This is a good thread for many fighters to read. Ego is useful in training and pre fight 'mind games', but once the fighting starts it gives you no benefits, only hardships.

Fighting with one's ego is fighting on an emotional level, and when you fight emotionally you don't make sound decisions.

Getting in the zone / zen, conceptually is exactly that. That perfect circumstance where things just click in place, time appears to slow down, and decisions are made free of any ego interference.

The problem with many UFC fighters is that they take their egos into the ring, and then get mentally broken in fights, and then struggle to take the loss properly and develop further as a fighter. You can often see where in the fight they snap mentally, and then the loss is inevitable. I personally love watching ego fighters get beat at their own game, like when a puncher takes on a grappler but the grappler decides to beat him at his own game at stand up. Some of the facial expressions when that eventuates are priceless.