Brian Stann
Middleweight fighter Brian Stann (11-4) is looking to take a personal tragedy in his life, the passing of his brother-in-law last December, by turning it into a positive.
In Stann’s mind he wants to use his upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 2 bout with Alessio Sakara as a way of memorializing his brother-in-law by “showing once again that adversity can be overcome with a strong family and a positive outlook.”
Stann and Sakara meet next month in Stockholm, Sweden in the co-main event of the FUEL TV event on April 14, 2012. The former Marine enters the fight on a loss, having been submitted by Chael Sonnen at UFC 136 last October.
In a Blog for FOX Sports, Stann talked about losing his brother-in-law, Louie, the effects of the death on him and his family, as well as his preparations for the upcoming fight.
Unlike the Sonnen loss, the death of my brother-in-law was a genuinely trying situation. I remember the moment I heard the news like it was only yesterday. We were in baggage claim when I got the call. It was our first time home in Pennsylvania, where we planned to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our families. I had to tell my wife the news as we landed in Pennsylvania. There is nothing worse than watching the woman you love be completely devastated and heartbroken by a piece of news you’ve delivered to her. It was one of the lowest points of my life.
A lot of people would use an tragedy like this as a potential excuse if they were then unable to perform to their best come fight night. But I can assure everybody reading this, as well as my opponent, Alessio Sakara, that I will be more than ready come April 14. There will be nothing else in the world that I would rather do on that night than step into the octagon and fight.
In fact, after the tragedy I spoke to my family and all the guys at the gym, and everybody came to me with the same advice — they all said I needed to get back in there and compete as soon as possible. No good would come from contacting the UFC and asking for some time off. This is what I do, and this is what I do to provide for my family. Also, my brother-in-law was a big supporter of my career and would have hated for me to either just give up or put the whole thing on hold.
As we’ve moved closer to this April 14 date, my wife has made a conscious effort to use my fight as a necessary distraction for herself as well. She’s helping me prepare and has invested emotionally into this fight. She’s also turning the whole episode into a positive and is opening up a foundation in her brother’s name. That really shows the strength of my wife.
Adversity is always what truly defines people, and last Christmas was the most testing time for my family — for me, my wife, my kids and everybody else. It was as tough a situation as any of us have experienced. In my mind, this fight on April 14 will go some way to memorializing Louie and showing once again that adversity can be overcome with a strong family and positive outlook. In light of everything that’s happened, I’ve never in my life been more determined and motivated to win a fight. This is the absolute worst time to fight me right now.