About a week ago, after his loss to UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, title contender Kenny Florian said “I just have to realize that not everyone can be a champion” Now while he is 100% correct in his statement not everyone in their career is fortunate to win a title, this immediately threw up a red flag to me, the first thing that I said was “He might know that but does he believe it?” there is a difference . Let me explain:
Many people when they hear my story, when they hear that I am 0-75 in judo competition, they ask the inevitable question “All those losses, and you still go out there and “put it on the line” why? Well, the number one reason that I give is because grappling is my passion, it is what I love to do most in life but there is another more simple reason.. I BELIEVE I can win a freestyle national championship… Do I know that it’s going to be harder for me than the average competitor? Sure. However, I still believe that I can and I will do it.
This belief is something that is hard to articulate, I can’t tell you why I feel this way, it’s not something I can pin point but it is there its almost tangible, I can kind of feel it in my gut. Have there been days where I came off the mat and I have wanted to give up? I won’t lie, there definitely have been a few, but it is this belief that keeps me coming back for more, keeps me striving for what I believe is inside me. I KNOW that my back is against the wall but I BELIEVE that I can fight out of it.
So when a fighter the caliber of Kenny Florian says “I just have to realize that not everyone can be a champion” It makes me wonder, Kenny is a guy who has won a lot of fights in his career but in his two biggest fights, a Loss to BJ Penn at UFC 101 for the lightweight title and now the loss to Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 136, does he truly believe that he can’t be a champion and if he does, What’s next in his career?
I’d Love to hear all of your thoughts on this, Do you think you have to have the belief that you can reach the highest level (at your level) or do you think that self motivation is enough? Please drop me a comment in the boxes below
See ya next time,
Matt
No comments yet.