Cariaso (photo) admits that he “stuck” before fighting for the UFC belt. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Fighting for the UFC title is the main moment in the career of any MMA athlete. Faced with a fight of such importance, some may find inspiration to perform to their fullest potential, while others may feel the pressure and succumb. For Chris Cariaso, unfortunately the second case happened.
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The North American, who challenged for the flyweight belt in September last year, against the champion Demetrious Johnson, admitted that he had a panic attack just moments before entering the octagon and was unable to perform with the same efficiency he had shown in training.
“Mentally I was in great shape, because obviously I had a tough task ahead of me. But literally five minutes before my fight, I was watching another previous fight, and I remember hearing Joe Rogan [official UFC commentator in the United States] saying 'he's going to have the fight of his life' or something like that. type. This triggered a negative reaction in my head”, explained the fighter, to the “MMA Fighting” website.
“I thought 'my God, what am I going to do? What am I doing here?' It was like a panic attack. I thought about retiring, and that happened five minutes before my fight. It was ridiculous. I usually get in there and enjoy the moment, but the pressure took the fun out of the moment”, continued the athlete.
Cariaso, who ended up submitted in the second round by the champion, said that it took him some time to overcome what happened. “It took me a few months to recover. I wasn't mentally prepared. I became depressed. I was facing one of the biggest moments of my life and I dropped the ball. It wasn’t me fighting,” he said.
The North American will have the chance to bounce back in the UFC this Saturday (14), when he faces the undefeated Henry Cejudo at UFC 185, in Dallas (USA).
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