Mind Over Machine: Mark Hominick's Loss Highlights the Importance of the Mental Aspect of MMA

By Raphael Garcia It has been said that professional fighting is 90 percent mental. Whether that is true or not, being mentally prepared an important factor that many fans overlook. At UFC 140 we witnessed a fight that went drastically in the opposite direction from what experts and fans alike had predicted. Once it was over we could do nothing else but speculate what was going on in the losing fighter’s head. While he may have been physically ready for the event, I would not be surprised if the mental aspect of the battle had slipped away from him. Mark Hominick was finished in what may be one of the fastest victories in mixed martial arts history. He jumped out and flashed two winging punches, only to be caught with a counter by Chan Sung Jung and finished before most viewers were even settled in their seats. There’s no way I or any other writer can peer into the mind of a professional athlete; however, that doesn’t stop us from trying. A variety of theories have been proffered ...