TUF Talk: Mike Graves felt like he was in a 'Rocky' movie in comeback win
American Top Team fighter Mike Graves used to love boxing and fighting movies like 'Rocky' until he got involved in combat sports himself.
Once he realized what it feels like to give a punch and to take one, Graves immediately turned his back on movies where the hero gets pummeled for three-quarters of the fight and then miraculously pulls out the win in the end.
Most of the time, two or three of those hard shots would finish the fight and there would be no comeback.
It took living through a situation like something out of the movies for Graves to understand that it actually can happen when a fighter is in the worst position possible and somehow finds the way to win. Just like he did in his fight against Jason Jackson on the latest episode of 'The Ultimate Fighter'.
"I always grew up watching sports movies like 'Rocky' and stuff and as I started competing I kind of got away from it," Graves said on the latest edition of the TUF Talk podcast. "I almost hate those movies because I just think they're so cliche and over dramatic and one of the things I hate about 'Rocky' movies and fighting movies, for example, a guy is getting beat up it seems like forever and he's against the ropes getting pounded and they show all these flashbacks and it seems like it's two or three minutes and the guy has been in there for a long time and it just doesn't seem realistic."
Graves found out that sometimes life imitates art because the moment he took a groin strike from Jackson and fell to the ground in pain, a million thoughts began to flood his brain.
Like his life was flashing before his eyes, the 90 seconds he was taking a beating from Jackson while trying to find a way to fight back felt more like a half-hour. A million thoughts and memories jumped into Graves' head and after finding a way to come back and win, he finally understood where the inspiration for those movies came from.
"I'm going to tell you -- that's exactly the way it is," Graves said. "After I got hit in the groin, I had numerous running through my head. I never lost before I came on the show and after that I was just getting pounded and I was thinking 'this is how it's going to end'. I'm going to get TKO'd like this. I was just thinking about everything.
"I was thinking about every single fight I've ever had in MMA, I was thinking about my wrestling matches in high school. I thought about competing in sports as a kid and my family and how everybody was going to look at this and be disappointed. It felt like an eternity in there. I was able to get out of there, but it felt like I was getting beat up for 20 or 30 minutes. Now it's more realistic for me."
To hear the rest of Graves' interview including his prediction for the season finale of 'The Ultimate Fighter' next Wednesday night listen to the newest edition of TUF Talk -- the official podcast of 'The Ultimate Fighter' â via Soundcloud.
