Top Five Mistakes MMA Fighters Make

I’ve been thinking about mistakes MMA fighters make quite a bit, lately. No, not in the cage. That cogent analysis can be found everywhere–keep your hands up, go for a takedown, stop telegraphing your punches. It’s all so individual and hard to plan for, and that’s when the watchful eye of a solid coach is worth its weight in gold. But what about talented fighters who want to break into the higher levels and just never get there? Or they get into the spotlight but then you never hear from them again?

Brandt and I have been tossing these questions around for the past six months or so as we worked on an e-book on this very topic (among others), and here’s what we’ve come up with.

1. They don’t get the word out.

As both an MMA journalist and a fan, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to really hunt to get information about a fighter that I liked. This is especially true for new guys fighting in small shows, but it actually happens in bigger promotions as well. In this day and age, there’s really no excuse for a fighter not to have a web presence. And a lot of fighters could build a following much faster and get people to their events if they didn’t rely on the promotions to do the work for them. ‘Cause let’s face it–the promotion’s not always going to do it for you.

2. They don’t work with the media.

Perhaps MMA writers should be more forgiving. After all, it’s not like there’s any kind of PR training that comes with the job of being a cage fighter. There are a ton of other things to worry about that are more important, like getting in a cage with someone who wants to kill you. Still, the media has a lot of sway over public perception of a fighter. And the ones with media savvy know how to work it. Not only will they get added publicity, they’ll likely get the benefit of the doubt) even whe??n it might not be warranted. Unfortunately, may good fighters blow this opportunity and have to deal with the repercussions–bad publicity, or worse yet, no publicity.

3. They are divas.

Like most people in the industry, I’ve gotten word of some absolutely crazy amounts of money that virtually unknown fighters asked for. Of course nobody wants to work with them. Then there’s fighters that are just notoriously difficult–same story.

4. They make bad decisions with management.

This is the opposite of being a diva. Some fighters work with managers who really don’t know what they’re doing. They end up fighting high level competition too soon for too little pay, or making bad career decisions. It’s really a shame because it is often difficult to rebuild your image, and many of these guys disappear or fight low-level shows for their entire careers.

5. They have no media presence.

I am an enormous fan of Glover Texeira. But when I first looked him up, you know what I found about him? Absolutely nothing. What if I wanted to interview him? What if I was a sponsor? What if I was a fan wanting to buy something? Of course, he is wildly successful and this probably hasn’t slowed him down any–but for other fighters the lack of a web presence could be a bit of a missed opportunity, if you ask me.

What do you think? What are the biggest mistakes MMA fighters make outside of the cage? Leave your thoughts in the comments.