In this week’s Trading Shots, MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes and retired UFC/WEC fighter Danny Downes discuss career-saving victories, and whether wins or losses are what should really decide whether a fighter calls it quits.
Fowlkes: Well Danny, Brad Pickett had himself an emotional night in London at UFC Fight Night 84. He narrowly defeated Francisco Rivera via split-decision, then said in his post-fight interview that, with a loss, he would have called it quits.
Am I crazy, or is that putting a little too much emphasis on a result that, honestly, could have gone either way? I understand the practical side of the equation. A loss would have made it four in a row, at which point he’d almost certainly have been cut from the UFC. But if that’s enough to force you into retirement, what are you really saying? That it’s only worth fighting if you’re in the UFC? Why, because of the money? The status? What you imagine it says about your ability and/or worth?
Help me understand this from the fighter’s perspective. If the decision to stay or go is based on one number on one judge’s scorecard, aren’t you letting things beyond your control make some very important decisions for you?
Downes: Considering the stakes of every MMA fight (money, roster spot, health, etc.), you could argue that every time you step in the cage you’re letting a lot of things beyond your control make very important decisions.
I do understand what you mean, though. Putting the stakes of your entire career on a single fight does seem a bit shortsighted. That’s partly because fighters are shortsighted in general, but also because of how most fighters approach the sport.
We mock the “it’s the biggest fight of my life” cliché, but each fight really does feel that way to the fighters in it. It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for a title or just to keep your job. A lot of people measure their self-worth or whether they’ve “made it” by the state of their careers, and I would argue that professional fighters are much more prone to this type of thinking. Even the ones that say they don’t care what fans think, they hope their peers and coaches think they’re great.
As for your other questions about why being in the UFC is so valuable, the answers are: Yes, yes and yes. Competition may be increasing in MMA, but everyone knows what the no. 1 promotion is. Take Phil Davis. He had success in the UFC (even if people didn’t consider him “elite) and now he’s doing well in Bellator. For better or worse, people still view him as a UFC dropout. Look at Benson Henderson or Ben Askren. One will still be viewed in terms of his UFC career and the other by what he could have done in the UFC.
Say the folks at MMAjunkie decided to fire you today, and the only job you could get was equivalent to what you were doing seven years ago. You might be willing to “slum it” because you have bills to pay, but wouldn’t your ego take a hit? You might even say, “Writing just isn’t worth it. Maybe I’ll open a KFC franchise.”
Fowlkes: I really see myself as more of a future Taco Bell tycoon, but fine. I think it’s a mistake to compare fighting for a living to almost any other career, but especially to writing.
For one thing, writers are generally better at 40 than they were at 25, which isn’t so with fighters. Also, you could write your whole life, and even write very badly, and it wouldn’t cost you anything (except maybe in terms of liver function). Fighters have such a small window of opportunity, and they pay such a heavy cost for staying too long. They also know they’ll have to stop eventually, whereas writers can keep this crap up until they collapse onto their keyboards.
My point is, Picket is 37. His style is a lot of fun to watch, but not the most conducive to longevity. He’s got nearly 40 pro fights, and a string of UFC losses halted only by that squeaker of a win against Rivera. He’s probably making more in the UFC than he would fighting on some local promotion in Liverpool, but you know he’s not making enough to where, if he could just stick it out for a year or two more, he could retire and never work again.
So eventually, he’s going to have to stop fighting and figure out another career, right? And it’s not just him. This is the reality for, what, 95 percent of UFC fighters? So if you’re not charging up the ranks – if you are, in fact, just barely holding onto your job – is it still worth all the pain and risk and sacrifice?
Downes: You’re right about fighting and writing being quite different. I was just trying to relate to you so-called media types because you don’t have any fight experience.
You could argue that if you’re not a top-10 fighter and/or someone getting a big push (i.e. Sage Northcutt) there’s no real point in continuing. But f a 37-year-old fighter retires after competing for over decade, what are the options?
I’m not familiar with Pickett’s personal history or resumé, but let’s speak generally. You could be a trainer, coach or open a gym. None of those are particularly lucrative. You could try to open a business totally unrelated to fighting, but what about fighting could have prepared you for that?
You could also get a “normal” job, maybe work as a salesman of some sort. Sure it’s not as glamorous as fighting in front of thousands of people, but there are health benefits AND a 401k!
One thing that fans and media have to realize is that people fight for different reasons. And sometimes, it’s not for the fame or money. It’s because they genuinely enjoy fighting. They like pushing their mental, physical, and emotional tolerances for pain. It’s more than an adrenaline rush; it’s knowing that you literally locked yourself in a cage with another person who spent weeks of his or her life training to harm you – and you won. Even if you lose, you never backed down.
This career might not make economic sense. Hell, it doesn’t even make logical sense. But it makes sense to a fighter.
Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who also writes for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.
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