The Emotional and Unpredictable Nature of the UFC Debut
by Leland Roling on Feb 8, 2010 6:29 PM EST
in MMA News
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Making your debut in a sport at a higher level of competition can be a daunting endeavor. Nervousness and the thought of not performing at the level you're capable of inundate your thoughts, and the entire situation can turn into a battle against your mind rather than an opponent who is physically standing in front of you.
This can happen at all levels of competition. High school baseball players making the jump to college or minor league summer ball, middle school boys entering the competitive high school basketball scene, or young women trying out for the college volleyball team. All of these yearly sports competitions involve the "jitters" and the pressure to perform at your highest ability to impress fans, scouts, supporters, Mom & Dad, and yourself.
Mixed martial arts is no different. We've heard countless stories about the "UFC jitters". Kenny Florian spoke about "freezing up" in his bout with Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 Finale. Rashad Evans talked about how thinking too much about what he wanted to do before fighting Sam Hoger mentally drained him. Patrick Barry admitted to having doubts before his debut and shaking uncontrollably. Xavier Foupa-Pokam claimed he was short of breath and tense during his debut at UFC 97.
The "UFC jitters" could be only one of many problems that can occur for debuting fighters. Lack of preparation, conditioning, and a small set of skills can all attribute to a poor performance. Unfortunately, one fighter on the UFC 109 fight card seemed to suffer from every possible reason why he was a failure.
Second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Rolles Gracie made his heavyweight debut on Saturday night against the uniquely-nicknamed Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran in preliminary action. Gracie's poor level of conditioning, lack of striking ability, and look of carelessness climaxed at the 1:31 mark of the second round as the referee pulled Beltran off of Gracie. The fight was a complete disaster for Rolles, and it's worth exploring whether Rolles felt the immense pressure of living up to the Gracie family name in the moments before the fight.
Was Rolles perhaps rushed too quickly into the UFC? It's possible, but having Renzo Gracie and Greg Jackson in his stable of trainers should have produced a much better performance.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, 2008 NCAA Division I wrestling champion Phil Davis was successful in his debut against former WEC light heavyweight champion Brian Stann. Davis completely dominated Stann on his way to an unanimous decision that saw two judges give him 30-26 scores. It was a very impressive performance, and it should be a testament to the mental strength that Davis has to be unaffected by the "jitters".
The major difference in the two performances could come down to Davis' pedigree as a champion wrestler. It's been stated numerous times by the wrestling elite in this sport that wrestling was the ultimate preparation tool for not only the physical demands of MMA, but for the mental game as well. Wrestlers like Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, Jon Fitch, Chael Sonnen, and Randy Couture all continue to be rock solid mentally in preparation for their fights. Has wrestling truly been able to mold these fighters into mental fortresses, unaffected by the nervousness of an upcoming fight?
It's possible. After all, these events are very similar to what they've done their whole life. Wrestling programs also seem to breed confidence in their wrestlers with mental tests in the form of exhausting preparation. If these guys were able to hack it in the collegiate wrestling scene and become champions, those skills would easily translate to success in mixed martial arts.
For a guy like Rolles Gracie, it may take a considerable amount of time to breed that sort of confidence and mental preparation. A loss against Joey Beltran may be exactly what he needs to pick up his training, gain a considerable amount of confidence, and become a mentally tougher fighter for the future. Sometimes, a loss is exactly what a fighter needs.
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Confidence is the most difficult part. There really is a moment of, “hey, I belong here” that clicks in an athletes head when they reach a new level of competition that allows them to stop thinking and start reacting.
I can’t imagine how difficult it is to have that moment in front of a huge crowd, in an individual sport where everyone is focused on you, with cameras everywhere, and no helmets or pads to hide behind.
Giving Shogun his props. I had the fight 48-47 Machida but Shogun put up a monumental performance and I am honored to have seen it in person.
lets call it how it really is.. it didnt look like rolles had even attempted cardio for this fight. i can’t believe they even aired this fight. it was like a tuf 10 fight, but far, far worse. what he was doing cant even be called shooting, it was like diving
flailing desperately.
"Just push the ice outside the octagon so Arianny can fall on her head!" - Joe Rogan
by Earl Montclair on Feb 8, 2010 6:33 PM EST up reply actions
There’s jitters that come from stepping up a level, and then there’s jitters from not preparing properly. I’d say Rolles is the latter.
There’s one thing that creates jitters and nervousness and Rashad seems to have touched on it, an overactive mind. Body awareness can always expel the jitters if you have the presence of mind to quiet it and let your body direct you more. In the Power of Now, Ekhardt Tolle talks about this to an extent. When you walk in, your mind is going to race in analyzing all the new stuff. Millions of people, so much noise, the size of the venue, the rack on the dude staring back at you, the consequences about losing, the consequences of winning, the money, what it might look like if you lose humiliatingly. But when you exist purely in the moment, those things ultimately become of less importance, until you realize that the only thing that can really exist is how your body feels, and everything else is a subjective illusion.
There are certain fighters that I can see have learned this, and wrestling seems to bring it out of athletes through pure drive and discipline.
Yeah, Rolles’ cardio was virtually non-existant in that fight. He looked good for the first minute or two, and thn he just tanked. Looping punches, leaning over, sloppy shots………..pretty ugly. That said, I think if he improves his cardio and doesn’t suffer nerves, he really could be good. I’m sure carryiong the weight of the Gracie name back into the octagon didnt help.
certified warlord
Had nothing to do with Cardio
Rolles got reversed by a guy with the nickname “The Mexicutioner.” No excuses.
I think that his poor performance came from preparing for a submission oriented guy like Al-Turk and not really focusing on his stand up as much as would have had to for a guy like Beltran. Having the fighter changed with a week to go and likely his whole camp telling him he’d do fine didn’t change the fact that once he stepped in there he still didn’t feel prepared for a striker, panicked, and then pretty much everything flew out the window.
That’s my theory anyway.
I'll say it for the nth time.
They should’ve made it Kimbo vs Gracie… and if Kimbo loses to Meathead, or if Rolles wins his next fight, maybe they can still set it up.
I don’t want to put words into your mouth, but what I think you’re saying is that Rolles should have fought Kimbo? Am I right?
yes.
Rolles should’ve made his debut against Kimbo, and not Al Turk or the Mexicutioner. That way it would be a marketable fight (especially to the casuals), between two named fighters instead of Rolles just losing to an “unknown”..
but hey, they can still do that fight in the future. But it would’ve lost it’s potential luster.
by Anton Tabuena on Feb 8, 2010 10:38 PM EST up reply actions
Another important point to keep in mind is that this was—per the Fightfinder—Gracie’s 4th fight and Beltran’s 14th.
That’s no excuse for a poor showing, but it’s certainly another reason not to be surprised. This sort of stuff (inexperienced fighters looking awful) happens a quite often—just usually not on a UFC card at this juncture.
Honestly though, in a certain sense I’m rather glad they showed it, as the play-by-play made it sound like a sure laugh. (“Almost stationary, Gracie shoots again and catches only air, as the crowd answers with boos.”) And so it was.
No love for Beltran eh? I mean, he won his UFC debut with one week’s notice! All you say about him in the article is that he won. He was fighting a Gracie! He could have psyched himself out BIG TIME. He gets my respect; doubly because of the nickname.
The story was based on Gracie’s failure mostly, that’s why.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Feb 8, 2010 8:46 PM EST up reply actions
I don't know what happened to Rolles,
but I was pretty horrified watching him fight that night.
You have to be the man... you have to be very, like, alpha male with her. You know? Decide what you do and everything. So, show her who's the boss, you know? - GSP
That had
to be the worst performance from the Gracie lineage ever. I felt so bad for him and the shame that he had to be feeling afterwards.
I don't know, man
This wasn’t exactly a great showing by a Gracie, either
or this
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Feb 9, 2010 2:59 AM EST up reply actions
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