Mike Pierce - From Learning to Lose to Fighting to Win
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- Category: UFC News
- Published on Wednesday, 03 August 2011 05:00
- Written by By Thomas Gerbasi
Coach Bruce Robnett didn’t pull any punches when sophomore Mike Pierce walked into the Barlow High School wrestling room to prepare for his second year on the mat.
“This year,” he said. “You’re gonna learn how to lose.”
Not exactly the rah-rah, you can do it, stuff you hear on afterschool specials, but wrestlers and their coaches never were the sentimental type. And after what he described as a “fun” freshman year, the teenage Pierce did get a particularly harsh dash of tough love that second season.
“I really got beat on sophomore year,” said Pierce with a chuckle. “It was frustrating because I was losing, but at the same time I could see the progress I was making, and then after that year I stuck it in my head ‘okay, this is my year.’ And I went from not placing at State the previous year to winning the State title the next year, so that made me feel good.”
In all, Pierce took home two Oregon State championships during his high school career, in 1998 and 1999, and in addition to his own determination and talent on the mat, he can also thank Robnett and a teammate who remains a training partner in his current gig as a mixed martial artist, WEC vet Dave Jansen.
“He was the guy I had the biggest rivalry with and he would kick my butt,” said Pierce of Jansen. “I would literally challenge him every single week for the varsity spot and he would beat me every single time. But then that junior year, we were in different weight classes and I ended up doing really well and winning state. It was us two pushing each other and beating on each other that made us better.”
Pierce went on to wrestle briefly at Portland State University before eventually settling into the world of pro MMA in 2007. He has since won 12 of 15 bouts, including nine of his last 10, with his only loss in that stretch coming to top welterweight contender Jon Fitch. But despite his success, Pierce is still seen as being in the prospect stage of his career, something he would like to change with Saturday’s UFC 133 bout against fellow wrestler Johny Hendricks.
