Dominick Cruz on Ronda Rousey and the mental aspect of fighting (from Joe Rogan Experience #921)

Train by day, Joe Rogan podcasts by night, all day! Do what they do. That's just fighting. That's what's so refreshing about it to me. Yeah, well the psychological aspect of it, I mean, you know, who has it that said this? Fighting is 90% mental and the other 10% in your head. I forget who said that. I don't remember either, but I've heard it. That's a great quote. I don't remember who said it. I believe it with all my heart. There's so many people out there that are so incredibly physically talented. And how many gym assassins do you know that for whatever reason, they just can't put it together? When the referee says, fighter, are you ready? Fighter, are you ready? Go. They just are a fraction of who they really are. Well, just really break down and think about what happens to the ones that do make it, and then have to deal with the media and opinions. And I really feel like athletes, the biggest hurdle is the fact that we're willing to actually just get up there and say we might win, we might lose. And just put that out there and say, are you willing to put yourself out there like that? Are you willing to embarrass yourself if you do lose? Are you willing to deal with the media if you win for 10 years straight, and then lose? And then now you're the worst guy that's ever been seen in the sport or the worst female that's ever been seen in the sport? You didn't even belong there? Are you able to deal with that? That's the question. That's what being an athlete is. Not. Well, those would be in a fighter. Yeah. Big difference between losing a basketball game. What's true? You lose a basketball game and people might think you're a fucking loser or a scrub, but it's nothing like the shit that I see fighters face online. No, I mean, just look at, I got to bring Ronda Rousey up because it's heartbreaking for me as an athlete. I know what she's feeling. I know what she's going through. And as a female, it's even on another level. I can't really imagine that. It's a different level of scrutiny, I would imagine. But it shows how hard it is to deal with this, man. The ups and downs because the downs hit hard, just as hard as the ups hit. And you got to be ready. And there can't be any separation in who you are with the win and a loss because if there is, it's going to show. And you got to be who you are and not be solely connected to fighting as your whole being. Otherwise you're over when it ends. Right. That was something about the Ronda Rousey promos that I always felt like I just, I didn't like hearing it. Like she was like, I got to get back to fighting because it's the most important thing. And it's the thing that I can be best in the world. And I was like, Ooh, I actually like hearing that stuff. Do you? I do. And the reason is it's such a lesson. If you're really listening in between the lines to the issue of the world, and that's just my opinion, we're all putting so much into this one thing. And we think that that is our everything. When really, if she, it sounds cheesy, but if you put all that energy towards loving yourself and not the fight career, the fight career will still be there just as heavy as it is. Right. You know? So what I mean is she's using the fighting as her identity with that championship belt. She is Ronda Rousey, the Ronda Rousey without the championship belt. We don't know who she is. She won't come out. So who are you unless you're winning? We don't know. Do you know you're counting on that belt to know who you are now? And that's, that was my biggest point. That was a hurdle I ran into when I lost my belt. I didn't know who I was anymore. And that's how I knew this. That's how I figured out what my issues were.