Bram,
Thanks for writing in and thanks for the feedback about the articles and for pulling for Ricardo.
I just returned from the fight in Vegas and I am still completely bummed. He did not look or perform like himself and still it could be argued that he won the fight. If one of the 2 judges in the split decision sees it for him, things would be seen very differently.

His training camp went like the previous ones, and he was in good cardio shape. I dont think it could be attributed to ring rust, since he fought well in Feb. Having Cote down in the first like he did and smelling blood in the water could have attributed, cause he had him right where he planned to. In the end, there are so many variables to consider when an athlete is fighting on the biggest stage in the world, it can drive you crazy. Sometimes, like Quinton Jackson said, it is 50-50 in there and not always your night.

There is only one thing that I am sure of: I will never count Ricardo out, and he has 4 fights left on contract to redeem himself and I am sure he will. We have been training together for 8 years and it has been 6 since he last loss. Incredibly, that loss turned into a great positive for us and lead to the win streak he had after that. I hope and believe that this does the same. I stand by him and will point the finger at myself to ask what I can do better in the future as well.

A true winner does not pause or move backward in defeat, he moves forward. So I think you can either view this event as a big problem, or a pandora's box of big possibilities. I choose the latter and am looking forward toward great things to come vs. back at things we can no longer do anything about.

Life is a series of challenges that come crashing to the shore over and over. Anyone that tells you it is not, is selling you something. The key is not that problems will arise, but how you respond to them. I believe that tough times do not define a person, they are a chance to reveal him.

Thanks again and I look forward to the next opportunity with Frankie Edgar fighting in 2 weeks.

,
Martin Rooney