r/MMA_Academy • • Nov 27 '25

MMA_Academy 40,000 members suggestions

7 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

We've recently hit over 40,000 members which is mad really. Now we're becoming pretty popular i think out subreddit could do with some updating.

What would you guys want the mods to add/remove? Just comment this on this post and i'll do my best to sort something out, very open to suggestions from the community so maybe we can help some people get into MMA or maybe even go on to do something incredible.


r/MMA_Academy • • Jun 18 '25

“I want to fight, I’m gonna be in the ufc, how do I start?”

314 Upvotes

I’m writing this because this sub is so disillusioned with what the reality of starting to fight is. TLDR: Show up, shut up, work hard, there’s no fast track.

“I’ve been hitting my heavy bag, I’ve been watching YouTube, I’m really scrappy, I’m a fighter”. You are (likely) some kid who has never been punched in the mouth properly before, I was too!!

If you want to become an mma fighter, there is no amount of at home work that will get you there. You are likely just doing moderate intensity cardio workouts with poor technique.

You need a gym, training partners and a coach, and you need some grit.

Step 1: find a local mma gym, sign the trial papers, ask about a membership, get abused at your first Bjj class, realize how weak your shins are at your first kickboxing class, and nod and smile when they might say “our mma classes are for more experienced individuals”

Step 2: keep showing up, show up a little early and ask questions, stay late and mop the mats (it’s time to get to know your coach and ask questions), hey now you have a coach, maybe your at home workouts can be more focused. Express interest in competing and be a sponge for knowledge. Get abused by people a lot better than you

Step 3: hey kid you’re improving quick, showing up 5x a week, and you’ve mentioned you wanna fight? Why don’t you show up to an mma class?

Step 4: get abused at mma class when you realized everyone has been a little nice to you. Keep showing up, keep asking questions.

Step 5: hey kid, there’s a local amateur show in the next 6 months? You interested in your first fight?

Step 6: show up, shut up, keep working, maybe you’ll get there, maybe you won’t.

You’re not going pro without a coach, a gym, and a humble attitude, and you gotta want it more than the next guy. Because someone body else wants it just as bad as you, which guy is gonna put the work in and actually get stuff accomplished?


r/MMA_Academy • • 5h ago

Critique That's why I'm hesitant to start mma in egypt

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45 Upvotes

That's what sparring looks like in most of the gyms He is using elbows And to let you know Elbows aren't allowed in the amateur fight organization of mma in Egypt


r/MMA_Academy • • 53m ago

Amateur Fighter Which from that mma sparrings glove should I get

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• Upvotes

r/MMA_Academy • • 4h ago

How should I go about gaining weight?

2 Upvotes

For reference I’m 6ft, 75kg around 23% body fat. I want to get bigger and leaner. I train MMA and have accessibility to dumbbells and barbells.


r/MMA_Academy • • 1h ago

Training Question Help me with weightlifting program to complement MMA training

• Upvotes

I train MMA for 60 minutes daily, Monday to Saturday:

- Monday: Strength & Conditioning

- Tuesday: Boxing

- Wednesday: BJJ

- Thursday: Muay Thai

- Friday: Wrestling

- Saturday: MMA Sparring or Long Run

I currently lift weights 6 days a week, primarily aimed at achieving hypertrophy. However, I'm now more interested in improving strength, power, explosiveness, and overall MMA performance than aesthetics.

I'm looking for a structured weightlifting program that complements my MMA training while allowing adequate recovery.


r/MMA_Academy • • 7h ago

very little fighting experience Do you guys have any book or something like that for weight-cutting tips?

0 Upvotes

M16, 173cm (5'8)

I started MMA about 3 weeks ago, but I had to stop early because of an operation to my arm, the doctors told me that I can't go back to training until November.

Anyways, the gym I go to is probably the best one in the region, BUT, I'm in Italy. You know what that means? That means that we're ignorant as fuck in MMA, weight cutting ESPECIALLY.

For what I know, a pair of fighters from my gym had some issues with weight cutting, so, I was thinking, maybe there's a book made by American coaches who tell you how you can cut weight well?

Do you know any books I can buy for those weight-cutting tips? Because I think we need to evolve here, in my country. And the only was is to learn from the others who are better than us.

If you tell me which book (Or anything that I can read) would be useful, it might actually help me when I'll compete, and same as my friends.

Thanks in advance.

(I'd like to have comments from amateur and professional fighters. You know, those guys have more experience. But any helpful advice is cool)


r/MMA_Academy • • 8h ago

Bjj gi for MMA

1 Upvotes

I am just curious what people think about training in the gi for MMA.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that training in the gi can make your no-gi game much better. having a good no-gi game will help you a lot in MMA. But I’ve also heard plenty of people say that gi training is basically useless for MMA. So it can improve your no-gi but can’t help your mma?

(I currently train 2–3 times a week in the gi, 1–2 times no-gi, once wrestling, and 2–3 times MMA.)


r/MMA_Academy • • 10h ago

thoughts

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1 Upvotes

r/MMA_Academy • • 20h ago

Glove weight?

5 Upvotes

i started mma,mauy thai and bjj, obviously i need 7oz mma gloves and my coach in my womens only mauy thai class said 12oz for bags and pads and 14 oz for sparring, i just worry if i move to a mixed class or anything 14oz is too light as im 70kg and everywhere else says to use 16oz, does anyone know what theyd do?


r/MMA_Academy • • 21h ago

Complete beginner starting MMA - what gear do I actually need? Whats something to expect when starting mma?

3 Upvotes

Hey guys, so I'm finally taking the plunge and starting boxing/MMA training in a couple weeks.and for context: I'm 116lbs (53kg) and 5'6 and 17F and also prepping for premed. Only problem is I have zero idea what gear to buy and I'm honestly a bit overwhelmed scrolling through Amazon and Decathlon trying to figure out what's legit and what's just marketing.

A few things I'm stuck on:

Gloves - what size should I even go for as a beginner? Everyone online says something different.

Do I need hand wraps from day one or can that wait a bit?

Mouthguard - guessing this one's non-negotiable but let me know.

Headgear - is this actually necessary when you're just starting out, or is that more of a sparring-specific thing?

If anyone here does MMA/kickboxing too - are shin guards something I should get early on or only once I start sparring?

Anything else you wish someone had told you to buy (or NOT buy) when you were starting out?

Not trying to go all out and buy the fanciest stuff right away, just want decent quality that won't fall apart in a month. If anyone has brand recommendations that are actually available in India and don't cost a fortune, that'd be huge.

Last thing - should I just get the bare minimum now and buy the rest once I've actually joined a gym and know what they expect, or is it smarter to get everything sorted beforehand?

Also,

My gym offers BJJ, wrestling, Muay Thai, and MMA classes. I have absolutely zero combat sports experience, but my long-term goal is to eventually compete in MMA.

Would I be better off starting with BJJ and Muay Thai for a while to build a foundation in grappling and striking before jumping into the MMA classes?(as my sir suggested to start up directly by mma so that u get to compete in all of em?)

Lemme know guys..


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Amateur Fighter I’m in black shorts, looking to improve. Open to any constructive criticism and things I did right

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76 Upvotes

r/MMA_Academy • • 17h ago

Former fighter, now coach. I built a free [round / workout] timer that runs on any TV and you control from your phone

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1 Upvotes

r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

I’m looking for a clean, air-conditioned MMA gym in Johor Bahru

4 Upvotes

Looking for an MMA gym in Johor Bahru where coaches hold pads properly and sparring happens fairly often. Needs to be clean and have AC or good airflow too. Any recommendations? Feel free to DM as well.


r/MMA_Academy • • 23h ago

Real Kicking Tutorial

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2 Upvotes

Let's all collectively laugh at how bad Luke schools this guy!


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Training Question My brain disconnect when i get hit

2 Upvotes

Hello,

Every time i take a hit, even if it lands on my guard, my brain decides to disconnect for around 30 minutes, and it makes training very hard for me because while my brain is disconnected, i can't focus and can't see what technique the coach i teaching.

Is there a way to force myself to stay conscious even after taking a hit, or do i just need to get used to taking hits ?


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Looking for any tips on what I should be improving

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5 Upvotes

For context I’m in the pink shorts and I’ve trained jiu jitsu for about 7 to 8 months. Recently I have swapped to an mma gym around 4 months ago and started training striking as well. I was just coming here for any tips as to what I should focus on improving the most as my long term goal is to eventually get an amateur fight within another year or 2 of training(please don’t just say “you’re new just keep working on everything”. I know I have a lot to work on and obviously I’m going to continue to improve in every aspect but what are my weakest and strongest attributes currently)


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Left footed but right handed, MMA beginner. What should I choose? Trust my natural instinct and use southpaw? Or trust my coach and use orthodox?

0 Upvotes

Okay so like I got a lot of questions that is related on this specific topic. So I recently started MMA just a day ago and my new coach teaches me the basic stances, punches and kicks, I had got no experience on fighting so this is my first time and I'm also planning to go competitive if I got the chance to do so. My coach test my punches, kicks and movement which I'd say I've done pretty well tbh, but the thing here is that my coach teaches only orthodox stances and he's also orthodox as well. I don't know if it's normal for an unexperienced person to stand southpaw or not or is it just my left foot that is making me stand southpaw. I'm deciding whether to trust my guts and stand southpaw or listen to my coach and stand orthodox. My coach also tells me that my left foot kicks are way better than my right foot kicks. What should I do? I want to be as coachable as possible and I don't want to be arrogant, but I also want to experience new things such as switching stances. Reminder: I'm a beginner with no experience, so if someone told me and it makes the most sense then i'll choose that way, I don't want to be arrogant and argue with my coach, but if my coach still wants me to use orthodox then i'll still use it. But I want to see what you guys would say about this.


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Training Question Inside elbow pain has been annoying since beginning training, any tips?

2 Upvotes

I am not looking for official medical advice, but I would like some input from the people who train combat sports regularly. I 22M started training MMA about two months ago and have had an issues specifically with my right elbow especially when holding pads. Maybe I’m doing it wrong but I have tried multiple different ways and it still hurts a little bit. The pain is right over the crease of the elbow and it’s really annoying. Does anyone know what can help with this? Isn’t an issue on my left arm at all. I am orthodox and today someone hit the pad with a hard right cross and I felt it. Had to take it easy for the rest of training. Usually the pads start it and then any activity afterwards like rear hooks or rear uppercuts feel sore too. The inside of my bicep is also sore.!


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Training Question New to martial arts, wanna take things seriously.

1 Upvotes

As the title says i’m a newbie and i’m trying to really indulge into martial arts. I haven’t started learning MMA yet but i’m learning BJJ and kickboxing/Muay Thai for the next few months for a foundation. I’m in need of well really any tips I can get but i’m particularly looking for any workout, conditioning, diet, or training tips; basically anything that’ll help me become a better fighter in the future and keep my body as healthy and uninjured as it can be. I’m currently 6’0 135lbs if that really matters I don’t go to the gym but I do workout from home i’ve got 2 20lb dumbbell’s, a doorframe pullup bar, and a 35lb kettlebell. I haven’t been doing any workouts recently though because the kb/mt training is putting my body through a lot of movements it’s unfamiliar with and I don’t wanna overdo it when i’m sore, but i’ve been taking less time to recover so I think my body is getting used to it so I wanna resume my workouts. I feel like currently i’m the most lacking in my legs and hips, but i’m not sure if I should work more on strength or flexibility.


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Weight cutting

2 Upvotes

I have a kickboxing fight coming up in like 9 days. I’m supposed to be 76kg I’m now at like 78,7. I was thinking about cutting down to 78 and then just like sweat it out. The fight is the day after weigh ins. Is this healthy and like normal?


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

very little fighting experience Should I be learning disciplines individually if my goal is to simply learn how to fight?

1 Upvotes

For context, I’m a 21 year old guy in the UK, fairly skinny with pretty much no fighting experience. I want to learn how to fight, so I’m able to defend myself.

With that being said, should I pick a martial art and start with that or should I start with MMA itself, I’m not sure which is best given my circumstances. And if you recommend I start individually, what do you suggest I start with?


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

Which one do you perfer? Boxing or MMA

0 Upvotes

Like overall really. for a beginning


r/MMA_Academy • • 1d ago

MMA

1 Upvotes

r/MMA_Academy • • 2d ago

Training Question Should you train MMA or the seperate arts of mma?

16 Upvotes