John Makdessi Discusses His Mental Challenges After His Loss to Donald Cerrone

MMAjunkie recently spoke to UFC fighter John Makdessi, who discussed his recent knockout loss to Donald Cerrone. The fight saw Makdessi receive a broken jaw, and he contemplated retirement after the fight. Makdessi is now looking for a fresh start and rebounding from the loss. Below are some highlights.

Makdessi on his mental challenges after the loss: “It’s all about mental. And nothing to take away from Donald Cerrone – he’s a veteran with experience, a big lightweight. Fighting a guy like that, it kind of told me how mentally, you’ve got to be 100 percent confident in yourself and you can’t take mental breaks in the cage because every little second counts. The moment you hesitate or start doubting or questioning yourself, you’re getting hit in the face. You don’t have time to think. Fighting a guy like that gave me more of a perspective of how I should be training and how my mindset should be going into a fight.”

Makdessi on how his talk of retirement was a misunderstanding: “It wasn’t really about retiring, it was more questioning the weight division. It was a sense of frustration that I’m fighting guys who are much bigger. I’m always at a disadvantage, but this is the game. (Featherweight) for me, for health reasons, is not a good choice. But 155 is hard enough as it is.”

Makdessi on his goals: “I really want to get a chance to fight for the title. That’s why I’m in the sport. I want to get back in there and test my skills and get back to the win streak.”