this will have on your credibility. People will remember you and be talking about you weeks after the fight is over.
A life worth living is worth recording. The video clips and photos before, during and
.
PLAN TO IMPROVE
Have a meeting with your team a few days after the event. Swap stories and relive the
experience. Have a mastermind think tank session and analyze everything Compare
notes.
What worked?
What didn’t work?
Where can we improve?
What’s next?
Congratulations! Train hard. Inspire others. Keep leading wisely!
RECOVERY
