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Let’s try.
Assume that every fighter who straps on the gloves wants to make it to the pinnacle of the sport, which is the biggest promotion in the world, the UFC. Think of every training camp, every fight in front of a handful of fans, every sacrifice, every loss at the worst possible time, every month passing by without that call.
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Witt saw it all through 22 pro fights. And he waited. Then Ramiz Brahimaj was a late scratch from his bout with Sato in June.
“Hey, can you jump on a plane and get to Vegas?”
Witt said he could. And he would. He didn’t ask questions.
But I have one. If it was a call from a promotion with any other three letters printed on the gloves, would he have gotten on that plane?
“No, absolutely not,” Witt said. “The UFC is the only place I wanted to be and that’s where I felt I belonged, and with the performance before that (a win over Zak Bucia in February), I knew that’s where I should be going. So 48 hours, only for the UFC.”
Only the UFC.
“It’s an opportunity to better my life, to better my wife’s life, to accomplish something that I’ve always wanted to accomplish in my life,” said the 33-year-old Witt.
Another question. Despite the outcome, does he at least take satisfaction in taking his shot, the Hail Mary with seconds left, the jumper from the corner with the game on the line, the swing for the fences on an 0-2 pitch?
“Absolutely,” he said. “I think you have to. There’s not a lot of people that would be put in my shoes and say yes. I was a person that stayed ready the whole time, so win, lose or draw, I can look back and say, ‘I did this and I don’t regret that.’ I think a lot of people live with regrets, and that’s something I don’t like living with, so I’m gonna be happy to take that walk and be happy with myself.”