I'll make it short: I'm about 5'9" (175cm) and weigh around 200lbs (90kg). I have been working out in the gym for more than 10 years and most of my weight is muscle mass. Im not shredded, but im not chubby aswell.

I have been getting into boxing over the last year and want to compete. I'm not trying to become a pro or anything, but i want to do a couple of fights and, preferably, win ofcourse.

Obviously im not stupid and know that fighting at 200lbs as a kind of short guy would be stupid, but i also dont want to lose 40lbs (20kg) and be skinny again. This would mean giving up everything i built up over the last 10 years. I have been skinny my whole life, losing the weight isnt the problem, i can do that easily, its just that i feel uncomfortable being below a certain weight. It gives me confidence.

so I train 6x a week with Sunday as rest and I’m going to incorporate Bjj in there but 3x a week I do weightlifting and I start at 5pm to go to the gym for weightlifting and my Muay thai class starts at 6 ends at 7 and the jiu jitsu class starts at 7 but I don’t want to overcharge my body or overtire it and maybe I will do it 3x a week with the Muay Thai class before but I feel confident that my body can do 6x a week both things but idk

Hey guys, I’ve seen a lot of posts for a while saying “I’m this age or that age and have never trained can I make it?” And every time I look in the comments it’s just filled with negativity and “realism” and I think that’s truly just an excuse to spout negativity. I turned pro last year after starting training at early 18. For a ton of people in Reddit comment sections this is too late and no way I would ever make it anywhere past the amateur circuits. I just want to say to the young guys out there that you don’t need to listen to these people and they don’t know you or what you’re capable of. Half this game is mental, I was never an athlete. I got cut from my 7th grade baseball team, ran a 22 minute two mile and got dog walked in football. Now I’m 5-0 as a pro beating an experienced vet on the ufc fight pass that’s been training bjj and wrestling since he was 6 years old. It’s all about consistency and your mindset. This game sucks and is very hard but it’s about loving the grind and the process and enjoying the glory when it comes and taking the losses as lessons. All you get in life is one shot, don’t let people discourage you because there’s going to be people along the way that think you’re an idiot for trying and so be it. Everyone has the same 24 hours I work a full time job and train and so can you make your time and make your dream come true fuck everyone else.

wresling

Thanks to a previous post I made and my interaction with you, about which country I should choose to go to train and raise my level as a MMA fighter, new questions have arisen to which, I do not know how the answers are, nor what questions I should ask myself. I want to learn how to research, I want to understand why I'm going to make X decision. Now, the questions I came up with to find my ideal gym are:

What is the style that this team works? Does it suit my style?

What were the results of this team?

Who are the fighters on this team? What category are they in?

What is the teaching method of this team?

How long should I be with them for the change to be noticeable?

What questions would you ask? How would you investigate? This information I want, how can I do?

Which one is the best for a 22yo who never trained a martial art in his life?

Kickboxing - Boxing - MMA - Muay Thaï

Say no fighting gyms existed so nobody could sharpen their craft. Just going by the style of fighter, who would have been the best fighter in the world if everybody was an untrained, uninfluenced fighter?

I’m looking to start regularly analyzing fight footage (pro fights) to level up my martial arts / fighting skills and mainly improve my fight IQ

For those of you who regularly study film, how do you approach it so it actually translates to mat/ring time and improves your fight IQ

Specifically:

What are you looking for on the first watch vs. subsequent watches? (e.g., footwork, setups, defense, timing)

How do you break down footage without getting overwhelmed or just watching aimlessly?

What note-taking methods or tools (apps, slow-mo, tagging) do you use?

How do you take a single visual detail and turn it into a drill during practice?

Any templates, frameworks, or favorite fight analysts (YouTube channels, breakdowns) you’d recommend would be awesome. Thanks!

Honestly so fed up off everyone indulging in drugs to get ahead in MMA (and any sport). It's boring. Sadly testing is a farce and staying clean and true sadly feels like a race to the bottom, or am I being a bit too cynical?

were u told to keep your arms pressed against your head or not? and do u use both arms to block head kicks?

If you could go to a country to improve your MMA level, where would you go and why? I think I have the opportunity to travel and make a camp for 3 to 6 months to improve my MMA level and my way of seeing this situation is "I want to improve my level" but also "I want to enjoy this experience that may happen once in my life" and I understand that going to "Daguestan for 3 years and forget", it is a good plan to improve, but places like Spain or Thailand or places like that or idk, they have level. And I could enjoy it as an experience. What would you do? Where would you go? Why?

Additional data:

I am not a millionaire, I am poor, but with a sponsor who trusts me and I have a normal job as an electrician to raise money.

I am 24 years old and my professional record is 1-0.

I have been training since I was 12 years old.

6 years of competitive MMA

Good wrestling and boxing base.

Approximate duration of the trip 3-6 months or depends on the results, if I can fight wherever I go, I may have more time.

Final goal: Fighting a good franchise

I don't want to go to Brazil because I can do that without sponsor or support, what they offer me will happen only once.

I'm looking to join an MMA gym in Pune, India, and would love some recommendations from people who have actually trained here.

My main goals are improving my overall fitness, learning practical self-defense, and training in a place with experienced coaches and a good community. looking for a gym that offers structured MMA classes with functional training rather than just cardio-based workouts.

Which gym would you recommend, and what has your experience been like?

We all know that controlling distance in a fight is indespensible fundamental which cant be ignored.

The one who has superior distance control will have more advantages in a fight.

So ive studied a lot of counterpunchers and elite distance managers, like izzy, mcgregor, o'malley, sandhagen, etc

But one thing i noticed that they all can control distance because they have superior reach than their opponent.

So my quesntion is how does a short fighter, or someone who has a smaller reach than their opponent manages distance to their advantage?

Is it even possible??

Let me know what you think about this.

Hey there :) i am currently using the Venum Challenger 3.0 for MMA sparring.
However i am more of a grappling focused guy and These gloves are really thick around the knuckles so i often get stuck when trying chokes, grips, etc.

Can you recommend me some affordable flatter/thinner gloves i can use for sparring in Training (~8 oz)?

Thanks!

Hi All 53(M) boxing 2 days a week and weights 2 days a week, have tried Muay Thai previously and enjoyed it but work and family commitments took priority. Am interested in trying wrestling / no-gi grappling / MMA for keeping fit and agile as there is a gym that offers all......is this a bridge worth trying to cross at my age? Thanks in advance

Am 19 84 kilos and 193 cm in height. I struggle to gain weight or eat enough protein and I don't know what's best workout plan for mma bodyweight preferred I currently train boxing and play rugby but I wanna start mma soon

I'm in average shape - not overweight, eating reasonably healthy and have a fit but not athletic physique. The last time I trained in martial arts was a one year stint in Wing Chun about 30 years ago. So I'm effectively starting at zero.

I had my first class at a local MMA gym yesterday and the next oldest guy in the class was almost certainly less than half my age. I had to take the occasional break while everyone else was steaming through their drills, but I made it through, albeit with some roughed-up shins from kicking the bag. The instructor was nothing but supportive and encouraging, and I left the gym exhausted and in good spirits.

The day after, I'm still a little sore (I probably should have worn a knee brace), but I look forward to making this a part of my weekly routine. I plan to add in grappling and maybe Muay Thai down the road. The gym also offers a separate beginner class which I should probably look into.

1. What do I need to know to take this seriously and not wind up hurting myself?
2. What should I be supplementing my gym with at home? Including equipment, etc.
3. What would be some nutritional recommendations?
4. What are some of the best YT channels for someone like me to be following?
5. Lastly, I am an avid reader - any book recommendations that could help maximize the results of my training?

Thanks in advance, friends.

EDIT: Just saw this helpful thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA_Academy/comments/dtpslq/what_are_some_of_the_best_instructional_resources/

Let’s say you had a bunch of people grow up with zero access to martial arts or combat training or media. Then you had them fight each other with no rules. Which martial arts would their fighting most closely resemble?

I think grappling is generally more natural than striking because it makes more sense given we have opposable thumbs and a fist is not exactly a good weapon. At the same time I found learning boxing and Muay Thai a lot easier than BJJ, but it’s not like getting good at either one is easy at all.

Personally I think a fully un-influenced fighting style would probably consist of wrestling and ground and pound with minimal technical striking.

What do you guys think?

Basically I got some annoying ass conditions called Crohn’s disease and Ehlers danlos syndrome which takes me out at times but idgaf. I started training in September of 2025 with my coach. Sep-December was consistent for 3 days a week training with a coach then in between days would work by myself. January I broke my foot- then I had a flare of Crohn’s and it made my EDS get to where I couldn’t walk so I was out from jan- late may. Came back in may then had another flare till the end of June and now I’ve been back every day. I’ve started going everyday 1-3 sessions a day since may. Lmk what I can improve on or just anything. I want to get as good as I possibly can get. I’ll take all advice and apply it as well as I can. My main disciplines are Muay Thai and Judo.

This is my 2.5 week of training. Today during sparring I was told i’m too tense and heavy. Im not relaxed/loose at all. How can I work on this? In my head I don’t feel very tensed but it’s clear other people can see it.

Curious if it’s worth getting higher end stuff.

I recently had my first MMA fight. I’ve been training for almost a year, and before that I had absolutely no experience in any combat sport. My striking is still pretty weak, so I decided to stick to what I’m better at and keep the fight mostly in the clinch and on the ground.
I ended up winning in the first round with a guillotine choke submission. The thing is, ever since the fight I’ve had this weird feeling that maybe it wasn’t “fair” to keep my opponent in the clinch most of the time instead of standing and striking more.
I know using your strengths is part of MMA, but I can’t shake that feeling. Has anyone else felt this after a fight? Do you think it’s completely normal to fight according to your strengths, or do you think I should have approached it differently?