Now that I’m more seasoned, I welcome the time off between fights. Downtime is a good thing, allowing my body time to heal and rest. I mix up my life now with heavy training days, light training days, and some days when I do nothing. 

Mentally I have to shift gears, or I’d have burned out long ago. There are some days when I take my mind off training completely. I welcome being able to spend some hours at an amusement park or wilderness area – something. 

Ideally I like to fight about 3 times a year. This spaces out visits to the octagon every four months. This allows me a few weeks off, a month of training light, and 2 months of very serious fight preparation. 

If fights are closer I don’t get any downtime, and if they’re further apart I get a bit antsy.