Ex-UFC champion opens up about effect social media had on his career, says fighters need to be aware of its influence: "Fears, flaws, and failure"

A former UFC champion Anthony Pettis recently opened up about his personal experience dealing with social media as an active fighter and the effect it had on his career. He suggested that fighters remain vigilant and aware of its influence and utilize it in a positive manner rather than getting caught up in the negatives.

Pettis gained a large following and mainstream notoriety after landing his famous 'Showtime Kick' on Benson Henderson in their WEC lightweight title bout. The clip went viral on social media and was also heavily featured on ESPN highlight packages, which was rare for the sport at the time. With the viral moment came plenty of attention on social media whenever he would fight in the octagon, which can be too much to handle for any athlete let alone a professional fighter.

During his appearance on The HJR Podcast, Pettis opened up about how he dealt with social media after it became too much to deal with later in his ufc-records-get-broken-2025-feat-islam-makhachev" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">MMA career. The former UFC champion mentioned that he sought out professional help and gained strategies that he hopes others adopt as well:

"Later in my career, it was there and I started looking at [social media] and I got down that rabbit hole. And I had to go to a sports psychologist and he helped me break that curse. Super simple, three things. Thoughts, feelings, actions...Your brain's like a radio programmed to go triple f: fears, flaws and failure...If you can go from the thought, the feeling that it creates, the actions where we can break that cycle."

Check out former UFC champion Anthony Pettis' comments below:

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Former UFC champion Anthony Pettis opens up about dealing with fame

In addition to discussing the influence of social media, former UFC champion Anthony Pettis opened up about how he dealt with fame and his wealth.

Pettis mentioned that the number of followers doesn't equate to money and noted that he learned the importance of saying no to ensure he was financially responsible:

"We're more famous than we are rich, so we got more followers that we have dollars...Alright, so I can't pay for every bill, I can't be the savior for everybody...I did buy my mom a house and I help my brothers out and all that but I learned how to say, 'No', I would say. When fighters know how to say, 'No', it changes you as a person."

Check out Anthony Pettis' comments below: