Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s rising popularity has inspired many to start training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with hopes of entering the Octagon one day. Before setting your sights on becoming one of Conor McGregor or Demetrious Johnson-level fighters like him, here are 8 steps you should follow to become an effective MMA fighter and win their championship title – each will require significant dedication and hard work from you.
Background in Martial Arts
Though Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) requires many abilities (hence its name), it’s essential that you possess at least some training in one field as your foundation. Martial arts training should begin early as possible or have experience in wrestling or boxing can provide this foundation; developing one specific strength rather than trying to become exceptional at everything is usually best practice.
Do Your Homework
Before donning gloves designed for mixed martial arts (MMA), take some time for reflection. Even if you’re adept in boxing wrestling karate or wrestling – becoming an accomplished MMA fighter takes time and requires daily training sessions in order to close any knowledge gaps between your current level and someone with an official W-L record in UFC. While developing or honing areas of strength you must absorb as much information as possible so as to move forward successfully.
Versatility Is Essential
We all agree on one point – having access to multiple tools available can make life simpler. In MMA, multiple ways exist for opponents to disrupt your game plan; therefore having different strategies at your disposal such as B,C & D are essential if you truly enjoy taking off shinguards and participating. Learning new and creative moves only adds to its allure!
Let Go of your Ego
Pride can be both positive and destructive in life. When beginning serious MMA training, pride may prove detrimental. Expect that when starting your journey it may result in being hit more than once by less experienced opponents; don’t take this failure personally – use these challenges as opportunities to grow! You are your own greatest teacher when embarking on this path to self-improvement!
Mindset Is Everything
To enjoy playing sports that feature physical rivalries, such as boxing or wrestling, requires certain personality traits and characteristics in its participants. For instance, an effective opponent needs someone determined to dominate you physically but resilient enough to recover quickly after defeat. You should have both motivation and resilience.
Bigger Doesn’t Necessarily Equal Better
Although once seen as the norm in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), gymnast-like body types have now become the trend. A healthy size-to-strength ratio allows fighters to combine strength with speed and stamina. Without these three qualities, MMA fighters won’t last very long in competition. There is no option of hanging back and conserving energy; each fight must be fought at maximum intensity from beginning to end. Larger muscle sizes may give you an advantage when striking, but at the expense of late-round endurance. Muscles require oxygen, so as your size increases so will your oxygen needs increase and thus how quickly you’re able to hit an obstacle when training. Be wary when doing cardio.
Physical Toughness Is Important
Physical strength is an integral part of MMA fighting. From working out multiple times a day to keeping up your form during an intense ground fight, muscles, ligaments and skin must be strong enough to withstand impact from fighters’ impacts and injuries. Although some injuries are normal among MMA practitioners, overtraining may worsen existing ones or cause new ones.
Get Ready to Overcome Adversity
At any point in your journey, it’s likely that you will experience defeat. View losses as opportunities to learn and find strength when facing another battle ahead.
MMA for Beginners: Fighting Tips
Posture in Motion
While moving around the ring or cage it is essential that you maintain your fighting stance. If your feet become separated or you lean too heavily in any one direction your balance and strength may falter – making you vulnerable to attack as well as making counterattacks more challenging.
At first it may seem challenging to remain in a fighting stance while circling or advancing and then retreating, but this art form can be learned. Start out slowly by attaching a wide shoulder-length rope between your legs as you practice footwork – soon you will be surprised how far it has improved your footwork!
Never Cross your Legs
Never cross your legs as doing so may lead to an unsafe fall and compromise your balance. To follow this principle, when beginning each move in any direction you must direct both feet towards where you intend to move; for instance if moving right you would first place your right foot in front and then drag forward the left one while maintaining basic position; similarly when moving leftward or forwards or backwards.
Create Angles
Facing your opponent directly is often difficult – their line of defense could prevent knocking them down or striking them, and any attempts at facial strikes would only result in them protecting themselves with their arms or reclining backwards after initiating takedown attempts from you. Therefore it’s wiser to avoid directly engaging their defensive lines by initiating takes downs instead.
Left Versus Right-Wing Peg
If you are facing off against a southpaw (who favors their right foot in front), it is crucial that your front foot be placed to the left-most side of their left foot to create an advantageous angle from which your punches or takedown attempts can succeed. This will create an advantaged position from which you are more likely to find success with them.
MMA picks for this upcoming fight night.
August 12, 2023
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Dos Anjos
- Vicente Luque
- Hakeem Dawodu
- Chris Daukaus
- Iasmin Lucindo
- Tafon Nchukwi
- Josh Fremd
- Marcus McGhee
- Francis Marshall
- Mike Breeden
- Martin Buday
- Montserrat Conejo
- Brady Hiestand
- Luana Santos