Thomas Almeida Reflects on Learning From His Loss to Cody Garbrandt

Thomas Almeida spoke with MMAjunkie about his loss to Cody Garbrandt at UFC Fight Night 88 and more. Some highlights are below:

On how much he’s changed his training process since his loss: “A lot. So many things. I’m more focused, hungry and I’m happier in training. I now go into every training session with the same energy I had when I first started training. That hunger, that was something good that changed a lot. You’ll see the improvements in the next fight.”

On wanting to fight at UFC Fight Night 100: “I’m asking for that, but nothing’s settled yet. I really want that fight. I don’t have an opponent in mind, I just want to fight. I don’t care about the opponent. I just want to fight and erase that bout that’s stuck in my throat. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about (the loss). I’m thinking about it when I wake up, I go to bed thinking about it, I train thinking about it, all the time. But I can’t let it get to me. I need to see it as growth, see what’s wrong and improve and keep my eye on the goal – which is to be champion.”

On dealing with the loss: “(Losing) is very sad. It’s terrible, a feeling I don’t wish upon anyone. After it’s done and you calm down, it’s different. But at that moment it’s very bad, very frustrating. It’s a sadness with myself: ‘How did I let this happen?’ I demand a lot from myself and it’s not nice, but that’s part of it. It’s a learning experience, as well. You learn a lot in defeat. I know because in my muay Thai career I suffered a few losses. So I know how you need to make the best of the situation and grow – have a champion’s mind and look for a goal.”

On what he’s learned: “I could have been more calm, moved around more, not have gone for a brawl. That’s it. See where to improve, the learning process – maybe, when I get punched a bit harder and feel it, to move more, go back to the fight, keep calm – that’s what I think lacked a bit. He’s a very heavy-handed guy and it landed, that was it. Could’ve been any other guy, those small MMA gloves are so slim, if it lands you fall.”