Brad Tavares Says Losing Makes Him Work Harder

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Brad Tavares (13-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) spoke about how he handles losses. He said he’s one of the few that can move on after a loss. He will return from a sixteen-month hiatus at UFC 203 in a middleweight fight with Caio Magalhaes (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) this Saturday. Here are highlights:

On how he handles losses: “I’m just glad I accept it. It’s one of those things. It’s not that I don’t care about it – it definitely leaves a bitter taste in my mouth –b ut I know that it’s part of the sport, and it makes me hungry to get back in there. I don’t want to be in the losing column, I don’t want my last fight to have been a loss. So it makes me hungry. It gives me a fire to get back in there, work harder and get back in the winning column.”

On an experience with another fighter who had a winning streak broken: “He also fights at middleweight, but he looked huge. And I wasn’t sure. I thought he fought at 205 pounds. And he was talking to me and he was explaining to me, he was like, ‘Yeah, I lost my last fight.’He was 10-0, 11-0 prior to the loss, and then he loses, and he’s telling me how it really had him depressed and he couldn’t train and this and that. And I was like, ‘Wow, that really happens to some people.’”

On taking fights on short notice: “Still, props for taking short-notice, but it feels like it gives them almost an excuse ahead of time. Like, you know – I don’t want to give an excuse. It does take the pressure off because then they’re the fighter who don’t have anything to lose, they’re like, ‘Hey, I came here on a few weeks’ notice.’ And if they beat the guy, they look that much better. But for me, I don’t mind. My biggest thing is that I just worry if I’m I going to be in shape. What was I doing the weeks prior? But, like I said, I accepted a Thales Leites fight (in August at UFC Fight Night 92), so I was ready for that. It’s too bad I got injured, but then as soon as that injury healed up, I was right back to it, waiting for my next fight. The call came, and I was ready. (I had) been training, so it made sense for me to take it. I love the card. I loved the matchup. So I’m excited.”