Earlier this week, Darren Till spoke about the understandable mental stress of fighting a professional killer like Kelvin Gastelum. Coming off consecutive losses, there was a lot of pressure on Till, who even considered faking an injury to avoid having to make the walk. Luckily, Till was able to calm himself, make the walk, and came away with the victory.
Till’s post-fight honesty was genuinely refreshing ... to most. Sanchez, meanwhile, took to Instagram to rage against Till, seemingly taking Till’s comments as a personal offense.
Let’s first state the obvious: Sanchez’s anger is misplaced and pointless. Beyond that, I have made the walk to the cage on few occasions now. There’s a wide range of emotions in the locker room, and it definitely varies from fighter to fighter, regardless of the level of promotion. Some athletes are visibly apprehensive and cannot sit still. Others are incredibly excited. Some cannot wait to be done with the fight, while others savor the moment. I’ve seen all of the above — and the various mixed shades between — win and lose.
Personally, even going back to my first amateur fight at the age of 18, I’ve never felt particularly nervous or excited. That sounds like some wannabe-Chuck-Liddell nonsense, I’m aware, but it’s always been the case. I feel somewhat numb to the whole thing but still ready to compete.
In short, fighting is a very personal act, so it shouldn’t be surprising that everyone interprets the heightened emotions differently. Truly, the better question here is what madness is going on in Sanchez’s head prior to his bouts?