Pat Healy is devastated and it's impossible to blame him for that.
Life was good, life was grand, just over one week away from his planned date to tango with Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce lightweight title on Sept. 29, 2012, in Sacramento, California. He was ready, as prepared as he's ever been for what would amount to the biggest fight of his career.
Then the bottom dropped out.
Word quickly spread that Melendez had suffered a shoulder injury in training, courtesy of Jake Shields (who finished his first fight in years in the process), and because Showtime didn't like the remaining line-up the entire event was cancelled.
Bam (bam). Just like that, the dream was dead.
"I felt like this was my moment," Healy told MMA Weekly. "The shot I've worked so hard for and then for it to just be gone the week of the fight. It's taxing."
As frustrating as the situation was and continues to be, that's life and there is no other choice but to move on. That's what Healy is doing but where does he go from here?
Does he wait until Melendez heals, reload, and take another crack at the crown? Or does he risk his shot by taking another fight in the interim?
Maybe the former, maybe the latter.
"He said five weeks. So if his rehab goes like that and he's only out five weeks, it would probably take him another six, seven, eight weeks to get ready; I'd definitely wait for that. The title shot's a big thing. Then again, if they came to me with a fight, I'd have a hard time turning it down."
There are plenty of issues to consider here, financial responsibilities chief among them. Healy shelled out thousands of dollars to get him prepared for his big title shot and when it disappeared, money became an issue. Yes, Zuffa paid the fighters scheduled to compete on the Sept. 29 card but winning and holding a championship is where the real money is at.
Worth it to risk it? Even if it's not, Healy may end up doing just that.
You Maniacs agree with his attitude here?