John Makdessi , black trunks, walks past Kyle Watson who still lies on the mat in a lightweight bout at UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre on April 30 2011.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Fighter, writer. UFC lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi is both these days.
"I question things a lot," said the 30-year-old from Montreal. "I'm a very internal person. A lot of people don't know that about me."
While Makdessi says he does his talking in the cage, the 155-pounder has been jotting down his thoughts these days with an eye to a book. It came from a suggestion from sports psychologist Brian Cain.
"He told me 'Why don't you start a book about your life? Maybe you can help out some kids growing up, having struggles the way you struggled."'
Makdessi, who fights Saturday at UFC 194, wants to document the sacrifice that happens behind the scenes. And to show there is more to martial arts than fighting in a cage.
"If it was so easy, everyone would be doing it. If it was so easy, everybody would be a fighter," he said in an interview.
His Twitter feed is full of self-help tidbits like "I want to conquer, but in order to conquer I must conquer my fears."
He has teased the book via social media, offering up excerpts like: "When death smiles at a man, the only thing a man can do is smile back."
Smiling wasn't easy after Makdessi's last fight in May. Taking on top lightweight contender Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone on short notice at UFC 187, Makdessi was forced to retire late in the second round with a broken jaw.
He reckons the break was caused by an elbow or a knee, then aggravated by a head kick.
Cerrone's eighth straight win earned the No. 2 lightweight contender a Dec. 19 title shot against Rafael dos Anjos. Makdessi, meanwhile, pondered his future with a jaw wired shut for four weeks. It was supposed to be six weeks, but Makdessi proved to be a quick healer.
"The doctor said I healed like a lizard," Makdessi said.
Still the injury kept him away from the gym for almost two months.
The five-foot-eight Makdessi, who had stopped Shane Campbell in the first round 28 days earlier, was giving up five inches in height and reach to Cerrone.
Cerrone paid tribute to the Canadian in a post-bout tweet.
"You are one bad ass dude, brought the fight to me and stepped up when so many would not! ufc needs more like you."
Makdessi (12-4) returns to the cage on the UFC 194 undercard to face Yancy Medeiros (11-3-0 with one no contest).
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo meets interim title-holder (The Notorious) Conor McGregor in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena while Chris Weidman defends his middleweight crown against Luke Rockhold in the co-main event.
"I like to fight on the big cards," Makdessi said. "I find the big cards always gives me that extra motivation to entertain the crowd and to put on an exciting crowd."
Medeiros, who is 2-3-0 in the UFC with one no contest, is coming off a June first-round stoppage at the hands of Dustin Poirier. The Hawaii native has a good chin and has won two performance of the night bonuses.
Makdessi, who can weigh as much as 180 pounds when not fighting, says he is a tweener — a small lightweight (155 pounds) but not willing to put his body through the torment of dropping down to featherweight (145).
So, focusing on details, he has worked hard to improve his game.
"I've had enough time to recover from my last fight," said Makdessi, who has been competing in martial arts since he was six. "Enough time to sit back, reassess the mistakes.
"I'm a new version of John Makdessi ... It's going to be interesting come fight night."