Something that i was once told, I still take to heart. "You don't just become a black belt, you earn your black belt every day."
I can't imagine the toil and struggle it takes to not only dedicate your life to competing and making it to the biggest stage in the world, but even finding yourself a top competitor in the rankings. And I dont want to sound like MMA should be a place so critical to be "only as good as your last fight." But your record is a resume and that shit needs updating.
Ok, so you're ranked, which means you should only get opponents from a certain grouping. But ranking isnt the only thing, there's momentum as well. So you're #8 on a 6 fight win streak and you don't want to fight backwards. I get that. But if you're a former champ or former contender or you fought in a title eliminator in your past 3-4 fights, but have lost 2 in a row? You don't get to rest on your laurels. You dont get to go, "fuck these prospects, im a big name so i should be punching up."
The champ won their belt, and now they have to defend it each fight. Just cuz you're chasing the belt yourself doesn't mean there's nothing you're defending. You find yourself in the top 5, you have to defend your top 5 position. Top10? If you're ranked at all, you have to fight to keep that spot.
How does that mentality work if the people above you felt the same and didn't want to face you? How would that mentality work if you actually won the belt? You're just gonna switch everything about how you think about fighting and taking challenges? By dedicating yourself to MMA, you've chosen a path which at no point allows you to put your feet up and leave your name there to ferment. Put your boots on and get working.
Horseshit. With the right booking, your fights are both reaching for higher and defending your spot. If you wanna only reach higher but not defend your spot, you should lose your spot. Hooker's #8 and doesn't want to fight #9? See if he'll fight #9 when he drops to #11. Felder only wants big fights? He can see if he can find any he likes outside the ranks. If you're turning down reasonable fights based on the opponents name or rank alone, there is no title shot in your future. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars.
