Amanda Cooper was not only heated at her UFC 224 opponent Mackenzie Dern for missing weight, but she was very confident that she would personally dole out the consequences for the disrespect Cooper accused Dern of showing to the sport and to her as an opponent. Cooper had the fight all mapped out in her head: stuff shot, punch face, repeat. Dern, however, had other plans. After dropping Cooper in the first round with a powerful right hand, Dern would go on to score the submission rear naked choke victory over “ABC.” For the first time following UFC 224, Cooper opened up in a vulnerable, heartfelt message on Instagram.
“Being alone with your thoughts, your emotions and your fears in my opinion is a faster track to self improvement, self awareness and personal growth. So today I went to lunch by myself, something I have never done before. I don’t judge people for going to eat alone, the movies alone, etc, I more look up and admire them, it’s just something that I have never done. I sat eating lunch and watching the people around me, some out with their kids, some on a date, some just enjoying a good meal on a rainy day. Me on the other hand, I was there because i was sad and feeling sorry for myself.
“A lot of thoughts went through my mind, of course, Saturday night haunted me. UFC, main card, PPV, undefeated opponent, just a few of the things that 3 days ago meant everything to me.”
Cooper would then go on to share the moment she could bottle her emotions no longer:
“But today, after about 30 mins of fighting the urge to cry in public I decided to go through some of my messages and photos that I got over the week in Brazil. I finally started to cry, not because I was sad or because I was thinking of my fight, I cried because all of the photos in my phone. The bond, the support and the love that I got last week was unreal.”
If you are looking for Cooper to wallow in self pity or shame, look no further, because she has rediscovered her peace of mind. In a lesson we can all learn about how to handle failure or setbacks in life, Cooper is grateful for what she has. And in her case, that is more than most ever dream of:
“I have the most amazing group of friends, family, teammates and fans, I am a lucky 26 year old girl. I get to travel the world with the people I love and inspire those around me with hard work, dedication and the love for this sport. So many personal thank yous I will do but for now I need to thank everyone, for the many years of love you have given me. If losing a fight is the worst day of my life, I live a pretty cool life.”
You can read the full Instagram post below.
What would you like to see come next for Amanda Cooper?
