“It brought back the martial artist,” said Solecki. “I saw different comments like, ‘Boring fighter,’ ‘We don’t think his ceiling’s as high,’ and stuff I never cared about was starting to play in and I saw myself becoming that guy again.”
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“That guy” is the type of fighter who is all-fighting, all the time, 24/7. He’s the guy wearing out his UFC FIGHT PASS account watching Shooto at 4am on a Sunday morning. To be honest, there’s nothing wrong with that. But when you’re a husband, father and instructor, balance is key, something he was reminded of by the example set by teammates John Salter and Bryan Barberena.
“You can be that at 23-24,” Solecki said. “That’s not my role. I’m a martial artist, I’m an instructor at our gym. I had to be present at the gym and then re-learn how to shut that off when I go home. It’s been such a good experience since then. I’ve been having so much fun again.”
As an honest man, Solecki does admit to sometimes pulling his phone out after his wife and daughter go to sleep to watch fights but, for the most part, he’s been good. And with the balance right, his only mission after the Gordon fight was to compete again. It didn’t even need to be in the Octagon, as he competed in the Abu Dhabi trials and even defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a grappling match.
