C.B. Dollaway
Long before the force of Lyoto Machida’s left leg reverberated through his body, C.B. Dollaway was thinking of the future. As in, what might happen if he won at UFC Fight Night 58.
You could hardly blame him for fantasizing a little. After all, he’d gotten this far. He’d upset Vitor Belfort protege Cezar Ferreira in Brazil. Then he upset Georges St-Pierre protege Francis Carmont in Berlin. He’d asked for more money on his next contract and gotten it.
The guy that didn’t get a single question at “The Time is Now” press conference was one step away from a title shot. Momentum was behind him.
Lyoto Machida and C.B. Dollaway
Until that kick.
Less than a minute into their UFC Fight Night 58 headliner, Machida swung his left leg at Dollaway, who mistakenly thought it was coming at his head. He raised his arm to block it, and the kick sunk into his ribs, instantly sucking the life out of him. In just 62 seconds, the fight was over.
For the past three months, Dollaway (15-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC), who at UFC 186 meets Michael Bisping (25-7 MMA, 15-7 UFC), has thought a lot about the past. What he might have done differently. How he made such a classic error. And how he’s arrived at another classic conclusion among athletes – that only the present is important.
“I let a lot of stuff get to me, looking into what that fight could bring, and if I win, I’m one fight away from a title, or maybe I could get a title shot,” he told MMAjunkie. “All this sh-t and not worrying about fighting Lyoto. You’ve got to win first.”
Dollaway brushes aside the idea that, sometimes, stuff just happens and no amount of mental preparation or living in the moment can stop it from happening. It’s a lot more acceptable to be negligent than helpless.
“That fight, I had a lot of different nerves I don’t usually have,” he said. “I don’t think so much that it was Lyoto Machida; it was the pressure of, ‘I can win this, I’ve gotta win this fight,’ instead of just going out and just fighting.”
And so, Dollaway promises he’s going to live in the moment for his meeting with Bisping, which co-headlines UFC 186 on April 25 at Montreal’s Bell Centre. To Dollaway, the fight isn’t just a chance for the winner to get back on track. It’s kind of a loser leaves town situation, if leaving town means staying even remotely in the conversation of top contenders.
Bisping’s title hopes were quashed this past November by Luke Rockhold, leading many MMA fans and pundits pretty much to dismiss his chances of ever getting a shot at the belt. Most fans never gave Dollaway much of a chance to do that, so it’s hard to inflate the stakes of the meeting. But for Dollaway, the fight presents a turning point.
And isn’t it hard for any UFC veteran not to look at trips to the promotion’s octagon in the same way? Imagining a sudden reversal of fortune might be wishful thinking, but maybe it’s the kind that motivates you on tough days in the gym. It might be a lot more useful than the kind that prompts you to cash career checks before they clear.
“One of us is going to go one way, and one of us is going to go the other,” Dollaway said. “Unfortunately, it’s going to be him. I’m still young in this sport. I’ve got a lot to prove; I feel like he’s got a (commentator) job at FOX. I don’t know if he’s got one foot out the door.”
One thing Dollaway is sure of is what kind of fight he’ll get, which is a comforting thing after such a random outcome four months ago. The way he sees it, there won’t be much time to think when the opening bell rings.
“I love the way he fights,” Dollaway said. “He’s in your face. As compared to the last guy I fought, who’s just elusive – he was hard to find training partners for, and when I got in there, he was obviously very elusive there. Michael Bisping, he’s going to come right after me. I have no doubt about that in my mind. He’s going to have a high pace off the bat, and we’re going to get down.”
For more on UFC 186, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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