Would you like to be like one of the top all-time UFC fighters or an MMA artist in other promotions? If so, you should be glad you are here, as we will walk you through how to be an MMA fighter, even if you have never been involved in combat sports. It takes a lot to become an MMA fighter, and you might experience difficulty getting started. Besides, the steps to becoming a fighter in the MMA differ from how you can join the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a fighter. In this post, you will discover how to become a professional fighter in Mixed Martial Arts. Let’s get down to business!
Best 5 MMA Promotions to Join as a Fighter
Before anything else, research and choose the MMA promotion that aligns with your aspirations and goals. Below are the top five (5) promotions to join:
1. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
UFC is the world’s largest and most popular Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion. The company’s headquarters is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. UFC is owned by TKO Group Holdings, and its current CEO is Dana White.
Most MMA fighters compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. These include Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Israel Adesanya, Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier, and Stipe Miocic. If you are considering becoming an MMA fighter in the UFC, it is essential to note that it is more difficult than other MMA promotions. However, you can start without prior experience in the sport.
2. Bellator MMA
You can also become an MMA fighter in Bellator MMA, an American mixed martial arts promotion formed in 2008. Founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney, Bellator MMA is one of the world’s largest combat sports promotions and has held more than 300 fight events. It is currently owned by Paramount Global, a multinational media conglomerate headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
If you are a fan of Vadim Nemkov, Patricio Pitbull, Linton Vassell, Ryan Bader, AJ Mckee, Corey Anderson, Timothy Johnson, or Fabian Edwards, you can be like them by starting your career with Bellator MMA.
3. ONE Championship
Another way to start a career in mixed martial arts is to join ONE Championship, a multinational combat sports promotion founded in 2011 and headquartered in Kallang, Singapore. They also promote other fight events, including kickboxing, Muay Thai, and submission wrestling, and have over 200 fights across Asia. Top fighters in this MMA promotion include Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, Anatoly Malykhin, Arjan Bhullar, Christian Lee, Angela Lee, Chingiz Allazov, Danielle Kelly, and Demetrious Johnson.
ONE Championship is one of the largest combat sports promotions in Asia. It is easier to become a MMA fighter through ONE Championship than UFC and Bellator MMA.
4. Invicta FC
If you are a female aspiring to become a MMA fighter, consider joining the Invicta Fighting Championships to start your career more easily. Invicta FC is a professional women’s MMA promotion headquartered in Enka, North Carolina, USA. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a multinational media company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Invicta FC airs their fights on UFC Fight Pass, and you can watch them on DSTV. Their notable fighters include Akeela Al-Hameed, Adriana Vuković, Alexa Culp, Auttumn Norton, Amber Brown, Brittney Cloudy, Brigid Chase, Caitlin Sammons,
5. M-1 Global
M-1 Global is a Russian mixed martial arts promotion headquartered in Saint Petersburg. They hold between 10 and 20 MMA fights yearly. Their top fighters include Shavkat Rakhmonov, Sergey Morozov, Roman Bogatov, Nate Landwehr, Alexander Volkov, Bruno Silva, and Khadis Ibragimov.
5 Steps to Become an MMA Fighter
Below are the simplified steps in becoming an MMA fighter under any promotion:
- Master the foundational skills of mixed martial arts, such as striking, grappling, and submission techniques
- Enhance your physical fitness by enrolling in a local gym.
- Get a coach or join a team.
- Compete in amateur MMA fights.
- Join a professional MMA promotion like UFC or Bellator MMA.
MMA Fight Rules
Mixed Martial Arts are based on a unified rule, which considers the following acts fouls:
- Upward elbow strike
- Small joint manipulation
- Seizing an opponent’s hair
- Using the head to strike your opponent
- Strikes to the groin area
- Timidity or simulating injury
- Treading on a fallen opponent
- Various forms of fish hooking
- Hitting an opponent after the bell
- Holding an opponent’s gear or gloves
- Manipulating or scratching an opponent’s skin
- Intentionally poking an opponent’s eyes
- Ignoring the referee’s directives
- Employing offensive language against an opponent
- Gnawing at or spitting on the opponent
- Ejecting an opponent from the ring
- Grasping the ropes or fence with your fingers or toes
- Striking an opponent in the back of the head or spine
- Unfair behavior leading to your opponent’s injury
- Repeated strikes to the throat or grasping an opponent’s trachea
- Deliberately touching an opponent’s wounded region
- Striking a fallen opponent’s head with a kick or knee
- Extending fingers toward an opponent’s eyes or face
- Slamming an opponent, targeting their head or neck
- Striking an opponent during the break or while being attended by the referee
No matter which country you want to fight from or MMA promotion you want to compete in, you will find the instructions in this article to be resourceful. Kindly share this post with anyone aspiring to become a MMA fighter.
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