The U.S Marine, UFC fighter turned commentary, then turned CEO Brian Stann is an example of a successful person. During his UFC fighting days, he had a record of 12-6-0. His trademark was his brute strength and powerful fists. Out of 12 wins, 9 were by a knockout.
After 9-years of fighting in the octagon, he decided that it was time to continue and seek satisfaction in different things. The UFC was, however, not ready to let him go. They gave him a position of commentary. It was like he was born to do it. His voice became recognized as a trademark of the UFC.
Aspiring MMA Fighters Should Always Take Brian Stann’s Advice Seriously
Having a long time of experience in the fighting business, he has a thorough knowledge of the MMA sport and his words have ‘weight’ when it comes to advising. Lately, he shared four pieces of advice on MMA hour, which all aspiring fighters should keep in mind.
“Number one is saving your money. Look, it’s not gonna last forever. One catastrophic injury and you could spend a whole year without making any money. Save your money.”
There have been many examples throughout the UFC where the fighters are having a booming run, and all of a sudden an injury comes out. This causes them to take a pause from fighting for months, years, and sometimes even it is causing a premature retirement.
Take for example Chris Weidman – broken leg, Conor McGregor – leg fracture, Jamahal Hill – dislocated elbow, Devin Clark – dislodged teeth, Tony Ferguson – knee pop, etc. The list goes on, and taking into consideration the above-mentioned injuries all happened in 2021 you can conclude that injuries are a common thing in the MMA.
“Number two, you have to very carefully manage your brand. You cannot afford to be out with some friends, have a couple of drinks, and start firing off social media posts. We live in a world where information goes quickly. Something you say might be misconstrued or taken out of context and as a result your brand could be considerably damaged. The media and fans can crush you. You just can’t afford that in this sport.”
This is more or less a general rule, regardless of the profession. A stupid social media post can really destroy your reputation. Before writing anything that is available to a greater public you need to think it through, several times.
Some examples of this are Tyler Manawaroa – racist social media post, Miguel Torres – very offensive rape post, Forrest Griffin – rape post, Ronda Rousey – offensive gender joke, Fabricio Werdum – offended a big sponsor of the UFC, etc.
“The third thing I would tell them is do not leave your chin in the gym. Back in my day, we sparred so hard and trained so hard. We weren’t getting paid for the years of our career that we spent in the gym. We over-spar in this sport, we beat up our bodies too much in this sport. What will happen on a long term basis? How do you arrive to your fight in the best condition, with the freshest ability to take damage.”
Thirty years ago the understanding of training was much different from what it is today. Almost all athletes were overtraining. They thought of it as a good thing. Adapting your body to more and more stress. That was the understanding.
This might be partially true. But opposing to this are the scientific proofs that overtraining does more bad than good to your organism. When over-trained, you have a higher risk of an injury. This alone should be the most important reason not to do it. You are also extending the recovery time of your muscles. Overtraining is decreasing your performance rather than improving it – looked over a greater period of time.
“The fourth thing is to have a hobby. You need to be aware that there’s a lot of downtime in fighting. The fighters in general spend a short period of their life fighting. Most of it is downtime in between fights. You NEED to have a side business. Most importantly you shouldn’t be afraid to invest in that. Going and learning an additional skill, investing in a business, starting a brand new company, or doing something else, you will have to do something else for a living when this is over. Do not be afraid to invest some time in that. It could be healthy for you. It could take some pressure off you during your fight career, just mentally.”
The last piece of advice is like he is speaking for himself. Even though he had a successful career in the UFC, he never stopped working on his aspirations to run his own business.
A short period after he stopped working for the UFC, he became the COO of FirstKeyHomes, a real estate investment company. However, this was still not fulfilling for him. His aspirations were bigger than this.
Being a retired US Marine he always felt like he has to do something that will alleviate the life of his fellow colleagues and decided to join a military housing company. His passion for the current job is sparked by the fact that he is one of them.
He became the CEO of the Hunt Military Communities company which creates a living experience that ensures the integrity of the military communities and the families who live there.
His company is now one of the most experienced and largest military housing communities in the US. It owns more than 50 000 homes all across the USA.
His successful endeavors are a true inspiration for all people who are seeking to succeed in life. His determination, willingness to work, and endurance are something that should be valued and respected.
To conclude, looking at his life story should be a sufficient indicator that his advice is something that should be valued by all aspiring fighters.
