Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub is used to criticism. It's a part of the sport, any sport.
"Big Brown" received more negative backlash after his loss to Andrei Arlvoski at this past weekend's (Sat., June 14, 2014) UFC 174 event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, after the two big men went the distance in a less-than-stellar affair.
The fight -- which many (including Arlovski) felt Schaub won -- drew the ire of UFC President Dana White, who said the fight "sucked" and regretted putting it on the main card.
As usual, Schaub took the negative comments with a grain of salt, because as much as he tries (and wants) to please and entertain his boss, "when you get a heavyweight fight, if someone's not getting knocked out, he's not happy."
But during the latest episode of "The Fighter & The Kid" podcast, one Schaub hosts with comedian Bryan Callen, "Big Brown" couldn't help but to get a bit emotional.
Check it out:
"For me, it's just frustrating, but it's onward and upwards. I don't know any different, but to get back to training and just...this is what I do, man. This is what I do. This is it. It went to the judges. I got screwed in a decision. I probably should've done more to make it clear, that's on me. That's the sport, man. You're only as good as your last fight. As far as the naysayers and criticism and stuff like that, that's what you sign up for. That happens. It's just part of the sport. That doesn't really bother me. When I knocked out Mirko Cro Cop, I got negative comments. When I beat Lavar Johnson, of course, I get negative comments. When I beat Matt Mitrione and didn't get touched, I got negative comments. No matter what you do, you will get criticized. It's part of the game. That's what you sign up for."
According to Schaub, some of the negativity he garnered in the past was beginning to diminish, as he has earned a new legion of followers thanks to the love he's received with his new podcast.
The support he's received from his viewers' almost brought Brendan to tears, doing his best to hold them back.
"This is serious here. I'm trying not to get emotional here. I've never got so much love in my life since this fight. (holding tears back) I put so much into it, fuck. You know what, in the second round, I was a little tired. I thought I lost the first, I knew I won the second and Rener Gracie goes, 'Schaub, you have to win this third. Take him down and win this third.' And I took him down, won that third. I swear on my life, what I thought about was all the support I get from this podcast. I swear to god.That's what I thought about. I care so much. It's tough, it's tough."
The loss for Schaub ended his two-fight win streak in a highly-competitive heavyweight division and ended all hopes of him cracking the top 15.
In regards to his criticism, he went on to say that not all fighters can be like Diego Sanchez -- whom Schaub labeled as White's favorite fighter -- and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sanchez has taken plenty of punishment to his head due to his aggressive fighting style.
Schaub, 31, now looks to get back on the grind and begin his climb back up the 265-pound ladder.
Any ideas on who he should fight next?