"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, either way—you're right."—Henry Ford

I have always been a big believer in the importance that all athletes should possess the right mental attitude before entering into an athletic event.

We’ll call it the “Mindset.”

As a coach, there’s nothing more disturbing then to hear one of your players say “we’re gonna lose today” before the game has even started. But when you’re dealing with kids, that’s gonna happen from time to time.

The trick is to condition their thinking into a more positive direction by getting them to understand that their energy, their enthusiasm, their focus—all become affected by succumbing to the wrong attitude.

And attitude doesn’t just affect that single player. Moods can be very contagious and before you know it, one player’s energy (or lack thereof) can infect an entire team.

Believing that you will win won’t always guarantee that exact outcome. Obviously, a lot of other factors come into play during the course of a sporting competition.

But, believing that you will lose?

That almost guarantees it!

This weekend at UFC 119, MMA fans will get to witness a heavyweight fight between two future Hall of Famers, Frank Mir (MMA record 13-5) and Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic (MMA record 28-7-2-1) in what should be an amazing fight (on paper at least).

Long story short—Cro Cop is coming into this fight as the replacement for the injured Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

During preparations for this fight, Cro Cop suffered a serious eye injury (despite claims of denial by the UFC) and this may or may not result in Cro Cop’s removal from the bout (that’s up to the doctors).

Injuries obviously pose a danger to any athlete from a physical standpoint, but how about the mental? Can injuries affect an athlete’s mental stability as well?

If an athlete, or in this specific case—if Cro Cop knows that he has an injury that could potentially be made worse by entering into a fight against Mir, would this play against his confidence?

I’ll let you be the judge.

Here’s what Cro Cop had to say about his current state of mind:


“What can I say? I had bad luck in preparations. At the last training, in the last minute, I got a pretty bad eye injury. But I think it will be alright. I have to suck it up. I didn’t want to cancel the fight under any circumstances. I took this fight to do a favor to UFC. I wouldn’t do that fight for anybody else than UFC. I am ready to take the risk but I can say you this, all the money in the world is not worth getting my eye injured but at this point, there is no chance in hell to back up. Frank Mir is gonna be my toughest fight in my UFC career.

“It won’t be easy. It would be easier for me if I had time to do a full preparation cycle but at the end of the day that’s my problem. I accepted the fight under these conditions.

“I was on vacation when [the UFC] called me and I just couldn’t say no to them. Not because of the money, but because of respect to the guys at UFC. They provided me with everything and I secured my life existence fighting for them. To be completely honest, the money was pretty decent and I can assure you that no one would decline that offer.

“I will try to do my best, more as a routine fight, and if the fight goes to the third round it will be a handicap for me. But you know, that’s life and nothing is ideal.

“Again I have to be honest, when you have 70 fights under your belt your priorities change. There is a fear of injuries but I assure I will give my best. I will most certainly go for a win but I think I did a lot just by accepting this fight. That’s my opinion.”—MMAbay.com


I’m not a huge fan of when fighters start setting themselves up for the big “excuse” if (and when) they lose.

As a fight fan, I am also a Cro Cop fan—it’s hard not to be. But I struggle to believe that he has what it takes to defeat Frank Mir (who never seems to be lacking in the confidence category).

And something else that has been on my mind lately…

Considering the latest UFC trend, I wonder if Dana White has plans for firing the loser?

Cro Cop had better hope not.