It’s time to rethink our mma training. Gone are the days of being jacked with muscles on top of muscles. The new kings of mma aren’t scary looking freaks of nature carved out of granite. The popular theory of bigger is better has been knocked out. Now the best fighters in the world are lean, fast and just flat out good. Reflex and stamina now defines the cream of the crop. The muscle heads don’t have the gas to hang with the speed and endurance of the new age fighter and are becoming phased out of the sport.
Walk into any gym and you could pretty much bet on the fact that the best weight lifters are usually the worst athletes. Of course there are exceptions to that rule such as Brock Lesnar, but he’s pretty much one of a kind.
Every time I watch a UFC event and they wheel out the old Pride Fighters I can’t help but wonder what was going on in Japan. Were they juicing over there? Watching some jacked Pride Fighter getting slapped around by someone that looks more like an average guy is strange, but kind of funny. Being one of those average looking fighters I’ve never lost to anyone bigger or more muscular than me so I know the answer to the question of ” Is bigger, better for MMA?” The answer is no. Understand that speed, skill and stamina are the keys to success. Too much muscle will just slow you down and screw your cardio up. Try putting the down the weights and go run some sprints. Happy training!
