Denver-Trevor Wittman starts to recite the five things he is grateful for every morning. Then he repeated the mantra of "externalizing internal champions", which is his life motto, aimed at instilling in others. Whitman encourages those in his life to embrace their inner existence and passion.

As one of the world's top mixed martial arts coaches, Witman spent many important nights. Saturday at UFC 268 will be another special night for him-and a unique night, as his three fighters are participating in the three biggest games on the main card. Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and grassweight champion Rose Namajunas will defend their belts in the main event and the joint main event. Before these battles, open the main card and Justin Gasjie will enter the octagon for lightweight. The game, this could lead to a championship title. All three will have Wittman in their corner.

For Wittman, this may sound complicated, but his goal is simple: to make every boxer perform at his best.

The title of the two championship rematches is a deep UFC 268 card. Kamaru Usman won the welterweight title for the second time against Colby Covington, and the two-time grassweight champion defeated Zhang Weili in April. In addition, in the key lightweight competition, Justin Gaither will face Michael Chandler.

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"For me, winning is part of life, not life," Witman said. "If we only focus on winning, we will miss the whole picture. Some of our losses prepare us for the greatest achievement, and this Saturday, we will face the best team in the world."

Entering this card, Witman had to overcome the challenges that were always hidden behind his constant positive jokes with his father. He was recently diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture, which causes the tissue under the skin of the hand to thicken and tighten. In the past few months, the situation has progressed, limiting his arm mobility. He also dealt with a case of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which can cause dizziness during certain head movements and occasionally affect Wittman's work in the gym.

However, every day he continued to put aside the things that might make him back down, and instead worked with his fighters with a smile because he was doing what he liked to do. Witman rarely owes his achievements to himself, he prefers to ride the wind and waves with the people standing next to him.

"It's all about fighter jets, not me," Witman said. "When you pay for life, for people and your environment, you will get a lot from life."

Wittman focuses on innovation. A former NASA engineer worked with him at ONX to integrate sensors into the combat dummies he is developing. He created gloves to better protect the soldiers' hands during training. Despite his own health challenges, he believes that with his top-ranking list in this sport, now is not the time to slow down.

He said: "Look forward to a war and face the best opponent we can face in that department-for me, this is the coolest part." "You can go there, we can be a family Do it together and support each other. Whether you win or lose or draw, this is a good time to exist. This is something that all of us will remember. Live."

Before UFC 268, ESPN spent many days with Wittman, Usman, Namajunas and Gaethje to understand how these four worked together before one of the most important nights in their careers.

Trevor Wittman founded ONX Sports, an equipment company known for its advanced MMA equipment. As training injuries are ubiquitous in the industry, he noticed that MMA training equipment is needed due to lack of proper coordination, support and function. MMA sports do not have standard or guideline testing equipment like most professional sports. In fact, the equipment worn is usually used for boxing or taekwondo.

"The biggest problem is that people are not wearing the right equipment. Our goal is to create training-suitable MMA equipment," Witman said.

Witman, as a boxer, suffered three times with what is commonly known as a "boxer break" fracture, which terminated his career. As a coach, Wittman began to adjust his equipment due to continuous strain on his hands while holding the coach's gloves, where he would add and move the inner liner to reduce the bone-to-bone vibration caused by repeated impacts.

After traveling to JoAnn Fabrics and his mother's sewing machine in 2015, he created his first pair of temporary trainer gloves. "They are so ugly, they don't sew well, but they feel better," Wittman said.

What makes MMA gloves so unique is not only the circular design that helps avoid glare, but more importantly, the internal strapping system. The internal straps not only eliminate lace exposure, but also promote better hand and metacarpal support through the deep straps between the pads. The company finally confirmed the patent for the four-ounce MMA glove for competition that will be brought to the market. A proposal was recently submitted to the UFC for the use of these gloves in competitions.

Witman stood there with his arms crossed and looked at Usman. In most photos, Wittman is standing in this position, otherwise he would hold his hands almost tightly together. If he doesn't do this, his arms will have a tendency to pull and lock.

When Usman was asked to train him for the first time, Whitman rejected him. At that time, Wittman was only training Gaethje and Namajunas, and wanted to spend more time with his family and ONX development. After an in-depth conversation with Usman the next day, Whitman and his wife talked about this opportunity and changed his mind.

"The way he asked me, I can hardly refuse-he forced me into this relationship in a good way," he said.

Rose's fiancé and head coach Pat Barry stretched out his hand before ONX warmed up. He often wears different shirts with Rose's face printed on them, always supporting and representing.

At the beginning of Gaethje’s WSOF career, Gaethje told Wittman, “I want to be the most interesting fighter. The blue-collar people who pay for these tickets will not leave my battle and say that it’s not the best in their life. fighting."

"This is how we went out when he was fighting," Witman said. "His game plan is to create chaos, cause a car crash, and bring that person to the area you like to play-he does it better than anyone."

After being known as a violent forward and a pure entertainer, Gaethje changed his attitude one day. He told Wittman that he wanted to become a UFC champion.

"When he said that, I told him we were changing a lot of things," Witman said. "In terms of combat, we will become a super foundation, very dedicated and logical."

Gaethje is part of the athlete relationship with ONX. Outside of training, the team sent custom-sized equipment to different athletes, seeking honest feedback from fighters to see which ones worked and which ones didn’t.

During the camp, weekly visits with chiropractors are essential. Namajunas praised Gaethje for being able to reach the best level through such a simple recovery and diet. "His figure is different," she said.

Witman praised the chiropractor he visits every week and helped him make a new diagnosis and low back pain. He received different methods such as dry acupuncture, electroacupuncture and shock wave therapy.

"Now 46 years old, I limped around and I told people it was a hooligan lean," Witman joked.

This is the first camp Gaethje hired a chef to focus on his intake and what foods give him the most potential. "I have never eaten so many vegetables in my life," Gaethje said with a smile.

His meal on this day: breakfast is a superfood green smoothie, snacks are almond butter overnight oats and an apple, lunch is a dairy-free chicken roll with pesto, and a grilled steak with fried mushrooms, kale, Soak cherry tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes and reduce red wine for dinner.

Raider, man's best friend, likes to eat leftovers. He is named after Gaethje's favorite NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders.

Gaethje trains with UFC lightweight contender Rafa Garcia. Witman implemented a strategy of "planting seeds" among his fighters, not necessarily focusing on "how" to defeat opponents.

"I don't really like trying to put the visual effects of opponents in their minds," he said. "Then they end up sleeping with their opponents, which means their opponents are always in their field of vision. [I asked them] How would you beat yourself? I looked at them and said, if I were to coach against my athletes, I will defeat them by doing this."

Usman's mentality is so focused that no one will be aware of everything that happened in his life except for fighting. "He is a true leader," Witman said. "He will become a champion without any coach-I believe."

Usman, together with Wittman and Jorge Santiago, beat the dummy to exhaustion. San Diego is Usman's Jiu-Jitsu coach. He is from Florida and traveled to Denver to train Usman and Gaither.

Namajunas exchanged some punches and kicks with UFC grassweight contender Mallory Martin.

Wittman and Namajunas have experienced a lot. In April, Nama Junas defeated Zhang Weili in the first round of the elimination round and won the grassweight championship. Shortly before Usman participated in the main event, Whitman quickly walked back to his locker room. Wittman looked up at the screen and saw that Namajunas was being interviewed, clutching her belt in tears.

"She had a can of monsters in her hand, and that little pouting face. Just when I saw this-it was just real happiness and emotion from Rose-I immediately started to cry," Witman said . "I keep telling myself to shake this---, focus on Kamaru, it's really hard for me. I looked at Francis [Ngannou], I don’t know if he saw tears, but buddy—I’m fighting back them."

Wittman compares Namajunas' martial arts level to Picasso painting a picture after being struck by her precision and fluency in practice. "[She] has something so unique that I have never gotten it from anyone else, it's just from watching," he said. "The way she moved and the way she just got rid of her fist-it was so beautiful."

Ice baths are common after sparring. Namajunas does a series of breathing exercises to prepare her for the time she spends in the cold water.

Namajunas soaked in the ice bath for 10 minutes, then completely immersed his head in the water. Then came a hot shower.

Usman also took an ice bath after sparring. Before stepping into the bathtub, Usman practiced the shadow box in the home gym in Namajunas. He lasted 20 minutes in 32 degrees water.

Namajunas was wrapped in a robe passed down from her mother from head to toe. Pat makes her hot tea.

After the ice bath, both teammates went out to play. Usman uses NormaTec compression boots to inflate and squeeze different areas to enhance blood flow and speed up the recovery process.

Gaethje finished training this week and took a mountain run at Red Rocks Park, where the higher altitude can improve endurance. Wittman started timing, then drove to the top of the mountain and waited for Gaethje to finish.

There is no denying the special bond between Gaethje and Wittman, but outside of the battle, you will see them relax. Wittman recalled a time when he and Gaethje were skiing from a mountain at a speed of about 60 mph, when Gaethje jumped up and smashed his skis in half.

"I thought he was dead," Whitman said. "I'm thinking-how can I explain this to his mother."

Gaethje suddenly emerged from the snow, smiling at what had just happened.