The immense mental toll that being a prizefighter takes on you

We don't really discuss this a great deal in part because almost none of us can relate to the amount of trials and tribulations that go into prize-fighting and we also look at the people involved and think that they are all really wealthy so how could it possibly get them down, right?

Well in top tier fighting the big money is true but a vast majority of fighters barely make any money at all and many operate at a loss trying to get their careers going, but lets leave that to the side for no, ok?

Recently, Michael Chandler, who was an amazing hopeful for UFC, suffered a very one-sided loss to Paddy Pimblett and this has basically completely squashed any chances that he has at getting the belt. He seems to take it in stride and move on with his life but I know from my own personal involvement in low-level MMA that this is not at all the case and he is just being strong for the cameras.

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He posted a picture of himself right after the fight holding the hand of one of his children with an inspirational statement about how this is what he fights for and that's touching and all and probably does wonders for his "stock" in the game but at the same time I really feel as though this is a coping mechanism.

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I recall a story about a guy who came into a MMA gym that I was training in kickboxing in and this guy was seriously overweight. He looked like he would pass out just trying to climb up to the canvas to get in the ring. Apparently, this guy was an ex-fighter who was now in his 30's and he really wanted to return to form.

We were a supportive bunch, but none of us really thought that he had it in him to lose what was probably 150 lbs in order to get back into fighting shape. I have never seen someone as dedicated as him though because he lost over 100 lbs and got back into fighting shape even though his body was absolutely disgusting looking with all the loose flesh all over his body. It was still very inspiring.

The problem is though, that eventually it was determined by him and his coaches that he was ready for a fight. They booked him a sweetheart of a deal against a fighter with almost zero background in boxing (he wasn't doing kickboxing) and we all joined together to hype him up for the fight. He was in the zone mentally and got in the ring with the confidence that is necessary to win.

He lost the fight

What we saw afterwards was a relatively crushed man, he was broken. The more than a year that he put into intense discipline and intense training didn't pay off and he actually cried in the ring in front of the spectators when the announcement was made.

As far as I know, he never fought again. While we would like to say that this was his own choice, it likely wasn't. It was very difficult to get a promoter to feature a fighter as old and gross looking as he was, and he needed to perform in order to be so much as considered for future fights. He already felt humiliated by taking his shirt off in front of so many strangers who he knew were going to judge him, take photos of him to put on the internet, and mock him. He needed (in his mind) to prove them all wrong and show that anything is possible if you just work your ass off. When he lost that fight, his spirit was crushed and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if he is back to being super fat sitting around somewhere depressed.

When you participate in a team sport, a defeat is something that each person can share in the load of such a loss but in prize fighting or other one-on-one sports like tennis, the mental game is so much more of an important issue and losses hurt MUCH worse. You spend so much time preparing for something only to get out-classed or even worse, get caught by a lucky shot the other guy threw and that ends the fight in combat sports.

These things take a massive mental toll on a person and a lot of people end up being kind of messed up because of it. There are a ton of inspirational statements out there like "when life knocks you down 10 times you get up 11 times" but honestly mate, as someone that has done it, there are times when you just want to stay down.

In Michael Chandler's case, this loss was a particularly bad one that is likely going to see him exit the top 10 permanently, he's lost a majority of his fights since coming over to UFC and it is quite likely that he is going to be relegated to Fight Nights henceforth. He is definitely not in the championship picture and he is too old and has been given too many chances to be offered another one.

It is good that he has the support of his family but I can only imagine what he is going through right now. Even though he is a household name he probably feels embarrassed as hell and this loss haunts him daily. This was the first time that I have seen him in a fight where it didn't seem like he was enjoying himself.

It will be interesting to see if he can bounce back from this but honestly, I doubt it. Being humbled in front of the entire world like that takes its toll. In my 2 professional losses in MMA I felt humiliated and I can still see the mistakes that I made in those fights to this day. It sticks with you man.... We tend to talk about the successes in boxing, kickboxing, MMA and others, but we don't talk enough about the guys that didn't make it, and I think it is about time that we did.

I'm going to start to dig into the lives of people that got eliminated from the sport and see what they are up to, because I can all but guarantee that they are not up to very much, and probably have some serious regrets about life.