UFC's Mark Munoz sought sports psychologist to change mindset

(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

BERLIN – Sports psychologists are nothing new in the big leagues, but they’re still a relatively rare occurrence in the still-growing world of MMA.

It’s not easy, after all, to seek professional help in understanding one’s frailties when your job is expose others’ in the most physical way possible.

Mark Munoz, however, is another exception to the tough-lug persona. The UFC middleweight recently joined the ranks of UFC fighters who’ve used a mental coach, nearly one year after he revealed a battle with depression that caused him to balloon in weight.

“The reason why I sought it out was because every time I lost a fight, I wasn’t mentally prepared, and I wasn’t thinking right,” he told USA TODAY Sports.

After a high-profile knockout loss to Lyoto Machida, Munoz enlisted sports psychologist Ken Baum, who also worked with his longtime training partner, UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger, and other athletes.

The 35-year-old Munoz (13-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) believes the coach has put him in the right frame of mind to win against Gegard Mousasi (34-4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a Saturday headliner at UFC Fight Night 41. And if he forgets what to do on fight night, Baum will be in his corner at O2 Arena in Berlin.

“He’s given me cues to remind me of who I am and what I do best,” Munoz said.

Munoz described a series of physical actions he’s conditioned to perform during the bout, such as stomping his foot, touching his index finger to his thumb, or saying a word. Combined with visualization techniques, he said they bring focus to his fighting.

Both middleweights need a boost if they’re to make another run at a title. After beating Munoz this past fall, Machida put a halt to Mousasi’s near-term title aspirations in February.

“If you were to ask somebody what it takes to be a champion, they’re going to say desire, diligence, heart, character,” Munoz said. “They’re going to say all these attributes that begin with the mind. You do have to do the physical things, but you’ve got to do the mental (training), as well.

“(Baum) changed my way of thinking about training, he’s changed the way I think about fighting, and he’s opened doors. He’s able to teach an old dog new tricks.”

Of course, there’s no guarantee those tricks will work, the fighter admits. While Munoz’s triumph over depression led to a dominant UFC victory, he can’t be sure he’ll get the same result with the new coach.

The program apparently didn’t work for Ellenberger, who Munoz said “didn’t perform the way he was training during camp” in a recent TKO loss to Robbie Lawler.

But Munoz believes he’ll have a different type of result.

“I understand what I’m best at. I’m confident I’ll be able to go in there and do what I need to do to be victorious.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 41, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.