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TLDR; When did a fighter get beaten badly, and then transform into a significantly better fighter?
A common scenario is when a good or great fighter gets beaten in devastating fashion, and never looks quite the same afterwards. While it's too early to be (completely) sure, a lot of sherdoggers are saying this about JDS now, saying Cain 'took his soul'. I'm also thinking of Gray Maynard, maybe Jake Ellenburger, etc.
However, you can sometimes see the opposite scenario play out after a bad defeat, a new motivation that pushes a fighter to new heights. King's MMA champions might be a good current example, with Werdum taking his striking game to a level no one expected from a JJ specialist (although over many fights), and RDA going super-saiyan after eating a brutal uppercut.
GSP seems like a weird on the fence example, he clearly became more careful after getting Serra'd, took flak for his increasingly cautious style, but it worked for him and he kept winning.
I'm curious about this because of a lot of speculation about how Lawler 'destroyed' Rory Mac's spirit. It may be true, but no one will know (except Rory), until we see him fight again. Until then, what are some good classic examples of fighters getting beaten in devastating fashion, and then returning with a vengeance in their next fight?
Lawler-Rory 2 was close fight, when I mean devastating, it could be physically, or emotionally, as in losing a big fight in front of your home town (ala Gustafsson vs Rumble).
TLDR; When did a fighter get beaten badly, and then transform into a significantly better fighter?
A common scenario is when a good or great fighter gets beaten in devastating fashion, and never looks quite the same afterwards. While it's too early to be (completely) sure, a lot of sherdoggers are saying this about JDS now, saying Cain 'took his soul'. I'm also thinking of Gray Maynard, maybe Jake Ellenburger, etc.
However, you can sometimes see the opposite scenario play out after a bad defeat, a new motivation that pushes a fighter to new heights. King's MMA champions might be a good current example, with Werdum taking his striking game to a level no one expected from a JJ specialist (although over many fights), and RDA going super-saiyan after eating a brutal uppercut.
GSP seems like a weird on the fence example, he clearly became more careful after getting Serra'd, took flak for his increasingly cautious style, but it worked for him and he kept winning.
I'm curious about this because of a lot of speculation about how Lawler 'destroyed' Rory Mac's spirit. It may be true, but no one will know (except Rory), until we see him fight again. Until then, what are some good classic examples of fighters getting beaten in devastating fashion, and then returning with a vengeance in their next fight?
Lawler-Rory 2 was close fight, when I mean devastating, it could be physically, or emotionally, as in losing a big fight in front of your home town (ala Gustafsson vs Rumble).
TLDR; When did a fighter get beaten badly, and then transform into a significantly better fighter?
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