It’s perfectly fine to pursue a dream, but this opportunity was served with a silver spoon and he choked on it. When the UFC signed Brooks, then-UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta claimed his first opponent would be someone “recognizable.” Instead, they handed him unknown Mickey Gall, someone who started out in the minor leagues and was perfect through just two professional fights.
Make that an easy three.
Being a pro athlete isn’t a right of passage, it’s a privilege that only a very small fraction of the population get to experience. Even in a sport as relatively new as MMA, most have to earn their way into the big leagues.