Brian Stann reveals why he left MMA, says he “absolutely” misses being an analyst but “I love my current company”

Former UFC fighter and analyst Brian Stann has revealed why he left mixed martial arts for his current venture.

From football to the US Marine Corps to receiving a Silver Star award and beyond, Brian Stann was already a hero before he even entered mixed martial arts. When he eventually made his way into the sport he didn’t waste any time in making his mark, eventually becoming the WEC light heavyweight champion before an eventual transition over to the UFC.

From there he was involved in a string of entertaining fights before retiring in summer 2013, eventually opting to become an analyst.

His work was hailed until he stepped away from MMA and the UFC to become a real estate executive. Now, all these years later, Stann told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour about why he left and how he still gets that analyst itch.

“The only thing about it I remember, though, is I remember feeling a little unfulfilled. I remember watching the executives who were growing this company, this brand, preparing a company for sale, and when you’re running a company, you’re creating jobs, there’s really challenging strategies for your capital structure, how you’re gonna finance investment, how you’re going to disrupt an industry, or stay on the cutting edge of innovation to do so, and being an analyst, you’re kind of having to do all of that for your personal brand. You’re thinking around, ‘OK, what kind of content do I need to generate for my own social media to move my brand forward? Should I start a YouTube channel?’ It just wasn’t me.

“So while I absolutely miss being an analyst, and it’s probably the most fun job I’ll ever have, and the least amount of stress, I love what I’m doing now. But every time I watch fights, I put that hat back on and the people sitting in the same room with me probably get sick of listening to me talk.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting

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