Are you thinking of competing in MMA? – Here’s a comprehensive guide on costs, logistics, and preparation

Introduction

The popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has increased in recent years, becoming a global phenomenon from a niche fight sport. The barriers to entry are still modest, so many newcomers can kickstart an open-ended journey. Possibilities are many, with the two most common blockers of success being: mismanagement, and poor preparation. Because behind the glamour of high-profile fights, there is a complex web of logistics to navigate for all players, including fighters, promoters, and organizations.

In this guide, you’ll get a well-rounded overview of the nuances of preparing for an MMA tournament, from managing your travel arrangements and registration, to understanding different game plans and types of competitions. We will walk you through the preparation process, including the rules and regulations of the sport, and cover tips for top tier mental and physical conditioning. We’ll also provide a rough calculation of the expenses and time commitments you can expect to invest in participation. So overall, this article will give you a clear picture of what it takes to succeed in MMA so you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.

Logistics

Registration and Licensing

Everyone who enters the cage needs to be registered and licensed by the appropriate athletic commission. Fees vary by state or country, but typically range from $50 to $500. In the US, it is the state athletic commission that licenses fighters, as well as managers and promoters. In most states, application requires a health history, physical exam record, fight record, trainer reference, and an MMA national ID card from the state of residence (which might cost between $10 and $50 and valid for an average of 5 years). Amateur applicants may also be required to create an online profile on the site of the MMA organization of the state. It must be noted, that the forms are exhaustive and investigative, going into personal background, physical appearance, professional history, and references—comparable to the application process of the armed forces, which can be really uncomfortable.

In the US, fighters commonly also need to pay for medical examinations to obtain a clean bill of health, which can cost anywhere from $100 to $1,000, depending on the required tests (e.g., blood tests or MRI scans). Larger promoters usually cover these costs for their fighters, but amateurs often have to pay out of pocket. The completed tests are usually valid for 1-3 years, with additional tests required for participants over 40 years of age. The assessments may include pre-fight physical tests, neurological tests, psychological evaluations, and drug tests. These can take anywhere from a few hours to several weeks, depending on the availability of the medical facility. As they can take time and are mandatory, it is better not to leave them to the last minute.

In the UK, EU, and other regions, regulation tends to be more flexible, and the application process is less intrusive. Coaches can usually enroll their fighters directly into events with a club-issued membership/ID card. The general governing body is the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF), which oversees amateur fighters in partnership with the largest promoters. Fighters must comply with the event’s rules, particularly those regarding the weight class system, fight rules, safety protocols, mandatory meetings, and pre-flight briefings. The required medical examinations are also set by the event host licensing the contest.

In summary:

Competition Fees and Fight Record

In addition to licensing, competitors usually need to pay registration fees to enter the tournament which for amateur tournaments ranges from $50 to $200, but can go up to $500 at larger promotions. High-profile events like the UFC, PFL, OneFC or others tend to cover these fees for their contracted fighters. However, if you’re competing within the regional circuits and independent promotions, you’ll likely need to pay these costs out of pocket. Also note, that higher weight classes or divisions tend to have higher fees, and additional fees may appear as you move up the ladder.

Before being allowed to compete in professional events, fighters normally need to demonstrate a certain level of experience through a substantial fight record. The recommended minimum number of amateur fights before turning professional is typically around 5-10, but the exact requirements may vary between organizations. Building a fighting record can take months or even years, depending on your training schedule and the available opportunities. So it is necessary to plan and build your profile beforehand, as it often involves traveling around for opportunities that can provide the experience. You can look at tapology.com for upcoming fight opportunities and events.

In summary:

• Estimated time: 3-18 months
• Estimated cost: $250-$5,000

Travel and Accommodation

A significant logistical challenge, especially when competing abroad, is the cost and orchestration of the trips. The hustle includes flight tickets, meals, local gym fees, accommodation costs, and rental cars for several days to have enough time before and after the event. The costs you might expect to pay can be anywhere between $50 to $300 per night in most Western countries, so the accommodation costs tend to add up quickly. It can go even higher if you need to bring along training partners and your coaching team, so for cost-saving, you might consider staying in shared accommodations which can save a lot on lodging expenses.

Travel costs can vary depending on the location and distance of the event. While within the UK and EU, the cost of domestic travel can stay under £100 due to smaller distances, in the US, larger distances mean even domestic travel can range from $200 to $1,500 per tournament. Travel costs for international events can go even higher, ranging from an average of $500 to well over $2,000. Promoters tend to cover travel costs for their fighters, however, amateurs and lower-tier fighters often need to arrange these themselves.

Traveling for events can take up a significant amount of time if all added together from travel days, pre-fight weigh-ins, and promotional show-ups. You can expect to dedicate a minimum of 3-4 days for domestic events and up to two weeks for international competitions.

In summary:

• Estimated time: 3-14 days
• Estimated cost: $200-$6,000

Game Strategy for Different Types of Competitions

Your strategy for an MMA competition will be different based on the event type, and the format and ruleset of the competition. The subtleties of various MMA competitions have a huge impact on your results. Not every format suits every fighter, and you’d need to be mindful when investing in your skill development, as some skills simply don’t deliver well in certain tournament structures.

Amateur Tournaments

Amateur MMA is often the first step on the ladder, in many cases it is a necessary first step, as most enrolments commonly require amateur fight history. Amateur participation gives a great opportunity to develop skills without the pressure of a high-stakes professional event. The rules vary depending on the organization, with the standard rules set by IMMAF. The bouts are generally shorter than in professional events, often containing just two or three rounds. All amateur bouts will consist of rounds no longer than 3 minutes with a 1-minute rest period in between each round. They typically employ different safety regulations, including the use of headgear and shin guards to prevent fractures. Also, to ensure safety, some organisations may have strict rules regarding the use of striking and grappling moves. Grappling exchanges, including submission attempts, tend to carry a lot of weight, though, and are highly valued when scoring.

In addition to the 10-point must system commonly used in professional MMA, amateur MMA frequently employs a modified scoring system or simpler scoring. With the shorter rounds, racking up points is quite difficult, so fighters tend to compensate with more aggressive approach. It’s best to find a balance between aggression and efficiency, as excessive force could result in penalties or disqualification. Using points-scoring techniques such as landing clean strikes and maintaining solid positioning can make a huge difference.

The bracket system used in amateur events requires one to go through multiple rounds within their weight bracket quickly. Versatility is crucial in these bracket-style tournaments because you cannot prepare for specific opponents. They are often very fast-paced, too, and take place over a single day or weekend, making it important to develop the ability to manage energy. This set up tends to lead to focusing on quick finishes to avoid burnout before the next rounds, commonly aiming to secure early takedowns and submission.

Amateur events typically reward fighters with medals, trophies, and recognition rather than monetary rewards. The focus is on skill development and gaining experience, so the financial balance of competing in the amateur league is commonly negative.

Professional Events

Professional MMA events tend to follow a traditional single-fight format for each event, as opposed to the amateur tournament style where fighters compete in multiple matches in a single event. Professional fighters compete for titles, recognition, and often, substantial paychecks and sponsorship deals, making a living from their competition results. For exceptional displays of skill or finishing fights early, performance bonuses may also be given, such as “Performance of the Night” or “Fight of the Night.”

The number of rounds in professional MMA bouts is usually three or five, depending on the event. Non-title fights typically have 3 rounds that last 5 minutes each. In title fights or main event bouts, there are 5 rounds that last 5 minutes each. There is a 1-minute rest period for each fighter, similar to amateur events. But since these are longer rounds than in amateur settings, fighters need to adopt a more methodical approach.

The Unified Rules of MMA are typically adhered to in professional MMA, where judges score fights using a 10-point must system inherited from Boxing. The winner of the round is given 10 points, the loser gets 9 points, in the case of even rounds both fighters score 10 points. Effective striking, grappling, control, and aggression are among the factors considered. Winning on points is essential, but fighters also aim to finish fights via knockout or submission, so strong foundations in grappling significantly contribute to success substantially. While there are many martial arts disciplines that come into play in MMA, you’ll typically find that most fighters have a background in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Boxing.

In cases of high-stakes fights, fighters often spend weeks or months in training camps to prepare for a single opponent, analyzing and strategizing for their strengths and weaknesses. At this level, game plans are a science, and the top fighters has a team of specialised competition coaches and training partners behind them. In general, the goal is to keep the dynamics of the fight closer to your own strongest discipline:

Against Strikers: If you’re facing a striker with a background in Boxing or Kickboxing, your primary strategy would involve closing the distance to prevent them from taking leverage. You would prioritise engaging in clinch work, securing takedowns, and applying full body control.

Against Grapplers: When facing a grappler, it becomes important to keep the fight on the feet so you would focus on your takedown defense and keep your ability to strike from a distance. It’s also necessary to have a strong escape against submission techniques.

Well-Rounded Fighters: When up against a well-rounded fighter, your strategy should be as balanced as you can make it to be able play your strengths and swing the pendulum of the fight to your direction when the right moment comes.

Physical Preparation for MMA

Physical preparation is often told to be the most significant part of preparing for MMA tournaments, but is in fact only half of the story. An important half though, as tournaments comes with higher intensity and lower inhibition in behavior, requiring stamina that can last for the average 15-20 minute, and pads of muscles that can buffer the impacts and the increased pressure on the joints and tissues.

Strength and Conditioning

It’s essential for MMA fighters to have a well-planned strength and conditioning program because competitions often push them to their absolute limits. The aim of these programs is to build muscle, strengthen the core, improve endurance, and enhance overall output. Techniques such as weightlifting, plyometrics, and functional training are commonly employed to develop the physical attributes necessary for success in the cage. Advice is many on such topics, but their reliability varies. Choose your resources carefully because dangerous trends can spread quickly and stick for long. Check out the links below for a few evidence-based programs that you can rely on.

Strength and conditioning considerations for Mixed Martial Arts

Evidence based guideline for strength and conditioning in Mixed Martial Arts

Strength and Conditioning for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

The principles of body mechanics and their significance in grappling arts

If you work on your training routine on your own, you can keep the expenses around $30-$150 per month for gym and other facility access, depending on the location. Additional materials, such as books, online plans, membership sites etc. can be accessed for around $10-$100 to help you with the strategizing. If you hire help to build a structured program, you’ll likely pay an extra $50-$150 per session for a specialized trainer. A comprehensive conditioning plan could take up to 4-8 weeks and involve an average 3-4 sessions every week, each lasting around of 1.5-3 hours. Due to the specifics of both MMA and competition, you would need to look for industry experts who are well-versed in the physical requirements of the game and know how the different body types respond to different training methods.

Many fighters participate in MMA-specific training camps in the months leading up to the fight. The focus of these camps is on intensive daily training sessions that address all aspects of MMA preparation. Camps are a controversial topic, however, because the organization, safety standards, and other aspects often fall way behind expectations. The lack of personalization and the inadequate support may deplete fighters instead of energise them. Make sure to thoroughly check the camp’s reputation to avoid leaving in a worse condition than when you arrived.

• Estimated time: 4-8 weeks
• Estimated cost: $40-$5,000

Diet and Nutrition

Creating meal plans that help maintaining a good energy levels, promote recovery, and sustain weight is often done by nutritionists rather than the fighters themselves, as performance is significantly impacted by the diet. A balanced diet that includes proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals is essential. The body is built from the intake of nutrition. If any nutrition is missing from the organs to operate properly, it’s not just the performance that suffers, but also the health.

Setting up a diet optimised for the temporary overuse use of the body requires a good understanding of the metabolic needs. Professional advice here is strongly preferred over Google search. A dietitian may charge somewhere between $50-$150 per consultation, but you can access official research papers discussing combat sport nutrition needs as well. For most fighters, a healthy and budgeted meal can cost from $300 to $600 or more in a single month due to specialised supplements and diet ingredients. If you opt to employ a personal chef to assist in meal preparation, that adds to the expenses as well.

In summary:

• Estimated time: 4-8 weeks
• Estimated cost: $300-$2,000

Weight Cutting

Many MMA fighters take the risk of cutting weight before a competition to qualify for a fight or move to a more advantageous bracket. This often involves reducing caloric intake, manipulating water weight, and increasing cardio. It must be noted, that keeping the body in deficit before with such cuts, just before putting it under extreme pressure on the tournament, can be a very risky move. Water weight cutting is a particularly dangerous game. Water is the main component of every organ and the core vehicle in cell communication. Proper hydration is absolutely essential to keep the transmitters, electrolytes, and nutrients accessible for the organs. As a result, dehydration can lead to death by organ failure much more quickly than most people think.

Losing the ability to fight effectively due to a miscalculated weight cut is a common issue at amateur level. For any weight cut, a closely monitored strategic plan is necessary to avoid making your body weaker or fatally damaged before the fight. If you consider venturing into weight cut, work with a dietitian or nutritionist to set up the plan and monitor the changes. Do remember, that the body cannot function properly if essential nutrients or water are missing for the daily operation, let alone if they’re missing for days or weeks.

Recovery

Recovery is an essential aspect of training because micro-injuries and muscle tears are quite common even during training and can show up during competition. Injuries also have the tendency to alter one’s biomechanics, as they usually lead to unconscious avoidance of using the once injured body part. When asymmetry develops in the body, it often leads to a snowballing effect which causes a series of recurring injuries. Consulting a physiotherapist can cost from $50-$200 per session, but it’s recommended in order to ensure the body alignment is back on track after any injury.

In addition, techniques like cryotherapy, massage therapy, and active recovery sessions can aid in restoring and reducing the further risk of injury. These services can also cost between $50 and $200 per session depending on the seniority level of the practitioners. Supplements, such as proteins, creatine, and vitamins targeting joint and muscle recovery, as well as immune support, are also often added to the diet, increasing the cost by 20$ – $300 or even way above.

• Estimated time: 1-4 weeks
• Estimated cost: $70-$1,800

Gear and Equipment

Having the right gear is critical for your training and compliance with the safety regulations of tournaments. To ensure proper fit and comfort, it’s recommended to get your set at least 4-6 weeks before the event. You can find below a cost breakdown of the most important equipment you will likely need.

Item	Purpose	Cost
MMA Gloves	Hand protection for striking	$30 – $150
Shin Guards	Shin protection during sparring	$30 – $100
Mouthguard	Teeth protection during sparring	$10 – $60 (dentist made being around $200)
Groin Protector	Protecting sensitive areas	$15 – $50
Chest protector (female fighters)	Protecting chest, absorbing shock	$50 – $200
Headgear	Reducing risk of concussions during sparring	$50 – $150
Clothing	Moisture-absorbent and well-fit shorts, rashguard (+sport bra for female fighters)	$50 – $200 (for a full set)

Mental and Emotional Preparation for MMA

Mental preparation has much less standards, and often still relays on either anecdotal advices or stress management methods developed for managing regular daily stress. MMA tournaments commonly push fighters to their mental limits just as much as to their physical one, daily stress management methods rarely bring results. As per the Tournament Preparation Model for Grappling Arts® Mental preparation accounts for approximately 75% of a successful competition preparation strategy.

Competing in MMA is a mental game to the highest degree. The noise and stress of the event can eat you alive, the demands of the fight drain you to the bone, and the fluctuating emotional condition can make your metabolic routes overwork for days or even weeks before the event, making you exhausted often before the event even starts.

A strong mental preparation strategy is invaluable. As we explore in The Brain and Combat: Handbook of Tournament preparation series, due to the bodily changes that occur as a result of your mental condition, you may win or lose a round before the fight has even started. You can find below a list of the major psychological components (Ydus, 2024) that together make up the mental condition that you need to tackle to have a sustainable career in MMA.

Challenges	Consequences	Solution
The noise of the event, the buzz, the organization, the exposure	Cognitive overload leading to mental burnout causing inability to follow the opponent	On-the-sport self-regulation methods – The Brain & Combat Chapter 5
Personality stretches, unpleasant circumstances, withholds	Muscle tension and cognitive dissonance causing loss of agility and focus	Self-awareness – The Brain & Combat Chapter 1, Chapter 2
Performance stress	Reduced thinking, early muscle fatigue, movement inhibition	Understanding competition – The Brain & Combat Chapter 3
Combat stress	Severe movement inhibition, known as flight or freeze response	Long-term self-regulation and combat resilience methods – The Brain and Combat Chapter 4
Lingering trauma	Mental scars, often accumulated, leading to submissive game and loss of motivation	Internal and external support – The Brain & Combat Chapter 6, Chapter 7

The Brain & Combat: Handbook of Tournament preparation series:

The chapters of the series target the specific challenges grappling tournaments come with and will give you a strong, strategic foundation to arrive well prepared. Working with a competition coach can provide an even more tailored preparation strategy. Sessions may range from $70 to $300 per hour, with packages often available for different competition goals and personal circumstances. A typical commitment might involve 4-10 sessions, spreading over a couple of weeks.

In summary:

• Estimated time: 1-8 weeks
• Estimated cost: $300-$3,000

Overall Costs and Time Consumption

As you can see by now, preparing for an MMA competition requires some upfront investment of both time and money. Let’s look at the breakdown of the total costs and time commitment that we’ve gone through in this guide. The majority of fighters spend somewhere in the displayed interval, but custom circumstances have a major impact on the overall spending. Nonetheless, from the table below, you can get an idea of what to expect when entering the world of MMA competitions.

Category	Cost Range	Time Commitment

Logistics, Legals, Medicals, Prerequisites

$600 – $12,500 (registration, travel, fees)

From 1 -18 months

Physical Preparation, Diet, Gears

$650 – $9,500 (gear, supplements, trainers)

2-8 weeks with avg. 20 h/week

Mental/Emotional Preparation

$300 – $3,000 (coaching, books, courses)

avg. 10 h/week

Summary

The math shows that the cost is significant both in terms of effort and money. So the most important question is: What do you want to gain from competing? Check if your ideas and motivation are in line with the investments required. Are you doing it for self-development and personal achievement? If so, cutting costs and balancing your personal life will be the most important tasks. Are you doing it to change the course of your life and climb the ranks in MMA? Then the main task would be to find a way to get the money and allocate the time needed, and gather support that helps you through the first few years of amateur life until the journey becomes profitable.

We hope this article helps you get to where you want to be. Best of luck on your journey!