UFC newcomer ‘charging up chi’ for UFC 202 debut vs. Colby Covington

UFC debutante Max ‘Pain’ Griffin is looking to get his feet wet inside of the premier MMA league as he is slated to face former Pac-10 (now Pac-12) wrestling champion Colby Covington at UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor II on August 20, 2016. Max Griffin spoke to Bloody Elbow about his thoughts on his upcoming opponent and to the importance of a healthy mindset when marching into battle.

The 12-2 Max ‘Pain” touched on how a loss to Chidi Njokuani was necessary for him to learn the importance of the mental facet of fighting:

“That loss was more mental. My mind wasn’t in it… I was prepared. The gameplan was on. My cardio. Best shape ever. Ready to go. But your mind has to be there. It’s more mind. All fights. And after I figured that, my mind will never be altered again. It will never be tarnished by anything. So my mind power went up from that.”

Max Griffin explains how he gains confidence through the use of meditation:

“I meditate a little bit and I’m a strong believer in energy. Like chi and vibes… It’s energy. It’s real. Chi’s real. I have exercises where I charge up. Charge up my chi before I walk out and what not. I started actually meditating on a consistent basis… I started doing it and I noticed changes. It’s unreal how you feel when you can’t calm your mind. It’s really for your mind. If you’re mind is sound you’re not nervous. I mean they’res nerves don’t get me wrong but the confidence is there to just do whatever. I think that’s what makes me confident.”

Max Griffin gave his thoughts on his two time All American opponent Colby Covington:

“He’s good. You know this. Everyone in the UFC should be good. He’s a great wrestler; an All American as you know. But people haven’t seen a lot of stuff that I can do. I’ve been fighting wrestlers my whole life; training with wrestlers my whole life. My coach is an All American from Iowa. We got wrestling covered. Got a lot of good wrestling defense on the tricky stuff. It’s going to be interested to see what he tries to do. They say he might try to strike but, I doubt it. But also you have to know that the cage is giant which plays in my favor. So we’ll see. I’ll move around. Hurt him. Put him away. That’s the plan.”

Check out Max Griffin make his UFC debut against Colby Covington at UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor II on August 20, 2016. Follow Bloody Elbow for full event coverage including previews, results, highlights and more!