Many fighters look back to an early loss in their career as a turning point - a point in which their career drastically changed paths. For UFC Singapore’s Don’Tale Mayes, his first shot at the Contender Series was exactly that. 

In the very first season of the show, on the final week of the season, Mayes took on Allen Crowder. After a tightly contested first round, Mayes found himself on the wrong end of ground and pound from Crowder, which ultimately stopped the fight. Mayes now looks back at the version of a fighter he was, and knows he won’t ever be the same. 

“Allen Crowder - hey, the stars aligned for him that night - I wasn’t on my bullsh** and he was able to capitalize,” Mayes said. 

Knowing that the wear of the first round cost him much needed energy in the second, Mayes used the fight as motivation. He stepped up his strength and conditioning in order to make sure it never happened again. In addition, it changed his mindset about how he feels entering the cage.

“For that next fight [after the Contender Series], it was like losing wasn’t really an option,” Mayes said, noting that the feeling has continued since then. “Just like this next fight - losing is not an option.”

This mindset shift is something that not only affected him for his next fight, but he feels will for the rest of his career. Not only is losing not an option for the fight this weekend against Ciryl Gane, but in general. 

“I can’t see myself losing again,” Mayes shares. “When I’m in shape, I don’t know what anybody is going to have for me.”

That mentality, his new fitness, his abilities - Mayes says it all leads to one thing: bonus money. When he steps into the cage Saturday morning in Singapore, he’s sure the 50k is coming home with him. 

“My hand is getting raised,” Mayes said. “If he survives it’ll be fight of the night, if he don’t then knockout of the night.”