{"id":269509,"date":"2018-02-06T08:32:17","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T16:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=269509"},"modified":"2018-02-06T08:33:15","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T16:33:15","slug":"former-ufc-welterweight-prospect-nicolas-dalby-spills-struggles-depression-alcoholism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/nicolas-dalby\/former-ufc-welterweight-prospect-nicolas-dalby-spills-struggles-depression-alcoholism\/","title":{"rendered":"Former UFC welterweight prospect Nicolas Dalby spills on struggles with depression, alcoholism"},"content":{"rendered":"

MMA can be a brutal sport. It’s a game of mountainous highs and chasmal lows, of unpredictable ups and downs, of clashing expectations and realities, and sometimes, its pressures can crack even the most iron-willed competitors<\/a>. In a recent post to Instagram, UFC welterweight veteran Nicolas Dalby shared his story of being broken by the sport, and of his journey back from the brink.<\/p>\n

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Fighting. It\u2019s something we all do. We fight bullies at school. We fight to earn a living. We fight through sickness(mental & physical). We fight our inner daemons. We fight with our significant others, friends and family. We fight for the rights we believe in. We all fight our own fights, small and big ones. Every single day! For me, one of my biggest fights are coming up, literally and figuratively. Literally because I have committed to step foot in a cage to fight again after 1\u00bd years away from the sport, after something that ended in me suffering 2 defeats in a row, the first ones in over 10 years of competitive fighting. But also figuratively. Figuratively because I have been battling a deep depression which resulted in alcoholism, apathy and hurtful behaviour towards the people I hold the dearest. Experiencing all of that and putting it behind me has been a very bumpy detour away from and back to the main-road that leads in the right direction. How do you come back after a downfall like that? Can you imagine the self-doubt? Can my body still handle a gruelling fight camp? Is my mind strong enough to handle the sessions where nothing is working, doubt sneaks in and the lingering injuries that undoubtedly lie ahead play with your head? Am I strong enough physically & mentally to not just take the fight but to actually go in there and unleash the hell & fury I have in me when believe in myself and I\u2019m running on all cylinders(plus nitro)? Those are the questions that will get answered before summer arrives. Maybe I\u2019ll get a major injury in the lead up to the fight. Maybe things won\u2019t \u201cclick\u201d when I\u2019m finally in the cage. Maybe I will lose the fight. But theres only one way to find out. And that\u2019s by fucking doing it! And doing it 110%! This is a fight to determine my future. Now is the time to prove to myself, my girlfriend, my friends, my family & the rest of the world what I\u2019m made of. That I am going to follow up to the promises I made myself. And that is the real fight. If I do that, do the very best I can. Then I will win the fight in the cage. And the fight for my life! #LokomotivoDalby | #RoadToRedemption | #ThePhoenixWillRise | #FrateTrane<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Nicolas Dalby<\/a> (@dalbymma) on