How to handle fight night nerves

You will be nervous before your fight. Everyone is, including people who've fought many times. Nerves aren't a sign you're not ready. They're your body getting ready. The aim isn't to make them go away, it's to keep them at a level you can use.

It's normal, and it's useful

The racing heart, the dry mouth and the urge to go to the toilet five times are adrenaline. It's the same response that makes you sharper and faster once the bell goes. Think back to the last time you were properly nervous: a job interview, a speech, a big presentation. You got through it, and the nerves were part of why you did it well.

Remember that your opponent is almost certainly feeling exactly the same.

Train hard, fight easy

The best cure for nerves is knowing you've done the work. Fight camp is built so nothing on the night is new:

• You'll have done the rounds. A fight is three 2-minute rounds, and you'll have practised exactly that in simulated bouts during camp.
• You'll know your opponent. 96% of fighters spar their opponent before fight night.
• You'll have a plan. Week 7 is your fight plan and your best combinations.
• You'll be fresh. Fight week is light pads and movement, a weigh-in and a team briefing. The hard work is already done.

Every session you turn up to is one less thing to worry about on the night. If you miss sessions, nerves have more to feed on.

Fight week

• Sleep. The night before the night before matters most, because you probably won't sleep well the night before.
• Eat. Nerves kill appetite, and an empty tank shows in round three. Eat a proper meal a few hours before you fight, food you know sits well with you.
• Sort your kit early. Gloves, wraps, gum shield, groin guard, and shin guards for Muay Thai. Pack it the day before, not the hour before.
• Sort your people. Tickets, tables and travel should be settled before fight day, so you aren't answering messages in the changing room.
• Don't change anything. Fight week is not the time for new food, new kit or a new routine.

On the night

• Have a routine. The same warm-up, the same music in your headphones, the same order of putting your kit on. Routine tells your brain this is familiar.
• Breathe slowly. In through the nose, long breath out through the mouth. A longer out-breath than in-breath calms you down.
• Lean into the nerves. Notice them and name them, rather than trying to push them away. Ignoring them usually makes them louder.
• Save your energy. Don't spend the hours before your fight on your feet chatting to everyone. You can celebrate after.
• Enjoy the ring walk. It's your moment, in front of the people who backed you. Take it in.
• Listen to your corner. Between rounds, sit, breathe and do one thing they tell you.

In their words

Our fighters on the nerves, in their own words.

“I was absolutely terrified! You can’t really prevent the amount of anxiety that’s going to happen, no matter how much experience you’ve got. But I had a really good support network, which was a massive bonus.”
Gemma, read her story

“By the time I got to the fight night I’d lost about 16lb in eight weeks - I felt quite good about myself. And I’d trained really hard, I don’t think I could have done any more. But the week leading up to it, particularly the Thursday and the Friday, I was really nervous.”
Tom, 52, read his story

“Take the training seriously and you’ll enjoy fight night more.”
Donna, read her story