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MMA - It Takes a Lot
Toby "TigerHeart" Grear
As a promoter I am constantly getting emails and calls from people wanting to fight in my events. It is nice to have a continual flow of fresh faces willing to step into the cage. One problem that promoters face is the large number of people who have no experience or proper training. It's not uncommon to have someone tell you they want to be on your fight card and learn that they have no training whatsoever. I would love to help them out, but, I'm not in this business to get someone killed or handicapped for life. I am looking for the matches that are most even and will last longer than the first 35 seconds. Uneven matches make for a poor event and the fans notice these kinds of things. I am willing to give a fighter their first match, but not if they tell me that they only train in Tai Kwan Do. I want to see well rounded fighters, who can handle themselves on their feet or on the ground. So here are some things to think about before you try to make the jump into the cage.
There are so many fighting styles out here, nowadays, that it is hard to pick the right style. As a promoter I look for someone who is well rounded. An all-ground fighter can find themselves in a bad situation against a fighter who is equally good at ground and striking. The same goes for fighters whose exclusive style is striking. There are schools and teams out there now that train in MMA. They train you in all aspects of MMA not just a single category. You have to check them out and make sure they have what you are looking for. Some train heavily in Jiu-Jitsu while others are more wrestling oriented. It all comes down to what YOU think will prepare you the best. There are a great number of gyms, schools, and fight teams out there. Don't be afraid of hurting someone's feelings; ask the big questions and look at several before making a decision. Find out how long they have been around, what qualifications they have to be instructors, and what experience they have. Do they have people already out there fighting? Are their fighters making good showings, do they have decent to good records, or are they getting blown out in every fight? These are all important questions to ask. Any organization that is reputable will have no problem answering your questions.
Conditioning is just as important as training and sometimes may be the reason why you win. You can be the best "all around" MMA fighter out there but, if you don't have the cardio levels to make it through the fight, you are going to be in big trouble. You need endurance training to keep you ready for a fight. You can't show up at the gym two weeks before a fight and expect to be ready come fight night. You have to balance your conditioning just as much as you balance your training. Running, treadmills and elliptical machines help to build up cardio levels, but that won't cover it all. Rolling or grappling will also help to build the cardio conditioning and help with your strength training as well. It keeps the heart pumping and blood flowing to the muscles. We have all seen it before. A fighter gets hit and looks like they are going out but, they bounce right back up and keep fighting. It's their cardio conditioning that does this for them. The higher levels of oxygen in the blood help to body and brain recover much quicker from injury.
When training, make sure to have a core group to work with. You want to train with fighters in all shapes and sizes. This helps you to be prepared for the real fight world. Training with larger partners will help in strength and leverage. When they are bigger and stronger than you, it is hard to just muscle your way out of a situation. You have to learn new techniques and escapes that you wouldn't normally need against a fighter your size or smaller. Training with equal sized and smaller people will help with speed and reaction. Some of those 135ers move like monkeys on crack. They seem to have a bottomless pit of energy and zip around the cage as if in fast forward. They will help you to build a better defensive game in strikes and on the ground. The big fellas hit you like a cinder block but more than likely won't have the speed in the punches of a lighter person. They big guys manhandle you in the ground game where as a lighter person is going to be transitioning from move to move at light speed. So when you do step into the cage you are going to have a more well rounded and diverse game.
These are the kinds of things a promoter likes to see. No matter how much we treat MMA as sport or how respected it becomes, it all falls on the fans. It then becomes more of an entertainment matter than sport. If they aren't entertained then they won't want to come back or will go to someone else's events. Then as promoter you stand to lose money and not be able to promote the shows. That's why you want fights that last 2-3 rounds. The fans feel they have gotten their money's worth and will be happy to come back. On the same hand, you as fighter will feel some much more confident. You have just banged it out for 2-3 rounds with an opponent who is just as good as you are.
by John Poe
photo courtesy of Toby Grear
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