With the rapid growth of the sport and number of MMA gyms popping up all over the country it sometimes can be very difficult to pick which gym is the best fit for you and your fighting style.

If you are serious about becoming an MMA fighter, there are several schools popping up all over the country that offer various levels of training all the way from professional athletes down to young kids that want to learn the basics in this discipline. In addition to being a great physical endurance training course, it is also an excellent morale and confidence booster for the students as the start to reach their potential. These schools vary in methods of training used as well as costs associated with the training. Here are a few things to look for when picking your MMA gym:

What fits you best? Just because there are a group of well known fighters training at a gym doesn’t necessarily make it the best gym to fit your needs. In many cases these gyms will close practices to the public and have private training only for the higher level fighters. In which case, is useless to your progression in MMA. Looking for a gym that is willing to work with you individually as well as training with a solid team is more beneficial to you. Find a gym that cares about you when it comes fight night.

Diversity is not an old, wooden ship. Entering a gym with a variety of specializations is also a must to progress as a fighter. Being well rounded in today’s evolution of the sport is a no brainer, it has to be done. A gym with a decent BJJ, decent boxing, and decent wrestling will most likely be better than a gym with great BJJ, poor boxing, and poor wrestling. Find the balance you need and work on your weaknesses to even your game out. If you are a multi-time All-American you would probably benefit more out of a striking or BJJ school.

Explore your options. Most gyms will give you a trial period or a free night to try out the facility to see if it’s what you are looking for, and if they don’t it is probably a place that isn’t confident in their classes anyways. Use this to your advantage to find out which gym suits you best.

Best of luck on finding your gym!

Takedown defense is one of the most important aspects of the MMA game, especially with the rising growth in world class wrestlers, grapplers, and judo players making the transition to MMA. If you can defend the takedown, then you are able to dictate were the fight takes place, which in many cases can be the deciding factor in a fight. To accomplish this will take a combination of technique, core strength, and good hips. I’ll go over all three here.

TDD 101 – Wrist Control

If you know absolutely nothing about defending the takedown in a fight then wrist control is a great place to start. From the fence or off a shot in the middle, controlling the wrist allows you to free your hips and keep them away from knee taps or just a blast double. I don’t remember the last person who got a legit takedown with one hand. Making it a point to grab the wrist also gives you a way to circle, where as if I were controlling the elbow, pressure can still be applied to keep me trapped against the fence. So for starters, wrist control, and circling towards the wrist your controlling with your hips back is a good way to start if your green (new) to TDD.

TDD 102 – Head Control

Another basic starting point for stopping the takedown is controlling the head. This is more for defending on the fence but also applies anywhere. I try to use my belly button as a “point of reference” (POR). If my opponents shoulders are below my POR then I stuff the head to the ground and walk out while still controlling the head until I’m completely clear, if they are above my POR then I wizer (over hooking an arm), get wrist control, and circle to the controlled wrist. Every persons point of reference is going to be different because of body types, center of gravity, and height. Find yours and you will know as you will feel centered, harder to takedown, and you will be able to free your hips and stay standing.

Core Strength and Hips

The most important thing to consider when approaching wrestling in MMA is that core strength and good hips are a must.  Without them, you better work on your BJJ because you’re going to spend a lot of time on your back. But before you go trying to look like the guys from Jersey Shore in the gym I want to make something very clear: core strength mainly refers to the power of your hips, not how much you can bench press. Having a stable core is important because it keeps you balanced and it lets you control your center of gravity.  You’ll be able to extend your body, but still keep powerful so your opponent can’t take you down.

There are a ton of ways to increase your core strength but doing squats and deadlifts seem to be the best. Both of these will increase the strength of your legs, spinal erectors, and abdominals.  All of these muscles are important for sprawling and will help ensure that you’re successful in defending the inevitable takedown in every MMA fight.

Technique and Timing

While strength and conditioning is king, technique is just as important if not more.  You need both of them to be effective against your relentless wrestlers than have no intentions of standing. But coming from someone who has been under a solid wrestler for 15 min, it is not there job to not wrestle, its everyone else’s job to learn how to wrestle back. Hence the “mixed” in mixed martial arts. Timing your opponents take downs and tendencies are also extremely important. If you can see the shot coming, then it is 100x easier to defend.  Just make sure you widen your base, keep your hips low, and control the wrist. This makes it hard for your opponent to finish a shot with a sit-through or blasting through you.

Make Em Pay

Last but not least, after you have defended the shot, make them pay for every time they even think about taking you down. If you are ever at a resting point where the shooter has stopped driving or is up against the fence remember you are in a fight and blast them with every shot that could do progressive damage with during the bout. Against the fence, 9 to 3 elbows are very effective as well hammer fists. I like to throw knuckle punches when I’m defending a single leg, turning your hand over and try to catch and eye brow or cheek bone with the exposed knuckles in hopes of cutting your opponent and finishing the fight.

Practice makes perfect, you probably won’t get this the first time you do it so keep working hard and learn what techniques work best for you and your style. Good luck!

Never try anything new a week before the fight. Not just in cutting weight, but this also applies to foods, equipment, or techniques. If your body is on a routine regimen that has worked in the past then keep it that way. If it isn't broke don’t fix it.

Albolene is your friend. Albolene is makeup remover that you can find here at Fight Gear. Rub it all over your body, step in the sauna, and you will sweat like you never have before. Throwing an extra set of clothes and a sauna suit will get even more water out. But be careful because this will drain your energy levels to a very low state. Only use this as a last resort for the last few pounds that you will replenish in a few hours. You can also use a similar product - Sweet Sweat - it does the same thing.

Weigh yourself on at least 2 scales, better safe than sorry. Cutting more weight after you think you’re done is the worst thing. It can be mentally and physically draining and could cost you extra hours that could be key to rehydration.

After weigh ins don’t fill your body up with crap food and soda. You will need to eat in small 30 minute intervals, and load your body up with carbs until a couple hours before the fight. You should eat meals you are comfortable with and hold your cravings off till after the fight. Don’t rely on your thirst response to accurately depict your hydration levels. The ultimate goal should be to see a clear urine stream before the fight.

With these tips I’ve seen people gain back 30lbs from weigh in time to fight time. They should be used to gain a fighters edge that could be the difference maker in the fight. Good luck!

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is unregulated and uncontrolled.
Mixed Martial Arts is one of the most regulated and controlled sports in the world. With imposed time limits, set numbers of rounds, mandatory judges, five weight classes and over 31 other rules governing how the bouts are fought, organizations strive for the highest safety standards.

The UFC®, the biggest of the organizations, only holds bouts in states where the sport is regulated. MMA is recognized by the world’s most prestigious sports regulatory bodies including the California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania State Athletic Commissions.

MMA is dangerous and its fighters are put at a serious risk of injury each time they enter the Octagon.
MMA fighters are given more care and precaution than athletes in any other sports organization in the world. With supervised fights, pre and post-fight MRIs, four ringside doctors and two ambulances in case of emergency at each event and mandatory steroid testing – these organizations reach the highest levels of safety and quality in all aspects of the sport. Safer than boxing, no organization fighter has ever suffered a serious injury or death.

Mixed martial artists are nothing more than street fighters.
Mixed martial artists are some of the best athletes in the world. Before taking up MMA many of the athletes were college All-American’s and Olympic champions. To stay competitive, all of the athletes are trained in a variety of martial arts disciplines including judo, wrestling, boxing, karate and jujitsu. UFC®, the biggest MMA organization, boasts that a significant majority of their fighters have college degrees.

MMA has only one rule, prohibiting eye gouging.
MMA is governed under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts which were created by the most prestigious state sports regulating bodies in the United States. In addition to the five weight classes, the imposed time limits, and set number of rounds, there are 31 other rules that govern how the sport is played. In fact, most of the rules are derived from the rules governing Olympic wrestling, boxing and martial arts.

MMA is much more harmful than other fighting sports like boxing.
MMA is much safer than boxing. Since its inception in the United States there have been only a couple serious injuries and no deaths in any of the major, sanctioned MMA organizations. Unlike boxing, in which fighters sustain repeated blows to the head for up to 15 rounds, MMA bouts last only 3-5 rounds and much of the fighting takes place on the mat as wrestling or grappling. In addition, unlike boxing gloves, MMA gloves are not weighted.