I've talked to my ex girlfriend, who used to fight, about this subject quite a bit.
For her, despite badly losing the only two fights she had participated in, she always tried going for the knockout.
She's always said she would prefer a knockout victory over a surrender because it shows you're complete absolutely domination of your opponent. When you knock them out they literally can't do anything to stop you anymore. It's certain that you've won. There can never been any questions about how the fight was called, mistakenly tapping out, ect. Even when it's clear a person wants out she said she just gets more turned on knowing she actually knocked out her opponent and delivering that "final" blow. She said obviously, she wasn't a monster and she wouldn't knock someone out against their will if they surrendered first
I think she felt even stronger about wanting and desiring the knockout after she lost her fight fight badly, which ended in her being knocked out. She described it as the worst embarrassment she's ever felt and she wanted her future opponents to experience it. Knowing that she was unconscious and not able to stop the other girl from doing what she wanted to her was a very unsettling feeling. She didn't know if the girl had humiliated her further, mocking her unconscious body, she had no idea what the girl said to me or did with me while she was out, ect. She said she just can't stand the helpless feeling you get after you've been knocked out. After all, you don't even gave the option to beg or plead with your opponent not to do something to you if your not even conscious.
I'd be inclined to agree with my ex-girlfriend that being knocked out is the worst and most humiliating way to go out, especially if there is someone there watching the fight. I think my girlfriend would agree that part of the reason she was so embarrassed was because she was destroyed in front of me. Sure you'll feel embarrassed after any loss, but just knowing that your significant other seen you at your lowest can be an incredibly difficult thing to shake mentally. When you see someone unconscious and out cold you KNOW they were defeated by a superior opponent, and it's very difficult to rationalize that the person your looking at ever had a chance at all in the fight.
It's a very defeating experience for the loser, which in turn can often make the win more gratifying for the winner. I know this personally as I have been knocked out in front of my ex-girlfriend, the same girl I mentioned fought for me. I tried to help her cope with her losses by offering to fight another guy for her entertainment in order to kinda level the playing field so to speak. I'd never let my girlfriend do something for me that I wouldn't do. Unfortunately, I was beaten badly and knocked out shortly into the fight.
Let me tell you, waking back up, knowing that you've lost badly, in front of your significant other, is just a devastating experience and absolutely crushing on your ego.
Despite all that, my ex-girlfriend said she would still rather be knocked out than surrender because she feels that she must do everything in her power to win the fight while conscious, which is the way I feel as well.
Just curious Jessica, have you ever lost a fight by knockout? I'm just wondering if you have the same feelings my ex had being getting knocked out.
