You need to have a brutal honesty with yourself. Did I do everything possible to win that fight? What didn't I do?

"You need to have a brutal honesty with yourself. Did I do everything possible to win that fight? What didn't I do? And analyze honestly, without bias, from a technical standpoint. And then ask yourself, `Did I do everything in my training to prepare?' It's about moving forward. We plague ourselves with stupidity, with bad thoughts. We put our brains in that prison. You can carry that fear with you, inside you, and it can keep you from changing for the better." 

You prepare your mind to suffer and inflict suffering. You delete a part of your compassion. There's a certain amount of brutality-to offer violence. Or you're vulnerable. I didn't always feel that way. Before the Sherk fight it was always just part of my job, just compete. Now I want to kill that guy. Whatever I can do within the rules with the utmost brutality. I won't hesitate.

Every fight there's more wood on the fire, more bad intentions the closer I get. I've been programmed." Because without it you're a sitting duck.

Emotions always run out. You can't fight on emotion or adrenaline. At the end of the day, you have to have a love for it, something that lasts forever, because that will carry you. You can only be mad for so long. It can help you, but anytime you make decisions based on emotions you'll make a decision without all the information, it's inconsistent." 

He continues, "Whereas if I'm just focused on the techniques and strategy of the fight, on the fluidity of the fight, on what needs to be done tactically, then I'll make the right decisions. Instead of just being mad, `Oh, he punched me, I'll punch him.' That changes things. You need to be able to stay calm.

The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game by Sam Sheridan