Brian Stann’s list of accomplishments impresses even the harshest critics.
From his well-documented military career to his run as the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) light heavyweight champion to his stint as a successful UFC light heavyweight and middleweight to his current gig with the UFC and Fox Sports, Stann has excelled everywhere he went in his professional life.
Now, as he moves away from his fighting life and settles into his roles as analyst and commentator, Stann continues to immerse himself in the sport of MMA. Instead of getting kicked and punched, however, his challenges today are more mental than physical, giving him a well-rounded and unique perspective on the fight game as a whole.
Recently, Bleacher Report caught up with Stann to gain some of his insight and to hear his thoughts on the upcoming UFC Fight Night 70 card from Hollywood, Florida.
Throughout the half-hour chat, Stann shed light on the principle motivating factor for fighters, the cause of Octagon jitters, the UFC Fight Night 70 main event between Lyoto Machida and Yoel Romero and much more.
Following is a transcript from the chat.
Bleacher Report: Hey, Brian, how is everything going, man?
Brian Stann: Hey, man, everything’s good. How are you?
B/R: I’m just wonderful. Thanks for asking. So you’re working as an analyst for this upcoming UFC Fight Night 70 card in Florida, and you’ve been involved with the UFC in several capacities since stepping down as a fighter, and I have to know…Does it give you the itch? How much different is it for you now stepping back and analyzing or commentating fights versus being directly involved in the fighting?
BS: Yeah, you know, the first year was really tough, especially when I’m at the live events. You get to be there, you get to hear it, you get to see guys walking out. That first year, there was part of me that didn’t really think I was done. I thought, OK, the things I’m discouraged with in this sport will get taken care of and maybe I’ll come back.
But the smarter side of me reminded me I made the right decision, and now I feel like I’m very fortunate to be able to do these things, to be involved with this sport. I love this sport, I love breaking it down, and more than anything I do on television, I really, really love calling live fights. I’ve done boxing, I’ve done college football and I’ve turned down a college football offer to call more fights. That’s how much I love it.
B/R: I’ve never called a fight like you do, but sometimes writers have to do a live blog where we “call” the action, and when I do that, I find that I don’t enjoy the fights as much. I’m so consumed by getting the details right and focusing on the finer points of the fight that I can’t step back and enjoy it for what it is. Do you find that to be true in your capacity as a commentator as well?
BS: Sometimes I have felt that way. I think the better I’m prepared, the less I get those feelings. I enjoy the concept of breaking down what’s happening and why for fans at home so that hopefully they can appreciate the sport more and they can appreciate the two athletes that are in there more. That’s my ultimate goal when I do it.
The parts that are not enjoyable live are that you’re never going to make everyone happy. It’s one of those positions where you just have to get used to a ton of criticism. You’re just going to receive it, and when it comes in the form of constructive criticism, I love it, because I can learn from it and improve.
When it’s the emotional ridiculousness that we see in the sea of insecurity that is Twitter, then obviously it’s just one of those things. It’s frustrating, but it doesn’t stop my desire or my love to call fights.
B/R: And to your credit and to Jon Anik’s credit, I think you’re one of the more loved broadcasting duos among fans from what I read and what I pick up on. You get a lot of love comparatively, and, while you made that transition from fighting to broadcasting seem pretty easy, I have a strong feeling there’s more to it than just the finished product we see. What were some difficulties you faced when you first went from fighter to broadcaster?
BS: There’s a way of preparing for those things that you’ve just never done before. There’s no class on it, there’s no book you can buy on what needs done. You have to go out and find people yourself who will take the time to talk to you about it and show you what needs to happen. I had some of those people, but I will say: The first year I did college football, I would literally call a game, and over the course of the next 24 hours, I would get critiqued by four different producers.
They would have individual calls with me and tell me this, this, this, X, Y and Z. It got to a point where I would get texts from one of the producers during the game if there was something he didn’t like. Through that process, I learned a tremendous amount about what my job is as a color analyst, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.
It was like going through a boot camp, and that’s when I realized the type of preparation it takes to do this job right and ultimately do it the way the athletes deserve. Because it’s about them. My job when I go out there is to represent them, get them as many fans as possible. They’re the stars of the show. It’s not about the UFC. It’s about these individual fighters—who they are, what’s their story, what’s compelling about their technique, what have they been working on, where are they failing, etc. All of those things keep people tuning in and wanting to watch those men and women fight.
I love being an ambassador for that, because I know how difficult the line of work is and the feeling of euphoria you get when you get your hand raised in the Octagon when you win.
B/R: How different are the roles themselves—on the mic, on the desk as an analyst—and how different is the preparation that goes into them?
BS: Oh, they’re totally different. When you call a fight, it’s massively more preparation. There’s no sporting event like mixed martial arts. When you call a football game, that’s a game that lasts about four hours. There’s halftime, there’s breaks in quarters, there’s commercial breaks, there’s food, you’re in a booth with all this stuff, I’ve got statisticians, I’ve got a spotter and a play-by-play person…This is fighting.
I’ve called cards that are seven hours, and you’re getting to the tail end of that, and those are the most important fights. You could be a little tired of talking. Maybe you said your little catchphrases 100 times already. It’s a totally different event.
When you do these desk shifts in the studio, I mean, in my opinion it’s the biggest scam in the world. It’s the easiest job I’ve ever had. You have 100 people there to help you be comfortable so you can do your job successfully. You’re in great air conditioning, there’s great people, there’s great food and drinks…I feel like the biggest chump in the world when I do these studio shows.
What I used to do for a living, you know, my concerns were ammo [and] how many grenades do I have? Now I’m worried about, ‘Oh, no! We have a tie clip. Where are my cuff links?’ I feel like a chump. *laughs*
B/R: That’s awesome, man. Just for some perspective on that, can you put a timeline on this preparation? When do you start preparing and how long does it take for you to get comfortable to call a card?
BS: I like to start two weeks in advance. That’s when I like to do it, and that doesn’t count the natural watching of all the fights that take place and the daily readings of MMA news sites. I’m not counting that. I would say you’re looking at no less than 15 hours of work per card. Fifteen solid hours of analysis, note taking, etc.
I will admit to over-preparing on some cards. Typically what I’ll do, when I put my daughters to bed around 8:30 at night, 9:00, that’s when I kind of go in the zone where I’m doing a lot of analysis…Me and Jon Anik, I know we’ll put in, easily an eight- to 10-hour day on Friday [before the fights] just finalization of our notes, talking about the fighters, stuff like that.
B/R: I think the preparation shows in your execution, but to build on that perspective another step, being a former fighter, you know what goes into that as well with training camps, dieting and everything else. This is obviously more mental than physical, but is it even a similar challenge? Does this even compare as far as how grueling it is overall?
BS: No, it’s totally different. When you’re a fighter, it’s incredible. The nicest thing about being retired is that you no longer have this portion of your mind that is solely and consistently dedicated to one aspect. I didn’t do a good job of illustrating that just now, but when I had a fight coming up, there’s a part of my brain that is always thinking about my opponent.
Even after I’m done training Saturday morning and now I can enjoy the rest of my Saturday and my Sunday off, I’m still going, ‘Wanderlei Silva. Wanderlei Silva. Wanderlei Silva.’ That’s going to be there.
In just a couple months or a couple weeks, you’re on national TV, and everyone you know will be watching. You get half the money if you lose and twice the money if you win. You’re fighting. So even when you’re supposed to be enjoying your life, it’s really difficult.
Then, when the fight’s over, you have this really small window where you can enjoy your life. I can do what I want. My mind is free. But then you get the call and you’re scheduled for another one, and you go right back in.
That’s difficult. And you don’t have that when you’re calling fights. This is much easier.
B/R: As the UFC roster continues to grow and expand, how much harder does that make your job? From firsthand experience, I know it gets tough, but how much harder is it when you have to know the ins and outs and then announce them on television?
BS: Ugh! I will say it’s way easier for me than it is for you. Because I get to work on certainty. I know today I’m talking about fighters on this card. If I don’t know about them, that’s my fault. I just didn’t do the right work. So it’s a lot easier for me than it is for you.
If I was doing an area radio show, it would be incredibly difficult, but I will tell you, Fight Pass is phenomenal to have. A lot of these guys on lower-level shows are making sure their fights are on YouTube, so when I need to research an individual, there are very few that I have a hard time finding some sort of information on or a way to find it.
The hardest part about it is the language barrier. When I have a fighter from Dagestan and I’m trying to talk to him or talk to his coach, now I have to talk to three different people and perhaps three different languages to talk to him. That’s really difficult.
B/R: I appreciate the insight there, and I definitely see where you’re coming from, but we have to keep this chugging along and talk about this fight card itself. We have a top-notch main event on Saturday, but you look at the rest of the card, and it leaves a little to be desired, even for hardcore fans.
What are you seeing, as an analyst, when you look at it from top to bottom?
BS: I see opportunity. I see opportunities for some guys like Lorenz Larkin and Hacran Dias. We have such a good main event that the card will still draw eyeballs, and they have to go get it. You have to go after it in this sport. No one will be a bigger advocate for you as a fighter than yourself, so this is an opportunity for some of these guys to break out a little bit.
Sometimes in this sport it’s not about the name value of a fight but the effort of the athletes. When you get guys who are letting it all hang loose and they’re getting after it, there’s no other sport like it. When you get a bunch of guys who have something to prove, that can manifest itself, and hopefully it does.
B/R: I definitely agree with you there that sometimes these cards end up being the best in application. On top of the fact that a lot of these guys get to be showcased on a national scale on television, there are quite a few fighters making their UFC debut on this card, which is a whole different layer in and of itself.
What will these debutants be feeling Saturday evening?
BS: Their nerves will be totally different, and I always say this: You rarely see the true skill set and abilities of a fighter in their UFC debut. It doesn’t matter even if they’ve fought for a long time. We’ve seen some guys from Strikeforce who stalled for a little bit then caught fire. We’ve seen it with fighters from over in Japan.
It’s a different level. It’s a different stage. It’s the best talent, and that plays a factor when they go in there. They focus so much on winning that they protect their lead on the scorecards, or other times they’re so focused on making a statement that they get overly aggressive and get caught.
Mistakes happen, and I think controlling your emotions and maintaining your composure are such important aspects for people making their debut, but it is much, much easier said than done.
B/R: Like you said, we see it time and time again, and being that you have firsthand experience here, what is it about the UFC that just causes fighters to freeze? What really causes those “Octagon jitters”?
BS: There are a lot of factors I could answer this question with, but it all funnels into one real answer: money. That’s it. This is the opportunity to make much more money than you’re going to make in any other show, and we fight on a 50 percent pay scale where if you win, you get twice the amount of money than if you lose. Nothing will give you more pressure than that.
The bottom line is, this is where guys come and they can make some real money, and that puts more pressure on them. When your pay is $25,000[to show]/$25,000[to win] or $50,000/$50,000, a win or loss with that kind of money can be the difference between paying your rent or mortgage for months.
When you lose, you can’t do all the things you want to do.
B/R: On top of that, the natural competitor in you just wants to win.
BS: Of course! Of course. But that’s something you’ll have in any organization. That’s just being a competitor. The reason the UFC is different is that all of a sudden there’s potential for much, much more.
If you’re fighting at Wild Bill’s Fight Night here in Atlanta and you’re fighting for $2,000 and $2,000—which is rare—you’re having a great night. You just don’t have the same kind of nerves fighting for $2,000 and $2,000 as you do when you’re making $10,000 and $10,000 but knowing there are fighters out there like Gilbert Melendez who make $200,000 just to show.
B/R: It’s surprising in retrospect, but you were actually one of the fighters who maybe succumbed to those pressures a little and came up short in his debut. You obviously had a long, prosperous career with the UFC still, but how did that loss affect you? How could things have been different for you if you started on a win?
BS: At that point in time, when I lost, I contemplated retirement right then and there. I knew how green I was. I knew I was starting in this sport late. I wasn’t making a whole lot of money, I had a full-time job already, I had a degree…What the hell was I doing?
The problem was, I was so competitive and I loved the sport and I knew I was capable of doing it. I just had to put in more time. Not every fighter has some of the benefits that I had. I had a lot of perspective and a lot of maturation coming in, but you can’t expect that from all these guys.
So that could have been where they cashed in and said, ‘No, I don’t want to do it anymore.’ Or it could have damaged their confidence permanently, which we’ve seen before. We’ve seen guys come in with a lot of hype, a lot of potential, and they fizzle out because they can never get that confidence back.
B/R: Absolutely, and now moving on to this main event, there are so many storylines with this one that it’s almost tough to decide where to start, but I’ll go here: Is this the right fight for Machida right now, at this stage in his career?
BS: I respect Lyoto Machida so much. He’s a true, all-class individual, and if I’m his manager? No, it’s not. If I’m the guy trying to manage his career, then no. But these guys are fighters. You can’t get that out of their blood. When the matchup against Yoel Romero was announced, when I got the call, I just couldn’t believe it, but fights like this are more exciting. That’s what’s special, and that’s why we love this sport.
So I wouldn’t want him taking that fight, specifically because of the turnaround. When you take that kind of damage, when you’re hurt so badly [as Machida was against Luke Rockhold at UFC on Fox 15], it takes longer to recover. He’s in the gym getting hit every single day, still taking cumulative shots that can degrade his ability to take damage going into a fight against a powerhouse like Romero.
The thing that he’s got to his advantage is that Romero—he fought Ronny Markes, he fought Tim Kennedy and there were these lapses. There were these times where they capitalized.
Tim Kennedy—in a different arena with a different referee—who knows? He could’ve won. That was a crazy situation. So I think Machida looks at this and sees a guy with mental lapses who loses focus sometimes, and if you lose focus against Machida, you pay a price.
B/R: And when I look at Romero, specifically, and this is just my personal take: His wrestling hasn’t looked as good as you expect it to with his accolades. He’s never broken out and just looked like this dominant, all-world wrestler inside the Octagon, but this could be the fight where he goes that route. Do you see this as his path to victory—going back to his roots and employing a wrestling-heavy attack against Machida?
BS: He has to. He’s capable of taking guys down with very little effort, and I don’t care who it is. When you talk to guys in the wrestling community at a world level about Yoel Romero, their eyes light up. He’s a legitimate world-class athlete, possibly the best athlete to ever compete in the UFC.
I’ve talked to people who have the credibility to make that kind of comment. But if you play Machida’s game and dance with him, you will pay. You may not get knocked out. You may not get submitted. But you’re surely not going to do a lot of damage to him, and it’s going to be one of those really close Machida-esque decisions again.
Romero’s gotta take Machida down multiple times. If he can control him—which isn’t an easy thing to do—then do it. And the wrestling can open up the striking of Romero. His striking isn’t at the level of Machida’s, but he’s powerful even though he’s lacking a little of the technique. So his wrestling is really the X-factor in this fight.
B/R: For Romero, if he beats Machida, that’s the biggest win of his UFC run by far. Would it be too soon for a title shot? Where would a win over the former light heavyweight champion put him?
BS: I certainly don’t think it’s too soon. You look at him and Chris Weidman, and that’s a really, really fun matchup to watch. I don’t think it’s too soon, it’s just that you have a guy like [Ronaldo] Jacare [Souza] out there, so Romero will either have to hope he gets the next shot or that he can catch Jacare and fight Jacare in a fight that’s scheduled before and jump the line.
I think, at his age, he has to keep the pedal to the metal. He came into the UFC as such a dominant athlete, so skilled in different areas, that I think he knows he wants a fast track to the title. Really, I think that path, now that we know Rockhold is fighting Weidman, I think that path goes through Jacare.
B/R: Brian, I really appreciate the time and insight, man. I’m really looking forward to this card, and I appreciate your thoughts on it.
BS: Hey, my pleasure, man. I had a blast talking to you, buddy.
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