Tag Archives: UFC

Our Guide On How To Become A UFC Champion

Today we are going to talk you through the disciplines you need to become the best fighter on the planet.

Stand up

The obvious place to start is on your feet as that’s how every match starts. Whether it’s Boxing, Kickboxing or Muay Thai, you need to do something. Boxing has always been one of the biggest sports in the world for a reason. But we are talking about MMA now and as I’m sure you have all seen for yourselves, knees and kicks can do so much more than just knock a guy out. Just like in Bellator 158 when Micheal “Venom” Page landed a vicious knee on Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos.
Cyborg Santos broken skull

He actually broke his skull during that fight.

Or when Edson Barboza’s hit Terry Etim with a spinning back kick at UFC 142 in Rio De Janeiro. One of the worst knockouts in UFC history.

Kickboxing and Muay Thai will not just make you a better fighter. Training in them will also help you defend yourself a lot better as you will be able to see moves coming earlier if you are familiar with them. Whether it’s the way the guy drops his arm as he goes for the kick. Or how he goes to his toes before he jumps for that flying knee. Either of these disciplines will benefit you greatly.

Don’t just rely on one aspect of your game

You can be the best guy in the world on your feet but if you haven’t got anything else about your game then I wouldn’t advise getting into the octagon. Just like with James Toney when he stepped into the ring at UFC 118 to fight against Randy Couture. Couture whose background is in wrestling, made it look easy. He might not be known for his ground game but he still schooled Toney. And sent out a pretty clear statement that the next Boxer who wants an MMA fight might want to think again.

August 28, 2010; Boston, MA; USA; Randy Couture (black trunks) and James Toney fight at UFC 118 in Boston, MA. Couture won via 1st round choke.

Why You Need Wrestling

Just like Toney, Royce Gracie is another fighter who relied too heavily on one discipline. Known for being one of the best BJJ guys in the world. The legend was caught out and defeated by Matt Hughes at UFC 60. Although former UFC Champion Royce was one of the best on the ground in the world. It doesn’t count for much if you can’t get the other guy down on the floor to tap them out. Hughes demonstrated this perfectly. With a background in wrestling. Hughes stopped Royce getting him down and showed him just why you need to be an all-rounded fighter to make it in this world.

Why Ground Work Is So Important

Although Royce did struggle in that fight he did have a pretty impressive career, with 15 wins and only 2 losses and he was a UFC Champion. Which demonstrates why BJJ is so essential and arguably the most important skill that you should have in your arsenal. Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu seems to be the most overlooked aspect of many fighters game. This may be as it takes so long to achieve your black belt. 10 years for a BJJ black belt as opposed to less than 5 for Judo and Karate belts. No matter what the reason some people decide not to train grappling as much as other aspects it doesn’t really matter. Nearly all fights end up on the ground. And if you don’t know what you are doing, you can’t defend yourself and you won’t last long.

UFC Champion, Royce and GSP

One of the reasons that GSP was so dominant and another UFC Champion. Here he is pictured with Royce just after they had finished training.

Hit The Gym To Be The Next UFC Champion

As I’m sure all of you know, lifting weights make you stronger and although just being strong alone won’t help you at all against a trained fighter, it will work wonders in addition to all of your other training. We have all been in that situation where you have gotten someone into a move and it’s so close but you just haven’t got the strength to finish it off. Lifting will help here. And with your takedowns. And with your punching. And in everything else that you do.

So we have given you some pretty solid advice here today, so no matter if you are a complete beginner or have been training for years. You just want to get in shape or you really do want to become the best fighter in the world, this guide has given you a solid foundation to work off. So what are you waiting for, get out there and start training to become the next UFC Champion!

And just like any fighter you will need the right equipment so why not take a look at some of the gear we like here

An Insight In To The Professional MMA Fighter

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At MMA Fightwear, we always like to have a read of other MMA related blogs and news sites to keep ourselves updated with what is being discussed in the sport.

Recently we came across a really interesting article on the yourmma.tv website called Professional Rules, Not Professional Athlete, written by Jay Furness.

The author of the article, a professional MMA fighter himself, discusses his views on the distinction between “pro fighter” and “pro athlete”.

If you are interested in to getting a snap shot insight in to the life of a UK based professional MMA fighter, then we reckon that this article is worth taking a few minutes out to have a read of.

The author goes in to detail about the struggles and balancing act of holding down a full time job as well as fitting in a busy training regime. He also touches on the rarity of being fortunate enough to be fully supported by an income from fighting “full time” with references to those who have broken through and fight in well funded organisations like the UFC and Bellator.

If you’reAi?? interested in MMA but do not train yourself, or do not train to compete, then the end of the article where the author lists his weekly training regime will be an eye opener and is sure to give you a new found respect for the hard work and dedication it takes to be a professional mma fighter!

MMA Events Calendar

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Just a quick post, check out this pretty useful cool site to keep track of the up and coming UFC, The Ultimate Fighter, Strike Force events and more, all laid out in an easy to use calendar type format. It’s also got a comprehensive Fighter Ranking section. Worth a look!

MMA Event Calendar

Mike Tyson the MMA fighter

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If the Paydays were bigger, Tyson could have joined the ranks of the UFC!

According to a story on theAi??mmamania.comAi??website, Iron Mike may have ventured in to the MMA scene over boxing if, back in the day, the paydays were as big as they are today!

If the sport had been forking out the kind of cash that is being banded around today, then we could have seen some ‘interesting’ match ups! It’s hard to gauge what kind of an MMA fighter he would have made, as we only know and will only ever know of Iron Mike the boxer and his ridiculously powerful punching prowess, but we can still imagine how things might have played out for him.

Or we can make our mind up based Tyson’s interesting take on what an MMA fight is all about;

“I want to slam them, I want to hold them, I want to choke them. That’s what you want to do anyway if you’re in a street fight right? You want to hit them, but you want to get them too, real good. Get them down, get on top of them. So, you have more aspects. If it’s not working this way, you can kick them in the f***ing head, you know? If they (MMA) had big paydays, yes, no doubt about it.”

Based on that, it’s probably best he kept to boxing!

UFC 151 Conference Call Jones vs Henderson

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Ahead of their forthcoming clash at UFC 151 on 1st September, a media conference call was set up earlier on today between the headlining fighters Jon Jones and Dan Henderson. Dana White, also present for the call, joined in the mostly respectful banter between the two fighters as the hype machine keeps on rolling ahead of this eagerly awaited fight.

We’ve got the full call transcript below….

Dana White:Ai??I thought Couture was wrapping it up at 37. Dan Henderson is a three time world champion. He’s a great wrestlers, has knockout power in both hands and has fought everyone from 170 pounds all the way to heavyweight. He continues to impress no matter how old he gets.

Dan Henderson:Ai??This is a fight I’ve been waiting for and working towards. One of the final goals I have is to get the UFC belt. I’m excited to get the opportunity.

Dana White:Ai??Jon Jones has been on a tear. If he wrecks Dan Henderson, that would be even more impressive. No one has ever knocked out Dan Henderson. He’s got a rock solid iron chin. If he did that it would be quite feat.

Dana White:Ai??Whether Dan Henderson wins or loses, he’s a UFC Hall of Famer.

Dan Henderson:Ai??I definitely plan on beating him to the punch and putting him on his back during the fight. I’m excited but everyone’s gonna have to wait to see how it unfolds.

Jon Jones:Ai??I feel as if my chin has been tested. It slows down your career and makes it so you can’t take punches. The more you get punched, the faster you’ll get knocked out. I train with Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski and Lyoto Machida and Rashad both hit me pretty good. That conversation should be over by now.

Dan Henderson:Ai??I would have liked to have gone a little bit earlier. It is what it is. I’d have been ready to go in April but I’m excited about this. This timing has been great for me.

Dan Henderson:Ai??I typically want to fight three times per year.

Jon Jones:Ai??I think our PPV will do really well. Dan has a very strong and loyal fanbase and I’m starting to get a good fanbase.

Dana White:Ai??The thing between Rashad and Jon Jones was a big deal but the real fact of the matter was people thought Rashad had Jones’ number. If anybody thinks Dan Henderson can’t win this fight, they’re out of their minds. Fans who really know the sport know that Dan Henderson is the true threat.

Dan Henderson:Ai??The betting line doesn’t bother me at all. It’s funny to me. I know what I’m capable of and if it means proving people wrong, that’ll make it sweeter.

Jon Jones:Ai??I don’t think it’s fair to Dan. He’s done a lot of great things in this sport and it’s sad that people are more focused on my future than my immediate future. Everything I do is based around Dan Henderson, my study, my tactics. People may be overlooking Dan Henderson but I’m definitely not.

Jon Jones:Ai??I don’t feel like there will be extra distractions. There’s a little bit more controversy around me this training camp. My team doesn’t care about Nike or what I’m driving. It’s all about Dan Henderson for all of us.

Dana White:Ai??He’s fought the who’s who. He’s been around forever and fought everybody at every weight class. If you look at his skillset, I don’t know how you can discount this guy. Him and Rampage went toe-to-toe for five rounds blasting each other. The amount of disrespect has been ridiculous.

Dana White: Dan Henderson is probably one of the most overlooked and underrated fighters in the world today.

Jon Jones:Ai??I’ll be wearing a different outfit for weigh-ins, shoes, hats, different shirts. It’ll be like an official uniform. I saw the signature shoe and it’s pretty sweet but this is just a package they put together. It’ll be really nice, very professional.

Jon Jones:Ai??Dan’s definitely made a few statements about my style that have been unnecessary and uncalled for. My intentions are to go out and try to win in the most devastating fashion no matter what they say. When a fighter talks trash, I use it and it motivates me.

Jon Jones:Ai??Dan Henderson is high risk and high reward. He’s someone who had a Pride belt and a Strikeforce belt. I feel like I’m fighting the Pride champion and the current Strikeforce champion. He left both of those organizations on top. He’s just as experienced as all the guys I fought in 2011. Beating Dan Henderson is very important to me. He beat Fedor and Fedor is one of my idols. Beating Dan Henderson means the world to me. Dan Henderson is a monster, he’s a lion. I don’t want to look past him or talk about anything that’s past him.

Dan Henderson:Ai??For me, it’s more about two different styles fighting against each other, more of a chess match and Jon Jones is tougher to figure out than most guys. For me, that’s a fun challenge to try to figure that out. It’s more about that and the styles than the age. My conditioning and my training camp went perfect.

Dan Henderson:Ai??The Shogun fight was really close from the beginning. I felt like I got a little tired halfway through the fight trying to finish him. Maybe one or two more punches and being a little more busy and the fight could have been stopped or maybe I should have paced myself. I came out of it feeling pretty well. I hurt my thumb in the middle of the fight but my body felt great afterwards.

Jon Jones:Ai??I don’t believe anyone’s invincible. When you’ve fought for so long and taken so many big shots, I think your ability to take a shot and it fades away. I’ve watched his whole career about six times and I’ve realized there are some strikes that make him fall. A lot of times when they drop him, they rush into him. We’ve really dissected a lot of things that people do right and wrong when it’s time to finish him. A lot of fighter he’s fought didn’t have the necessary ground and pound to finish him. People get him hurt and they gas out and can’t finish the deal. I won’t gas out. I really believe I’ll hit the spot to make him fall and get the job done.

Jon Jones:Ai??Shogun Rua is not a wrestler and he took Dan Henderson down with ease. I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be able to take Dan Henderson down. I’ve been wrestling since I was 14 years old.

Dan Henderson:Ai??If you’re trying for the knockout, you’ll be taken down sometimes if you’re not careful. I don’t have any type of competition with anybody in MMA in terms of wrestling. It’s a fight out there.

Jon Jones:Ai??I try to keep the martial arts spirit alive as much as possible. I fight for my family. This is a sport where we don’t have a retirement plan. The money that I make today is the money I’ll draw from when I’m 80 years old and I have to pay for several colleges already. Thinking about the business aspect, fans can be upset about caring about pay-per-views. If I don’t evolve with my time, it would be a shame. I refuse to be a broke athlete when I retire. It’s all about being business savvy. There’s a lot of broke guys that were famous as some point. I’m evolving and changing and growing as a person. If I was the same person I was when I first got into the sport, I would be failing.

Dan Henderson:Ai??He’s definitely probably up there in the top of the game as far as the guys that I’ve fought. I fought them over different eras so it’s tough to compare sometimes when you have different times and the way the sport has evolved. Jon Jones has improved more than anybody I’ve seen in the last few years and he’ll be tougher to beat as he gets more experienced in the sport. He’s right up there as far as the toughest guys I’ve fought.

Jon Jones:Ai??The positive ways things have changed is being more familiar with suffering. Knowing the numbers I’ve had on the treadmill and weight lifting from the last camp and trying to beat them. Also, I’m always trying to innovate and I feel study is much easier now. I feel you can do anything you put your mind to. When my coaches get together, we know how to study. We know what to look at, what to stare at. The biggest issue is coming up with new ways to make it fun, come up with new ways to learn, new ways to suffer.

Jon Jones:Ai??I’ve grown a lot. Life is like anything else. What people don’t realize is just because your’e a pro athlete doesn’t make you a professional. We all do things we regret. It happened and I’m moving forward in my life. Things could have been so much worse for me. I could have been sitting here thinking about a life I ruined or be on trial for injuring someone. It couldn’t have happened at a better time in my life. I’ll be a better man because of it all, more responsible. Only god can judge me. I’m moving forward.

Jon Jones:Ai??The biggest thing that hasn’t changed and the key to my stability is the people in my life. It’s not about whether I made it, it’s how I handled it when I made it. Greg has seen champions go down. They start believing they’re the greatest. I have the same woman, the same coaches, the same relationship with my friends. I have a very strong support base. You’re only as strong as the people around you.

Jon Jones:Ai??The difference is an extreme speed difference. Dan Henderson has solid wrestling and he’s got a bear hug and a few greco roman throws. The difference is Rashad has strong cardio and he can bring it for five hard rounds but I don’t think Dan can do that. It’s a slight insult but it’s the truth.

Dan Henderson:Ai??My cardio could be a little better but I attribute that to the pace of the fight. I’m not worried about the pace of this fight at all.

Jon Jones:Ai??I believe that if you’re healthy enough to play a sport, you shouldn’t take any performance enhancing drugs or anything. Fighters make a lot of money in their 20s, their 30s and when they’re in the 40s, you shouldn’t take a drug to get the strength of a 30 year old again. I think things like TRT or steroids should be for the sick or people who need the drugs. If you’re an athlete, you’re an athlete. I don’t think anybody should take anything that enhances them.

Dan Henderson:Ai??Team Quest means a lot to me. I started with Randy a long time ago and it’s grown to be a big family. We’ve got a great group of guys and a pretty international group as well. Cyrille Diabate is long and tall and great with his striking. Another tall guy I brought in is Christian M’Pumbu, the Bellator light heavyweight champ. Everybody pushes us.

With still just over a week to go, we’re sure there will be more to come from the UFC ahead this fight, so stay tuned for more updates!

UFC on FX2 Alves Vs Kampmann

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Sydney, Australia Friday March 2nd 2012:Ai?? Alves vs. Kampmann

The UFC introduced the lighter weight classes recently and they have been received with great enthusiasm. The speed, technique and athleticism of 145 lb. and 135 lb. fighters is amazing.

Now, it is the flyweight fighters chance to shine. These 125 lb. warriors are ready to blaze ahead, but they need a champion.

The UFC has decided to take four of the greatest flyweight fighters and have a tournament. Ian ai???Uncle Creepyai??i?? McCall was one of the first fighters tapped to enter the tournament. With a mixed run in the WECai??i??s Bantamweight division, McCall decided to head down to a more natural weight of 125 lbs. This proved to be the best decision of his life.

He is undefeated in the flyweight division and is ranked #1 by many pundits. McCall is explosive, determined and always willing to engage. Ian has held championships in other organizations, but when the UFC taps you on the shoulder, you know it is time to go to the big show.

ai???Uncle Creepyai??i?? has a tough test ahead of him when he takes on Demetrious ai???Mighty Mouseai??i?? Johnson. Ian has proven that he can hang with the best in the world and will look to prove that he belongs at the top. This will be the first step in the journey towards UFC gold. Hayabusa is excited to partner with Ian ai???Uncle Creepyai??i?? McCall and wishes him the best of luck in his journey towards a coveted UFC championship.

Hayabusa will be well represented as Mackens Semerzier, Jake Hecht, Steve Siler, and Nick Penner all chose to train and compete in Hayabusa. Top athletes chose the best equipment in the industry; Hayabusa. Continuing with the tradition of creating the best, Hayabusa is proud to announce the launch of the new tokushuai??? series.