MPG Letter Issue #5
My UFC Debut, Birthday festivities, and PFL Thoughts
My UFC Debut
My UFC debut couldn’t have started off on a more monumental card!
Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It was insane!! Mentally, I was in a dream. It was almost an out of body experience. Like I was in 3rd person, watching myself there.
Everything from signing fight posters next to Rumble Johnson (RIP 🙏) and Rick Story, to seeing Conor walk around with his entourage. It was all surreal. My inner fight fan couldn’t hold it in. So I was trying to take as many pictures as possible!
Even after my fight, I got home and it still didn’t feel real. I was questioning if it all just happened. Then reality hit. It wasn’t my night that night. I started to think about losing. Am I ready for this big of a stage? Is it too much?
As some of you guys know from MPG Letter #3, I waited on the sidelines for 7 months to get my shot in the UFC. Now that it’s happened, a storm of unhealthy negative thoughts were clouding my head.
This was something I knew I needed to fix right away. So I employed a local sports psychologist, Ethan Bregman. Dr. Bregman made me realize that I wasn’t as much “in the moment” as I thought I was. I was more concerned about what was going on around the fight - lights, cameras, and fans. Instead, I needed to be focused on my opponent and that’s it.
To help me dial in my focus, you won’t believe the exercise Dr. Bregman gave me. It sounds simple, but it was super challenging!
I had to wash a plate for a few mins without thinking about anything but the task at hand.
As soon as I started, my mind started to drift off. This sh*t was HARD! I think my mind drifted every few seconds. But at the end of the day, this exercise was so enlightening. Now I knew what the problem was, and it was up to me to conquer it.
And you might be thinking, it probably only takes a couple days to overcome this challenge. It is just washing a plate after all. No! It took me weeks to truly train my thoughts and silence my mind so I can conquer the feat. Try it! You’ll see what I mean.
Now with my mind dialed in, I fought again two months later. This time I was in enemy territory. My opponent was the Latin America Ultimate Fighter Winner, Erick Montano. And we were fighting in front of his home crowd in Mexico City.
But that didn’t phase me. I went in there and knocked him out in 54 seconds.
It was a major moment, because that’s what I do, and that’s who I am.
I belong here.
Birthday Festivities 🎂
37 never felt so fine!
Bday started early on Sunday at my favorite breakfast spot, the Morning Fork. I wanted to do something with my older son since he is going to be at his mom’s on my actual bday. After a delicious brunch, we walked our bellies off at Sutters Fort. Sutters is a historic location in Sacramento. Overall, chill day.
A couple days later, my lady convinced me to enjoy some time in Tahoe. And I’m happy I did.
Stayed in a wonderful suite in Incline Village, the hot bed of Tahoe. Bday dinner was at Hell’s Kitchen, where I had the best steak “bite for bite” ever ever ever 👌. But we couldn’t stay too long. Had to get out of there before the big snow storm hit!
Pain’s Picks
We’re back with Pain’s Picks this weekend for a stacked Fight Night card!
The homies from Team Alpha Male, Guida and Elkins, are fighting. Shoutout to my guys Michael Johnson and Niko Price. Even my big brotha Eryck Anders is in the mix.
And to top it off, there’s a couple big welterweight matchups that I’m looking forward to. I can’t wait for the hostilities!
If you want to know who I’m rockin’ with for predictions, make sure you subscribe to Pain’s Picks on my Instagram @maxpaingriffin. It’s only $5/month. You could probably find $5 in your laundry right now or skip a day of Starbucks!
PFL Thoughts
Holy hell. Six $1M Winners.
First off, congrats to my teammate Aspen for her debut victory!
Second…. man, I honestly had no idea Wilkinson or Pacheco were ex-UFC. None of them could hang. Look at them now. Impressive.
But not every fight was that great.
Those guys that fought for the 170 Millie…. I was not impressed. No urgency, no bad intentions. It was weak AF. Both guys 👎
Meme of the Week 😂
IYKYK.
Max Pain CBD
My hand is healing along nicely! And you already know what I use to help keep the inflammation down!
I’ve tried a lot of other CBD products out there with no success. So instead of going through brand after brand, I decided to make my own.
You gotta be careful with what you put in your body! I’m sourcing the best ingredients so I can guarantee I know what’s going in each gummy, oil, and topical.
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Last week I ran a Thanksgiving giveaway for a 1/1 Max Griffin autographed rookie card!
My team will be emailing a winner today, so check your email! Appreciate everyone for participating.
That ends this week’s MPG Letter. Appreciate you for your readership and I hope you’re enjoying these!
If you’re new here, hit ya boy with a subscribe below. I’ll be doing some more cool stuff with newsletter subscribers in the future.
Let’s get it! #Paintrain
Max “Pain” Griffin
🙏😎 max Griffin .
Need I say more . Ty ty ty ♥️😎
ILL WALK FROM IDAHO TO SAC. FOR AN AUTO G4APHED CARD 😁👍