You Need to Lose This Time So You Can Win The Next Round
You Need to Lose This Time So You Can Win The Next Round / Този път трябва да се изгубиш, само така ще си пак победител
(1-2)
acrylic on canvas
Size: 40 x 40 cm
Courtesy the author
Anton Terziev, 2023
Title credit: Svetoslav Todorov - writer, editor, correspondent
Collaborating since 2019
Part of No Time For Losers series of drawings, object, photography and paintings (2019-)
Photo the artist
fotomaterial used: Michael Chandler vs Justin Gaethje, UFC 268, 2021
Anton Terziev’s “You Need to Lose This Time So You Can Win the Next Round” is a taut black-and-white acrylic portrait inspired by UFC 268’s Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje clash. With jagged, urgent strokes and areas of smooth shading, Terziev captures both the fighters’ explosive physicality and their inner resolve, using stark contrast to heighten every bead of sweat, every grimace of pain.
By isolating their profiles against a blank field, the composition focuses on the fighters’ contorted expressions—symbols of determination born from hardship. The fragmented texture echoes the toll exacted by each exchange, while the title frames defeat not as failure but as the crucible of future victory.
More than a sports illustration, this piece is a meditation on resilience: it shows that, in the cage or in life, temporary loss is often the essential step toward greater strength and ultimate triumph.