How to become a Professional MMA Fighter
These days, it seems that every kid has a dream of becoming a professional MMA fighter. We should reiterate that honestly if you try getting into MMA after your teen years then you’ve probably started too late. Unless you already excel in a particular martial art, this is probably a case of sad but true.
For those young and passionate enough to become a professional MMA fighter, the road is long, hard, and sometimes brutal. It’s also nowhere nearly as glamorous as it appears. However, it is possible, and here is how.
Table of Contents
Pick a specialist martial art
If you walk into your local MMA gym, there’s a good chance you’ll find a lot of solid all-rounders. Whilst this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, every fighter needs to have a specialist area. Khabib had wrestling, Machida had Karate and McGregor had boxing.
In brief, you need to work on something that you can master. This can work as a reliable skill to drop back on – and also to use when struggling. By mastering a specific martial art, you will always have an edge on the all-rounders.
Whilst it’s good to train your weaknesses and improve on them – you should also work on developing a single martial art as your specialty. Often, people pick wrestling as it helps serve as a good base for MMA, whilst also improving their cardio in the process.
Train everything
Contrary to the previous piece of advice, training everything can be pretty useful for MMA fighters. By ‘everything’, we don’t mean every martial art ever invented. Instead, we mean the main ones that are used in MMA.
Typically, this means some kind of effective striking method – so something like Muay Thai, boxing or kickboxing are all good choices. Next, you’ll need to learn wrestling – both offensively and defensively. These days, you cannot get by in MMA without knowing how to wrestle.
Lastly, you’ll need to grapple on the floor so you’ll need to learn BJJ. Again, this can be learned as a defensive or offensive tool. Ultimately, it’s your call. Having said this, if you neglect these three areas, then you will get punished at some point.
Honestly, it takes a lot of practice to learn striking, wrestling, and BJJ, but it’s pretty much a modern requirement at this point. Remember, MMA has evolved rapidly in recent years and you don’t want any holes in your game.
Study tape
It’s no longer the 90s, and there are no excuses anymore where learning is concerned. Due to the growth of the internet, learning is now easier than ever – and it’s completely free. Use websites such as Youtube to your advantage and to learn technique.
Here, you can re-watch classic MMA matches and see what works and why. You can also watch breakdowns of matches by professionals, and even watch technique videos. For instance, Stephen Thompson has his own Karate channel that teaches, whilst there are also videos online by Bas Rutten on how to throw open-palm strikes.
In other words, study tape and try to implement it into your training as much as possible. In a game of razor-thin margins, learning from tape may make the difference. Remember, learning doesn’t end outside of the gym and you should always be trying to enlarge your horizons.
Work part-time
As mentioned earlier, the life of a typical MMA fighter is tough and not for everyone. You may see the likes of Conor McGregor living in luxury, but even many UFC fighters are poor – and that is the top of the pile.
For everyone in the real world, trying to become a professional MMA fighter is very difficult and the lifestyle is hard. This means being cash poor and often living paycheque to paycheque. To get by, you should probably find a part-time job if possible. Sometimes, this means living at your parent’s house whilst working on the weekend, or jobs with odd hours at night.
Interestingly, a number of MMA fighters have previously worked as binmen during their earlier careers. The likes of Georges St Pierre was a binman whilst living in Canada. Arguably, this is one of the best jobs a budding MMA fighter can do, as it pays fairly well and will keep you in good shape. As a binman, you will naturally do strength and conditioning which is only a good thing.
Realistically though, it’s virtually impossible to become a professional MMA fighter if you have a 9-5 job that’s in the way. At the same time, if you don’t earn a cent then at some point you may struggle, so a part-time job is preferable.
Compete as much as possible
According to Khabib Nurmogomedov, competing in as many disciplines as possible is the best way to improve as a martial artist and fighter. Competing can be nervous, so it’s best to get used to it. When younger, Khabib would compete in Sambo, BJJ, Pankration, and other martial arts in between MMA fights. He did this to learn more about his own style, and to be exposed to others under certain rule sets.
Arguably, not enough MMA fighters do this and only stick to MMA. Perhaps the main reason for this is that competing in arts such as BJJ can be quite expensive which goes against the life of an MMA fighter. If possible, you should also try to get involved in interclub fights, such as amateur boxing which is held between two local, friendly clubs.
This is a good way to test yourself and improve as a fighter on a budget. In short, compete often, get used to controlling your adrenaline and when it comes to fighting in a cage, you should feel better for it.
Work on your athleticism
If you’ve ever sparred a professional fighter, then you’ll be amazed at how athletic they are. This is like sparring an anime character with overpowered stats. Even if they’re not technical, an MMA fighter should aim to be as athletic as possible.
Typically, this means going to the gym and working out, gaining strength, becoming more flexible, and improving your cardio. It also means doing unorthodox exercises such as cartwheels and burpees to improve your explosiveness.
Basically, whilst you should work on technique – you should also try to get your body as efficient as possible when thinking about fighting. This process can take months to improve and years to really master.
The results are massive though and when doing martial arts such as wrestling and Taekwondo, you’ll really feel the benefits of improving your athleticism. For every Kung Fu movie where technique beats strength, there are thousands of real-life examples that have worked the opposite way round.
Get a sponsorship
For semi-pro fighters, getting a sponsorship can be a big deal and can help you out massively. Typically, companies that have a brand aligned with MMA will be willing to help. For example, as an MMA fighter, you probably won’t be able to promote fast food which is the opposite of MMA.
However, you may be able to promote protein powder for a local company. Sometimes, they won’t pay you in money – but they will pay you in products as long as you advertise their stuff. Ultimately, this is a beneficial, two-way relationship that works both ways. Although a tub of protein powder may only cost $15 per month, it’s better to get it for free via advertising.
If you can do this with a number of companies to gain free stuff such as healthy foods, recovery accessories, and small amounts of money, then it all adds up. In reality, a sponsorship may not make or break you – but it certainly won’t hurt.
Fight locally
Lastly, if you still want to be a pro-MMA fighter, then you’ll need to build up your record which isn’t always easy. This means climbing the ladder as an amateur and preferably winning some kind of amateur title.
Typically, amateur fighters are offered professional contracts when they’ve got a record of 4-0 or greater. Still, you should often be cautious about accepting your first professional contract, and sometimes staying amateur is good for the long run.
For example – if you sign a multi-fight deal with some promotions, they may lock you into a poorly paid, multi-fight contract where you’re fed to their top fighters. This is obviously not a good idea and could ruin your career.
Instead, take your time as an amateur and fight across multiple platforms if possible. Here, you should be strategic against who you fight, and for now, it’s probably best to avoid the bullies of your local division and aim for easier fights. In doing this, you should pad out your record which is more likely to get you a good professional fighter.
MMA fighting pays badly
On a separate note, going professional doesn’t mean that you’ve now made it either. Often when a fighter first turns pro, they’re borderline amateur anyway and aren’t paid well. Sometimes, this means getting paid as little as $1000 or less per fight. If you do an average of two fights per year, then that salary isn’t enough to live on.
So, if you’re somehow good enough to turn pro then just remember, it’s just the start of your career and there’s still a very long road ahead. This may sound negative, but it’s the truth and MMA is not an easy career at all.
Summary
When it comes to MMA, some people are still delusional and think they can make it – even if they start later in life. Imagine trying to become a pro basketball player if you only started training in your late teens. Realistically, the odds are against you before you begin.
Remember, there are always hungry fighters out there that have trained since early childhood too, which makes for more depressing news. At the same time, if you’re truly committed and MMA is your life’s cause, then you can become a professional.
Whilst this task is not easy and isn’t a life of luxury, you can still achieve this with enough self-belief and with a smart approach to training. If this sounds like you, then get down to your local MMA gym and try implementing the above as quickly as possible.
