The MMA Rules of School

It was early in life I realized being good at sports could take me a long way in life. It landed me a scholarship and offered a career path. It wasn’t until my mom put me in a proverbial rear naked choke to ingrain the importance of finishing college that I looked seriously at what I might want to do after my glory days in soccer came to an end.

I love a rags to riches success story as much as the next person, but the real backbone of the capitalist system stays strong by the hard work and dedication of people who strive to make themselves better, day by day.

Recently, Ultimate Fighter Championship legend and Mixed Martial Arts expert, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell retired from fighting. He is credited with helping to bring the sport into mainstream America, and ended his career with 21 wins – 13 by the way of knock out – and eight losses, according to his Web site.

While his fighting career is impressive and intimidating, it’s what he will use and do next that will define the rest of his life. The Iceman has branded everything from t-shirts to toys. He makes public appearances and has even been featured on Dancing with the Stars.

Based on his skill in wrestling, Liddell landed a scholarship to California Polytechnic State University. However, it was his skills in the classroom that led to a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and Accounting in 1995.

Today, those skills could come in handy as he has to make decisions about hiring, recruiting, training and trusting people with his future and his empire. I wish I knew The Iceman personally so I could say how much or little he is using his school experience. That is only my pipe dream.

I do know the schooling I fell back on is what supports me now. The glory days of championships, trophies and traveling across the country to find the best competition are over. Thanks to my journalism degree, I can still relive those days in my writing. However, I can also carve a new path with every sentence I write or every story I tell.

It will be interesting to see how The Iceman uses his non-athletic skills moving forward. If he performs anything like he does in the ring, it will be a knockout.


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Staci Dennis is a freelance writer and blogger for Nexxt. She uses her job skills and life experience to formulate unique and clever blogs and stories.