BAS RUTTEN
- KING OF PANCRASE
- UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
- IFL ANACONDAS COACH
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO DEFEAT ANY OPPONENT NO MATTER WHAT THEIR SIZE, STRENGTH AND ABILITY?
You will NEVER know this. You have to be super human; or just that ONE guy on the planet who can beat everybody. But who is so lucky? I can tell you what you need to become a great fighter.
You need three key ingredients: first of all, YOU NEED TO HAVE SKILLS. Some people are just not good in sports, so this profession is simply not for you.
Than you need to have GREAT STAMINA. Losing a fight because you didn’t train your cardio hard enough is NOT an option. Go run some hills or do The Bas Rutten MMA Workout. But be warned, it’s very tough! If you lose because you didn’t pay attention to the endurance part, you are not that smart. Think about a Ferrari, it’s a great and fast car, but it won’t drive without gas!
And the last thing would be WILLPOWER. You need this not only to bite through a hard fight when it’s getting tough, but also to bite through your hard workouts day in and day out. If you get injured 4 weeks before the fight, you have to keep on going and bite through it. I am telling you, it’s very tough.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING THAT YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO BE A SUCCESSFUL FIGHTER?
Everything that I mentioned in the first question and more! Things like, “stay in line”. All your friends are going out to party, and well, you can’t. OR, it’s Christmas time (or any other Holiday for that matter) and you have to fight a week later. You have to keep training while everybody is partying and having a great time. You can’t drink; can’t eat what they eat. That’s very tough, trust me!
What about a stupid little thing like a mat burn on your foot that you got from a workout?
If that happens 5 weeks before the fight, it won’t heal until after the fight. Every day you re-open that burn, it can’t heal because you HAVE to keep training. Those things are VERY annoying!
