Losing Twice to the Same Opponent: What Comes Next

I am a professional Muay Thai fighter with a record of 6-2-0 from 8 fights. Both of my losses were to the same opponent, Maddie Barone, and both were decisions. The first was at Destiny Muay Thai 31 on 30 May 2026. The rematch was at Destiny Muay Thai 32 on 29 August 2026. I lost that one too.

Those are the facts, and I am going to keep to them. I am not going to tell you a tidy story about what it meant, because I would rather give you something you can use. This is what I think the mental work looks like when you have to step back in against someone who has already beaten you, and what I take into my coaching because of it.

Start with what is true

After a loss, the mind loves a headline. "I can't beat her." "I'm not good enough." Notice how quickly those sentences arrive, and notice that they are about the future and about your whole ability, which one night cannot tell you.

So I start with a short factual list:

• The result of the fight.
• The work I completed in camp.
• The skills I can point to.
• The wins on my record.

My record has six wins on it: Scarlett Mahony at Infliction Fight Series 34 on 16 December 2023, then Julia Eddy, Lani Williams, Katie Judge-Colecliffe, Bec Mackenzie Ross and Kay Bowman. Those fights happened, and so did the two losses. Both sets of facts sit on the same page. If a statement in your head contains "always" or "never", check it against the list.

Separate who you are from what happened

A result is something that happened on a night. Your identity is built from far more than that: your preparation, your habits, how you treat people, what you keep showing up to do.

This separation takes practice, and it does not mean you stop caring about the result. You can want to win badly and still refuse to let a decision define you. A useful exercise is to finish this sentence in two ways: "The result was..." and "I am someone who...". The first is about the night. The second is about the person who walked into the gym on the Monday after.

Review the loss with questions

When you are ready, and a little time has passed, review the fight with your coach. I like questions, because questions keep you curious and blame narrows your attention.

1. What did I do well that I want to keep?
2. Which exchanges would I like to change?
3. Which decisions were hard to make under pressure?
4. What part of the plan do I want to look at again?

I would also sort what comes up into two piles. A technical gap goes to your coach and your training plan. A mental pattern, such as hesitation, self-doubt or losing focus, is something you can train directly. Keep the piles separate and you will know who to take each one to.

Then choose one or two priorities. It is tempting to fix everything. A short list gives the next block of training a clear shape.

Backing yourself when the result is not guaranteed

Here is something I think every fighter has to make peace with. Nobody can promise you a result, no matter how well you prepare. A rematch has extra attention around it because you know each other's game, and it can feel as though the stakes grew.

What you can back is your process. You choose your preparation, your plan and how you respond to what unfolds. Backing yourself in this sense means trusting the work you have done and committing to the next action without needing a guarantee first. Confidence can sit alongside uncertainty, and you can act while some doubt is still in the room.

A few tools that suit a rematch camp:

• Keep your focus on what you control: preparation, plan, response.
• Use information about your opponent, then stop studying. More footage will not always give you more clarity.
• Build routines that stay the same regardless of who is across from you.
• Decide in advance how you want to respond after a mistake, so the response is already trained when you need it.

Talk to people who know your work

Your coach, training partners and family have watched your preparation over many weeks. Ask them what they have noticed. Their view covers far more than one night, and it balances the harsh version your own mind can produce after a result.

Look after the basics

Sleep, food, light movement and time with people who care about you all matter after a hard fight. Get medical attention for any injury and follow your coach's guidance on returning to full training. Mental work sits best on top of a body that has had time to recover. And life keeps moving around a result. I am a parent of three, so there is always something that needs doing, and carrying on with the day is its own kind of training.

What I take into coaching

Having been through two losses to the same opponent shapes how I work with fighters. I do not promise outcomes. I do not tell anyone how they should feel. What I do is help build a practical process: an honest review, one or two clear priorities, routines that hold under pressure and a way of talking to yourself that you can rely on in the hard minutes.

Fighters carry a lot after a result, whether it is a win or a loss. If you are feeling very low, anxious or stuck, please speak with your GP or a psychologist. Coaching is practical performance work and does not replace that support.

Takeaways for this week

• Write a short factual list: the result, what you completed, what you can do well.
• Finish the two sentences, "The result was..." and "I am someone who...".
• Take two review questions to your coach and pick one or two priorities.
• Decide how you want to respond after a mistake in your next session.

Next step

Responding to setbacks is one of the areas we work on in Fight Camp Mindset, my 8-week one-on-one program for fighters. If you are coming back from a loss or heading into a rematch, we can build a plan around where you are.

If you would like to talk it through, book a free 15-minute call through the enquiry form. You can also message me on Instagram at @conditioned._.