Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behaviour, which can be classified by two main sub groupings:
The first is intrinsic motivation, which comes from the rewards inherent to a task or an activity itself (the love of fighting).
To me, what makes a guy like Randy “The Natural” Couture such a great champion, isn’t so much that he has been the most dominant fighter throughout his career, but it has more to do with his “natural” love of fighting.
My perception (and I could very well be wrong) is that he is the type of fighter who is always looking for the next best way to challenge himself.
He lives for the competition.
He will fight whoever they put in front of him (including a monster like Brock Lesnar), not because he is 100 percent certain that he will win, but because win or lose, he only ever wants to fight the best that is available (hence, his strong desire to want to fight Machida).
The result?
Well, an 18-10 record for starters, and an obvious amount of damage to his legacy in the eyes of many fans (not that he cares – nor should he).
“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”—Frank A. Clark
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The second is extrinsic motivation, which comes from outside of the performer. Money and fame are obvious examples, but so is the threat of punishment (loss of a championship title).
Recently, while discussing his upcoming fight with Shane Carwin, Frank Mir had this to say about Lesnar:
“The competitor in me wants to face Lesnar as soon as possible and be the first one in line.
“As far as if it worked out, I don’t feel like holding the heavyweight division hostage. If after, if I’m victorious on March 27, and I had an injury that didn’t allow me to fight, and Brock wants to take a risk to fight Cain first before he fights me, more power to him.
“I think [Velasquez] is a dangerous fight for [Lesnar]. I would be willing to bet that maybe he would be more comfortable waiting for me.”
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Clearly, Mir’s remarks are working on the bold assumption that Lesnar’s motivation is strictly – extrinsic.
More comfortable fighting Mir?
What is it about the current UFC heavyweight champion that would make anyone assume that Lesnar’s motivation would be any different than Couture’s?
Lesnar has been a sporting competitor his entire life.
He made his way from being an accomplished amateur wrestler, to gaining prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Then in 2004, Lesnar quit the wealth and security of the WWE to pursue a more challenging (and dangerous) career in the NFL (wow, talk about willing to “take a risk!”).
After that “risk” didn’t pay off, Lesnar then returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005 for a brief stint in Japan before shifting gears and entering into the unknown world of mixed-martial arts.
Soon after, with only a record of 2-1, Lesnar was already willing to fight Randy Couture for the championship (because let’s face it – it was offered to him), when he easily could have taken his time fighting one tomato can after another (Bobby Lashley anyone?), with absolutely no affect to his fame, money, or pay-per-view drawing power.
But wait a second, if Lesnar is only concerned about protecting his title and status as the champion, then why wouldn’t he have played it safer from the start?
Hmmm….something just isn’t adding up.
Please don’t tell me that Mir is simply playing more mind games?
That would be very “un-Mir-like.”
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“Success isn’t determined by winning. Each year, it’s how [a fighter] improves. Instead of focusing on actual “wins,” we focus on our system and as a result, the wins will simply become a by-product of all of the hard work that the [fighter] will put in.”—Coach Dave H.
Brock Lesnar is a true champion (like him or not) because he fights for the sake of fighting and would welcome any of the top heavyweights in the world at any given time – not because he is so completely positive that he will win, but because like Couture, he wants the greatest challenge available to him.
If that is Mir – great!
If it’s Cain, Carwin, Fedor, Dos Santos, Big Nog,whoever…Lesnar will be ready to take on all challengers.
The bigger question is; will they be ready for a new and improved Brock Lesnar?
I look forward to finding out.
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These are my opinions. If you don’t like them, I have others. Check them out at www.coachjamesryan.com
Great article. Very entertaining and persuasive.
This is a damn good article. Some interesting points of view. Very well written. I also agree Cain's going to be tough to beat. I believe Cain Valazquez trains so hard for MANY different reasons and 'motivations'. We shall see where the “bones shatter” on this issue soon!!
Your point of view makes no sense. If Brock was utilizing purely intrinsic motivation, he would have proved himself by cleaning out the heavyweight division before he went for the title. As far as I'm concerned, beating Couture for the title means nothing if he did nothing to get there. It would be like if a football team skipped the playoffs and went straight to the Superbowl and won; would that team earn any respect? The answer is no because they didn't deserve to be there. Lesnar was using purely extrinsic motivation by taking the title fight that was handed to him, which he didn't earn, because he would make more money for himself and the UFC.
Lesnar is the farthest thing from a true champion there is. GSP, Penn & Silva are true champions because they had to fight their way to the top. Being a true champion isn't just winning the title fight, it is also getting there. The road to being a champion should be long and tough, that is what makes being a champion rewarding–the intrinsic motivation of overcoming all obstacles, and completing all goals, despite all odds. Winning 2 fights does not make him a true champion in any sense of the word.
Ba-boomba Baby! You just got lit tha F up! You know I'm totally right and I dare you to try to argue!
You must be Jo-King,
I doubt that any fighter is purely 100 % motivated by one factor over the other, which is why I found Mir’s assumption (and many others) that Brock is purely or at least “mostly” motivated by reasons that have less with wanting to be his best as a fighter. Actions speak louder than words and your personal dislike for the man doesn’t change why he does what he does – competes in sports.
This article isn’t to judge a fighters motivation – to each his own. It was just meant to shed a little light on why I disagree with Mir’s assumption. It’s called an opinion and even though you do not respect mine, I certainly respect yours if only because you are entitled to it.
If you were Brock and you were offered a title shot, would you decline out of fear of not earning the respect of certain fans? Of course not!! That would be ridiculous. With that said, that wasn’t the point of the article anyway – maybe you should read it again
We gravitate to what we believe to be true champions because of the behaviour that goes along with it.
That much I agree with and I even wrote about it:
http://mrjamesryan.com/2010/01/29/mma-fighters-…
This is why I believe that some fighters get too much credit and others don’t get enough. We as fans become biased based on our own personal feelings.
But also, champions in MMA are fighters who love to fight. That’s how I perceive Brock to be. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, but I am most definitely not wrong simply because YOU disagree with me
Your opinions about how and why a champion should be a champion cannot be argued because it is neither right nor wrong. It is your opinion. Like I said, you are entitled to it, just as I am entitled to mine.
Hope you understand.
Sorry that you did not enjoy the article. Thanks for “lighting” me up! LOL
J
@ Jonny King
Lesnar's past history has shown that what he has done has been for intrinsic reasons.
How can you say Lesnar fighting Couture was purely extrinsic? Did it ever occur to you that losing to Frank Mir and then risking a second loss in just 4 fights against the current heavy weight champion was a risk? No I guess not.
He was making millions in wrestling. He tried out for the Viking and cut his salary completely in pro wrestling to do it. He had a motorcycle accident during spring camp and was told he shouldn't complete the camp, he still did it. Then when that didn't work out, he turns to MMA where the payday for him isn't anywhere near what he was making in pro wrestling.
Does take pay cuts and losing security just to follow real competition really sound extrinsic to you? Give me a break.
Name we one other heavy weight in MMA that would have turned down a UFC heavy weight title shot against Randy Couture…. If Lesnar did turn it down you would be the same guy sitting there calling Brock a chicken. In fact you are probably the same guy calling Lashley a chicken for not asking for tougher competition.
In anything, a true winner and competitor is the guy who is willing to compete with all comers, not the guy who turns his back on a challenge because people don't think he earned that challenge yet.
The guy chose amateur wrestling to get through college, if he was really that extrinsically motivated, a guy of his size and athleticism would have been playing football and trying to land that big NFL contract in college. He made the Vikings NFL Europe team at the age of 27, not having played football since high school and that was with a broken hand, torn groing and damaged abdomen.
So jumping in to the biggest money fight you can, as fast as possible, without earning anything, passing over fighters who have earned a spot and beating a champion 10 yrs older and half your size—-is the honorable thing to do?
Lashley is in for the money? Because he doesn't jump at the biggest money fight and goes through the division, just like Lesnar should have?
This article makes no sense buddy
Hi David,
Thanks for the comment.
If any fighter doesn't want the fame, money and super hot women that can be had by being a professional fighter, then they should stick to duking it out with their older brothers in the backyard.
All I'm saying is – Lesnar isn't ONLY motivated by those things.
I can sense that you don't have a lot of respect for Lesnar, but that doesn't change the fact that he has overcome a lot and yet he gets little to no respect for it. I thought Leon summed it up pretty well in his comment.
I see the biggest differences between Lashley and Lesnar as this: Lashley is playing it safe and Lesnar throws caution to the wind. My opinion anyway – Lesnar is a risk taker and I like that.
Lesnar was offered a title fight and took it. Anyone else would have done the same. The HW division was pretty pathetic two years ago compared to what it is today. If Lesnar were making his debut today, he would never get that shot at the title so quickly.
Cheers
@ David
Lesnar could have made MUCH more money if he decided to stick with wrestling with WWE. What he has made with the UFC is a pittance compared to what he could be making wrestling right now. It isn't even remotely comparable.
Brock was given an extremely hard first fight in the UFC and he lost. Frank Mir said himself there is no shame in losing against another warrior in the octagon. Brock lost and came back stronger. How is this dishonorable? Brock wanted the toughest competition and he got it. Brock earned his victory over Mir in their second fight. Brock earned his victories over Herring and Couture.
The champion who was 10 years younger and “half” Brock's size, dominated a 263 pound Tim Sylvia and a 255 pound Gonzaga back to back before fighting Lesnar. Was it honorable for these massive heavyweights to fight such a small and old Randy Couture? The bottom line is that Couture was the champion at the time and he was still a very dangerous fighter when he fought Lesnar. Anyone who wanted the belt had to go through Couture. If a smaller fighter wants to try and compete as a HW, that's his problem and the larger opponent shouldn't be looked down upon for beating him.
Lashley is still wrestling professionally on the side and is getting two pay cheques btw. Lashley has also stated that he is ready for a big step up in his competition.
This article obviously makes more sense to some than others.
Like Brock much? Nah I'm just messin. I completely agree with this article and as always James a great read. I really hope kicks the crap outta Mir just to shut him up. As muh as I enjoy watching the current incarnation of Mir fight I just cannot stand listening to him speak. I'd rather listen to someone scratching a chalk board for an hour!! I agree that Lesnar is in it for the sake of competition. Someone as decorated a wrestler as him wouldn't do it simply for the sake of fame and money. The way he trains also shows this, like Randy he trains like a madman. It's insane what they put themselves through. Someone looking for fame and money would not put themselves through that. Not only that, why would he leave WWE, where he made a ton of money and was insanely famous. Brock is on his way to a great MMA career.
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