its a brutal part of the sport - glover came in and ko'd a bunch of dudes, and then he became that dude - ive seen lots of fighters go through that - from the confidence that you can never lose, to the fear / hesitancy after losing your chin to retirement after a few rough losses (sometimes forced) - fighting is rough business
i think people look at it differently - some just see it as part of the sport and take a 'fuck him' attitude to it - others feel bad, like you - depends, i guess, partly, on the level of empathy you have toward others