UFC 2's Fred Ettish: 'I'm Never Going To Fail Greatly Again'
Why did you decide to return?
There's a lot of unsettledness within me that's been there every since UFC 2, and I've tried stuffing it down. I've tried working through it, I've tried a number of things to deal with the unsettledness of how I feel from what happened at UFC 2 and I haven't been successful putting it away so I came to the conclusion there's only one way to put that stuff to rest and that is to go out and actually perform up to my capabilities which I did not do the first time at all.
Are you unsettled about the loss itself or the ridicule that followed?
Neither. Everybody loses at some point. I happened to lose in my first and so far only fight. Losing is something we all have to deal with throughout our lives in any number of different ways. The manner in which I lost, the manner in which I perform -- failed to perform -- is what bothers me the most. At this point in my life what other people are saying about me, what other people's opinions are: the jokes, the ridicule, that kind of thing, doesn't really make any difference to me anymore. Sure it irritates me a little bit but that is not what drives me. I'm not driven to prove anything to anybody. I'm not driven to try and shut anybody up. People are going to say what they are going to say, they are going to have their opinions.
Read the full interview
good for him
i thought i saw him on the brain damage thread talking about having seizures and stuff though? i hope he's not suffering that level of damage already and still competing
good attitude and i wish him the best.
he was relentlessly riduculed for years on here,websites the whole nine yards.
Kick ass Fred
good for fred. he sounds like a positive person.
MikeZev - good for fred. he sounds like a positive person.
The best!!
Go Fred! We're rootin for you!
HE FIGHTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!
Talked to him yesterday about 5pm. He and his wife were in rush hour in Minn and he's relaxed and chilled.
TTT
He is a champion in my mind already. The guy is just a good human being.
Definite props to Fred. I remember watching him in 1994, and the way he lost forever changed my perception of both TMA and MMA (of course, neither had those initials at the time). The fact that the loss caused him not to retreat but to change paths and keep moving forward is pretty inspirational.
Go Fred!
Rooting for Fred, hope he wins. But if he doesn't at least I hope he puts on a performance that makes him proud of himself and gets rid of his UFC demons.
WAR FRED ETTISH!
You're already a champ Fred.
Good Luck for the fight.
jason hornbuckle - good for him
i thought i saw him on the brain damage thread talking about having seizures and stuff though? i hope he's not suffering that level of damage already and still competing
I think that was somebody else with a similar screen name.
Best of luck to Fred. Is there any way to watch the fight live online?
Dojosensei - HE FIGHTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!
Best of luck Fred!
I am only speaking for myself. I do not train, I want to but I keep putting it off, soon I may be too old, but that doesn't matter.
The point is Fred ettish will always have something over me:
HE STEPPED UP, AND PLAYED A PART IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SPORT
No matter how many ppv's I buy, I will never be able to contribute as much as any of the early guys did. They should all be respected, even if they lost. Some may have only been there by chance, it doesn't matter, they were all important. Without them, the sport wouldn't be the way it is, or possibly exist.
I really hope fred gets to put that dog on his shoulder to rest.
Rings and Cages, Inc is fully behind you man, GET IT DONE!!!!
Best of luck to him.
You cant keep a good man down.
Fred is a fighter but I say his greatest wepon is his resilient character.
Given the Sh*t that guy took on this forum early on I'm amazed he ever posts here. The guy has a lot of guts. I hope he performs well.
HBM
Fred is one of best people you could hope to know.
He is driving today to MN for his fight.
GO TEAM ETTISH.
Get em Fred...