08/09/2026
Here are some more reasons why fighters lose fights and derail their careers
Not correcting bad habits
A fighter can do well in their local scene where they can get away with bad habits & sloppy technique because they are competing against lower-level competition. But these bad habits are easily exposed once they reach a higher level. A fighter needs to keep improving 10% every fight until they reach the championship level. When you can't improve, it's time to give up because your next fight you may come up against someone who is prepared to put in that extra work.
Don't fix what isn't broken.
Fighters will sometimes quit doing the exact things that have brought them success in the first place. I have seen fighters train diligently over three to four years and make huge progress, but when they compete at an international event or a title fight they suddenly become lazy and actually abandon their training efforts. They believe that their talent and previous experience will be enough to get by. This is a huge mistake. Stick with the program until you have achieved your goal.
Missing your window of opportunity.
Many fighters in their early 20s mistakenly believe that they have many more years of competition left than in fact they do. This can prevent them from committing 100%. Life will inevitably get in the way and you'll be unable to justify the sacrifices & training required to reach the top, especially when you weigh the risks of injury against it. Professional Fighting is very demanding so you need to make sure the sacrifices you are making are worth it.
Focusing on building their social media profile and getting sponsors when they should have been training.
A fighter needs to focus on the most important aspects of training and fighting. Proper technique, effective training methods, good work ethic & consistent improvement. But often as their success grows, fighters begin focusing on the wrong metrics such as how many social media likes or sponsors they have. At the lower levels, sponsorships are less valuable, so you should focus on becoming a skilled fighter, winning titles, and then getting signed by a major organization. As a result, you will have more opportunities.
Let your fight results speak for themselves and then the opportunities and sponsorships will follow. There's no point building your social media following and then getting a chance to fight on a major promotion if you actually aren't yet ready for it because you haven't put the time and effort into your training.
Over reliance on Weight Cutting
There are too many fighters who try to win by being heavier than their opponents rather than studying the fundamentals of fighting. They focus on how much weight they can cut rather than on how to fight.
It is necessary for fighters to be matched with opponents of similar size, but weight cutting is one of the prime examples of how far MMA has strayed from its roots.
Royce Gracie, the lightest fighter in the tournament, won the first UFC. At UFC 5, he also defeated Dan Severn, who weighed 32 kilograms more than him. Since then, the sport has evolved a lot, but the lesson here is that if you spend the time doing proper training then an extra few kilograms won't make a big difference to the outcome of a fight, especially in the early stages of your career.
Following Bad Advice instead of listening to your coaches
To be a successful fighter you need to find experienced and trustworthy coaches, follow their advice and stick with them. Once you achieve some success, lots of experts will pop up and start offering advice, but be careful who you listen to and take advice from.
Since MMA has grown in popularity, I've seen more and more people jump on the bandwagon. There are times when this can be a good thing, however, more often than not it leads to unscrupulous con artists trying to exploit the impressionable up and coming fighters with big promises that rarely deliver.
This is especially problematic for young fighters, who are still learning how the sport works. Then, out of nowhere, new coaches or managers appear and promise the world. Usually, this leads to the fighter's career going into a downward spiral.
Reliance on PEDS’s
Fighters can get away with cheating by using steroids in the smaller local events where drug testing is less strict or nonexistent. When they advance to the big league and face stricter testing, their winning streak ends suddenly. Some people think that if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying. All top athletes take steroids and avoid getting caught, so if you are not willing to do the same, you are naive and you should consider another sport.
For sports like bodybuilding or grappling where long-term damage to an opponent is unlikely, I have no problem with people taking steroids, but for MMA, fighters risk brain damage or death, so it's inexcusable.
Too many easy hand picked fights early in their careers.
In order to avoid getting exposed when they reach higher levels, fighters need to gain experience early on in their careers. Tough fights as an amateur are essential for developing skills and gaining experience. Prepare yourself for the bigger stages by fixing your weaknesses. Fighting in top level MMA requires a fighter to be well rounded. When you focus on one area at the expense of other skills, you will leave holes in your game that will be exploited by more experienced opponents. Competing in other combat sports such as BJJ or amateur Kickboxing is a good safe way to gain valuable experience and develop your skills so that you are more well rounded and more of a threat when you fight in MMA.
