Fedor loses and fans lose out too

Here's an excerpt from an article on sherdog.com. Pat Miletich was interviewed on his perspective on the recent Fedor loss to Fabricio Werdum last Saturday night.
"Pat Miletich: I watched in amazement as Fedor was submitted by Fabricio Werdum. My heart sank not for Fedor but for the reality of perfection that is not attainable in the sport of MMA. All experienced fighters know you’re going to lose if you’re fighting world-class opponents, but Fedor was different.

I remember when he came on the scene in the Rings organization. My fighters and I were competing there during the dark years of the UFC. Nobody even noticed Fedor at first, but that soon changed. He was wrecking name fighters standing up and on the ground. I found it puzzling how this guy, short and average looking, was able to beat guys like Ricardo Arona.

We all know what followed, as Fedor would go on to mow through great fighters in their prime in the Pride organization.

Today on all the forums, Twitter and Facebook, people are saying they knew he wasn't the best fighter in the world. Really? All I can say is, he wasn't (Saturday) night.

Fabricio Werdum was insistent in his interview that Fedor is the best in the world. I respect Fabricio for saying this. This shows true class from a true world-class fighter, and Werdum is a true fighter. What Fedor said was something only a man like he could say. Fedor said, "A man that does not fall, does not stand up.”

I just wonder who out of all those who are so critical of this man will stand in front of him when he stands back up?"

Amazing insight from a great talent in MMA. Pat Miletich's camp was the first truly MMA fight camp that dominated the sport at the highest levels. People also forget that Pat is a BJJ black belt.
Most people can't tell the difference between a good win and a bad loss.  If you talk to fighters they would tell you that getting beat by a dominant fighter is acceptable if it was a competitive and close fight. In contrast, fighters will tell you that losing a fight because of technical errors or bad preparation on their part is more like they beat themselves than anything else.   

I've been working with fighters for 3 decades from competing to coaching, but the mental aspects of the game - the motivations and the ambitions - are always dangerously close to warping a fighter's point of view on life and always impacts performance whether for better or worse. The thing I can help a young fighter out with most are the mental aspects of perspective and awareness.
Perspective and awareness... It's why I still roll and put on the gloves. Is there any activity other than fighting where an individual's self-identity/ego are one with one's performance?
Often times people (not the gym rats I know) will come up to me after an MMA event where I was corner for a training partner or refereed and they ask me why I don't fight anymore. I immediately think to myself, "You don't know me, where I've been, and you don't know what I'm doing at least 7 hours a week for the past five years." Then I actually smile and tell them something like, "It's a sport for the young men and women." It's a BS excuse for the uninitiated - those who have never been on the inside of the cage.
Perspective and awareness - Fedor said, "A man that does not fall does not stand up."
Whether it be in a ring or in a cage or on a mat, fighting exposes a lot truth about the inner person that nothing else does. I wish everybody interested enough in the sport to make uninformed opinions on fighters like Fedor got to train like Fedor for a few years.
There's hidden value found in rolling/sparring stand-up that I absolutely believe that those fans who love to watch it but don't do it truly lose out on the perspective of oneself in relation to everybody else and the awareness helps with all aspects of life.