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What Does It Take to Become a Professional MMA Fighter?

With the rising popularity of UFC, many young people dream about becoming an MMA or UFC champion. Striving to become the best means dedication, strength, determination and complete commitment to the sport. Integrated Combat Centre is the leading Sydney martial arts training centre, where everyday people and elite champions work together with the mutual goal of becoming the best they can be. If your goal is to become a professional MMA fighter, there’s a few important qualities you need to possess to enable you to take your skills to the pro level.

Mental Toughness

Striving to turn pro means extremely hard training, injuries, dieting, weight cuts, fights, losses, sacrifices, pain and exhaustion every day, year after year. You need to be the type of person that is comfortable with pushing yourself to the limits, be able to withstand pain and pick yourself up when you feel you can’t go on. You also need a thick skin and be able to shake off criticism. No matter how good you are, there will always be someone wanting to tear you down. You must have the determination and the continual drive to succeed even when your back is against the wall.

Physical Ability

It may seem obvious that you need speed, strength, agility, endurance and co-ordination to be a good fighter, but it doesn’t stop there. Your muscles and ligaments must be able to take abuse and keep on going, day after day. Becoming a professional means intense training and competitions that can take their toll on every part of the body so you also need to be able to recognize when you are over-trained to prevent injuries and keep yourself in the best physical condition.

Discipline

Becoming the best means you need to do whatever it takes and make sacrifices to get to the top. You will need to put everything you have into pursuing your passion, so while your friends may be drinking and socialising, pursuing careers and relationships, you will need to be dedicated to spending your life in the gym and focusing all your energy on perfecting your skills, fuelling your body correctly and getting yourself in the best condition. You need to be in it for the long haul as success will not come overnight, only after years of diligent practice.

Support

Even though MMA is an individual sport when you’re in the octagon, no one can become the best on their own. To be successful you will need a good team and support network behind you on a daily basis. Your team will consist of dedicated, expert coaches and training partners, who will take care of you and make your well-being their top priority. To help you along your journey you will also need support at home to help you nurse injuries and to motivate and encourage you when you need it.

Courage

It’s not enough to just be brave, you need to be courageous – as the saying goes, courage is not the absence of fear, it is action in spite of fear. To walk into the situation where you will be punched, kicked and have your limbs stretched requires a certain level of bravery and courage, and some might even say madness!

A Background in Martial Arts

Even if you have incredible skill and athletic ability in other sports, to become a professional MMA fighter you need to have years of training in at least one martial art under your belt. To win MMA fights, you need to have a valuable skillset that includes kickboxing, striking or wrestling. A solid background in a martial art, ideally multiple martial arts, is the only way you can get the kind of experience you need to succeed as an MMA fighter.

Whether you want to become a professional or simply want to learn important life skills and improve your fitness, ICC has a range of classes for all ages and abilities. Our expert team will help you set goals and guide you along your journey to achieve those goals. For BJJ, MMA, kickboxing or karate in Hurstville, Peakhurst and surrounds, get in touch with us online or by calling (02) 8221 8899 today to find out more.

Give our BJJ program a go and experience the improvements to all of these fields. It is considered to be an excellent first style where the skills are easily transferable.

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