Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya, popularly referred to by MMA fans across the globe as “Izzy” is a professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist currently fighting in the UFC.
Entering the UFC, Izzy debuted with a professional record of 11–0 (eleven wins, no losses) and in three years he went on to become the undisputed middleweight champion, winning nine bouts in the UFC which accumulated to a perfect 20–0 (twenty wins, no losses).
Izzy who is still the king of the middleweights will then go on to challenge the current champion of the light-heavyweight division, Jan Blachowicz, a weight class directly above the middleweight. A fight that would help him achieve godlike status in MMA by becoming a two-division champion at the same time. A feat the has only been achieved by four athletes in the UFC.
Izzy would lose this fight by split decision, as Jan “The legendary Polish Power” claimed victory after five electric rounds of MMA action.
As characterized by most MMA fights in the UFC, predictions in form of trash talks, interviews, press conferences and betting odds are a natural occurrence, and both fighters of course predicted themselves to become the winner. Izzy entered into the fight as the favourite to win based on his flawless track record and an incredible display of mixed martial art skills, but the night will in fact end with him losing to Jan. Becoming his first-ever loss to be recorded in MMA.
What would come as a fair surprise to fans across the MMA sport would be how Izzy handled his first loss, and here are four lessons I learnt from his character on how to handle losses like a champion.
1. BE CONFIDENT IN DEFEAT.
Following his defeat in the octagon, the following scenes witnessed by fans watching globally was a smiling Izzy, who was giving a compliment to the opponent who has just handed him his first career loss. Izzy would proceed to the press conference to reveal that he isn’t at all bitter about the defeat and simply accepts it as a dip in his story.
With his now-famous quote:
Dare to be great! — Israel Adesanya
He proved a known reality that defeat can occur when an individual takes up a new challenge, sometimes in areas where they don’t determine the entire outcome. What is important, however, is how the individual decides to handle such circumstances.
2. DON’T SHY AWAY FROM TRYING AGAIN
During his press conference, when asked if he’ll ever again decide to move back up to the light-heavy-weight division and try to challenge himself again, Izzy says, “Never say never”, positively noting his interest in wanting to try again.
Although he remains the middleweight champion, his willingness to try again on something the world has witnessed him fall short at, is an inspiring mindset of a champion.
Challenges are meant to test our skill level and temperance, with the absolute aim of making us better individuals should prompt us not to shy away from challenges, regardless of our previous performance in them.
3. REASSESS YOUR STRENGTHS
After facing what might appear as a global letdown, it would have been easy to blame and complain about some external factor that made it difficult or impossible to win. Rather than focusing on those, Izzy draws light to what he’s still capable of, as he mentions his willingness to return back to the middle-weight division and defend his title yet again.
Strength reassessment is a very important process in not just handling losses but also in taking up challenges. When losses do occur, understand where mistakes happened, what can be improved but also keep your energy focused on your capabilities. This will prove instrumental is wethering new challenges.
4. DON’T CHASE LOSES.
A common occurrence in MMA and other sports is to want to avenge a loss, or make a comeback on an opponent they’ve lost to which seemingly is a natural thing to do, but not always with champions.
Champions understand that when losses occur, but it isn’t a necessity to react to loses by wanting to make a comeback.
This could be a tricky piece, but as Izzy notes that he’s not interested in chasing the loss as he believes it doesn’t undermine his talent and abilities, both professionally and personally.
This is a healthy way to handle loses, rather than getting hungover on a performance that was below par. This gives room to focus on new challenges and even reassess previous chances.
CONCLUSION.
Certainly, there are more way champions and high-level performers handle losses. Their most important arsenal is their mindset. High-level performers possess a good grip on their mental and emotional energies. This doesn’t make them immune to the emotions that come with losses, but it enhances their overall reaction to the role of events that could occur with losses.
