By Joshua Okello
UFC 196 went down way different than anybody else predicted. Even the champions did not believe what it boiled down to. But one fight that stood out to me was the Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz’s fight. After taunting each other, calling each other names and expressing notoriety of the highest calibre, things took a different turn in the octagon and the underdog was crowned the king of the cage.
Conor McGregor, an eloquent public speaker, greatest public relations and the best mental fighter! He for sure can demolish you with words before he lands a clean one punch that has seen heroes like Mendez, Jose Aldo crumble under their feet. McGregor, being an arrogant, fighter explained to Nate Diaz in a press conference that; Nate cannot brake out of his set routines. Nate is like an injured gazelle. He has soft flabby body. You are like a gazelle, I am a lion and I will eat you alive. Your little gazelle friends are gonna stand on the cage looking at your carcass being eaten alive. I will slap the head off your whole team one by one. But on 5th March 2016, things took a different turn. The gazelle was reckoning charging and demolishing a lion on his own game. Nasty punches that saw Conor crumble like a cookie followed by a rear naked choke making the lion tap out. Nate the underdog humbled the king of talks but there is more to it than just the win-defeat game it was. Leaders can learn that they should:
Walk the Talk
Never just talk and if you do then talk after an action. Saying too much before a win makes you irrelevant when you are defeated. When you talk big make sure you act big to have solid premises to back your arguments up with otherwise the public will humble you as it is now happening on social media for McGregor. Humble yourself before people humble you down.
Never Underrate Your Opponent
You might be a lion but lions should remember that gazelles have horns and lions don’t. Gazelles can charge and pull a surprise. Never underestimate the power of an underdog, look at them like a mountain to climb and not as a slope to descend. They deserve dignity and respect.
Stay Humble
Never create a lot of enemies. Thank those who make you a hero including those you take belts away from. One thing I admire with the king of Octagon, the Brazilian champ, Anderson Silva is that he is a good Mixed Martial Artist, at the same time he shows respect both in Octagon and outside. He bows and kneels before his opponent whether he wins or not. A lot of leaders forget this but the public admire the humble. People know that arrogance is short lived but staying humble makes you a champion even when you lose.
Set Scary But Realistic Goals
I believe in setting high goals and being better than who I was yesterday but that does not mean that I can move from 145lb to 170lb like Conor did after Rafael Dos Anjos injury. The punch that knocks out 145lb is not the same as the one that knocks out 170lb. When setting goals, make sure you go for those objectives that does not alter your strategy completely. It is safe to have small positive incremental changes than to jump a tall building before you learn how to fly.
Learn From Your Mistakes
I admire Conor Mcgregor a lot with this one. Even though a loss is a bitter pill to swallow especially when you are arrogant, he admitted and accepted his mistakes and the defeat. It is the nature of the game; you win some you lose some. They say experience is the best teacher. How could Conor have learned? Only by getting in the octagon and fighting which I respect him a lot for. He did fought, landed clean punches that dazed Diaz until that submission came.
“I am humble in victory or defeat. I respect Nate and I will face it like a man, I am still a champion,” – Conor Mcgregor. All in all hats off to Conor and mad respect to Diaz for taking the fight in a 2 week notice. Dear leaders, stay humble!
Josh OKELLO 