Winning is easy. Can you turn a loss into a lesson?
It is one of my favorite things about MMA. The sport is so unpredictable, a loss is bound to happen eventually. I don't feel that boxing treats losses the same way and it's really a shame.
Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler, and Charles Oliveira have all suffered an L along the way.
On December 11th of 2010, Charles Oliveira suffered a submission defeat to Jim Miller. Oliveira would go 8-8 in his next 16 fights. People questioned whether or not he could hang with the elite competition of the UFC. But then, things changed.
Oliveira went on an eight-fight win streak and challenge for the lightweight belt. Last Saturday, after a shaky first round where he was clearly hurt and knocked down, Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler in the second round and captured UFC gold. This wasn't a superstar getting a big "push." This wasn't even an underdog story. This was the story of a fighter.