How hard it is to make a living with MMA ?

[Dan Torrance]

The way I see it, it would be ideal if the innovaters were given like a few succesful franchises of a succesful franchise, like a fast food joint or something, then that was run by a corporation that ran everyones franchises for them so they don't have to do any of that work but it generates income for them so when they run a gym or whatever they aren't doing that to make a living, they are doing it because they want to.

When I think of innovators guys like Duane Ludwig comes to mind. GSP too.

 

[Ballsaque]

Even if you were the most gifted fighter on earth right now, people have a way of making things difficult. You'll be expected to kiss a lot of ass, you'll be expected to hang out with a bunch of guys in your free time (great if you're into that but I wasn't) and then you'll have to deal with the heirarchy and the politics. Hate to be discouraging but don't expect a warm welcome or appreciation for whatever you bring.

Can you elaborate on this?

 

[N1njaTurtle]

Do you wanna live for passion or money? Fit a job around training or your training around your job.
Do you think you are in the top 5% of skill in the world? No? Then you gonna be broke.
You can make a decent living from owning a gym barring a global flu season lasting 2 years.

The guys who went to Brazil to get their BJJ black belts early on are pretty rich mfers now.

 

[Dan Torrance]

Can you elaborate on this?

In my experience when you are the innovator people will just rip you off and discredit you then cast you out while they profit off whatever you bring then paint you as a money grubbing, social climber.

I'd have to whip my dick out and take off a shoe to count how many times that's happened to me.

 

[Dan Torrance]

Can you elaborate on this?

The real issue is people trying to make money from martial arts. If you didn't get in early with a BJJ gym you're fucked.

Everyone is competing for slices of a slice of a slice so it holds people back because that person you're teaching is your bread.

If you're an innovator why the fuck would you want to waist your time trying to attract students you know suck and will always suck? Then when they actually do get good you'll need more coaches to fill in the holes except those coaches are all spread out. So, then you're in a position where you either have to lie to the student to keep bread in your mouth or lose the talented students you actually want to spend time with and risk your mortgage payments.

If you're an honest person and an innovator why the fuck would you ever in a million years want to be in that position?

LOL! you wouldn't.

That's why MMA is evolving so slowly.

That's the box it's currently in.

 

[Dan Torrance]

Back in my day it didn't matter who's style was the best what mattered was your last name.

Things probably would have been different if my instructor outlived his instructors instructor.

I had my own fucking t-shirt.

 

[Pastinaca1]

It is an amazing idea to be a pro MMA fighter.

You only need to be better than 99% of other fighters, you must have a lot of charisma so people pay attention to you, you must have your boss interested in giving you a push.
When get paid, a lot of that money you will end up giving to your coaches, sparring partners, and taxes.
By the age of 30 you will already be walking with a broken nose, and at least 5 important surgeries, everyday something will hurt.
When you start losing you will have the whole mma community hating on you and your boss will stop caring about you.

When you retire no one will give a shit about you anymore and you will end up living the rest of your life with permanent damage and spending lots of money on medicine because of all the damage you got in your career.

So yes, absolutely marvelous idea to become a pro fighter.

 

[JSN]

It’s hard that’s why most mma fighters have second jobs

mma is the second job for almost everyone involved at every level.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

If you really want to make money then start some type of social media following and perhaps move to a place with a low cost of living like Thailand. Fighting is a drag as a profession if you're not media or business savvy.

And by make money I mean not starve.

 

[Brandon Robinson]

Check out Myles Jury YouTube channel. He is former UFC fighter now in Bellator in addition to being a investor with lots finical knowledge. He has bunch of videos going over the financials of being a fighter using real numbers from his career to paint a picture. It is very informative for hopeful fighters.

Below is example of some of his videos but please look through his channel he gives a lot of insight and tips that can help you pursue this path smoothly.

Wow this is really useful

 

[akumabaki23]

Hey cehalet ne istersen yap 24 years old and ı have 2 prof mma fight but ı cant fight anymore there is a lot of organization but they are not accept me ı dont know why you should watch me when ı fight ı am flowing but ı am stubboron about it

 

[BigDeltsBigD]

it's definitely possible, but you're probably going to need to do underground shady fights if you dont want to have a day job. Like in Brazil it's pretty easy to get into. Take it at your own risk.

 

[mmahive]

Even if you were the most gifted fighter on earth right now, people have a way of making things difficult. You'll be expected to kiss a lot of ass, you'll be expected to hang out with a bunch of guys in your free time (great if you're into that but I wasn't) and then you'll have to deal with the heirarchy and the politics. Hate to be discouraging but don't expect a warm welcome or appreciation for whatever you bring.

This is really quite true from what I've seen.

The gym can be very clique place, and I've never been about chasing any clique!

 

[4n4L53x]

This sounds very poorly thought out.

Using your reputation as a "pro" fighter to open a gym is a pretty common tactic, the problem is nobody cares if you were a pro fighter unless you were a big name UFC fighter.
Being a 0-3 fighter from a regional shit tier promotion is not going to get people tripping over themselves to join your gym.

MMA gyms are a dime a dozen and for a lot of gyms they are just breaking even or maybe losing some money as they're a side project for someone who has the money to pay the running costs.

If you are serious about this, my suggestion is get a BJJ blackbelt from a prestigious BJJ brand, 10th planet, Gracie Bara etc, then buy a franchise off that brand in an area they are not represented well.
Usually with a franchise there is a roadmap to success, and some of the marketing costs are covered as part of the franchise fees, you also have a name people know within martial arts as being respected and legit.

Random DUdes MMA gym is going to take far more effort to gain traction than Gracie Barra branded gym.

A Gracie Barra opened near my house a few years back and the classes were full the first week it opened, the other MMA gym which was in this area has been struggling since it opened.

 

[560ti]

To make a living it's nearly impossible.

Nearly even single UFC fighter in my area is technically semi professional (receive money for athletic competition but it's not there main source of income).

This sounds very poorly thought out.

Using your reputation as a "pro" fighter to open a gym is a pretty common tactic, the problem is nobody cares if you were a pro fighter unless you were a big name UFC fighter.
Being a 0-3 fighter from a regional shit tier promotion is not going to get people tripping over themselves to join your gym.

MMA gyms are a dime a dozen and for a lot of gyms they are just breaking even or maybe losing some money as they're a side project for someone who has the money to pay the running costs.

Agreed. Literally nobody gives a crap about professional experience for almost all gyms.

The money in 99% of these gyms are Summer Camps, Afterschool kids programs, and cardio boxing classes.

Being a professional fighter won't help with any of that, if anything somone that has childcare/fitness experience will be better qualified to be honest

 

[Chicen]

I think a professional fighter's career is very challenging. The constant weight-racing, sparring, injuries - it's very hard.

 

[Martial Sovereign]

If you aren't a martial artist and fighter first, you can't be an instructor second. That's the rule. Exceptions don't define the rule, they're trim.
With this in mind you should focus on what will make you #1. Train harder and consistently so. Look up recovery methods. Take mobility and foam rolling or self-massage stuff seriously. Most importantly train hard and keep your vigor up even when you rest; being active is better for recovery than being sedentary and that's a fact.
https://www.dragondoor.com/bulletproof_with_isometrics/
Use isometrics, read the article. An 80 - 90% effort isometrics is great for recovery. I discovered this on my own and articles like these confirm my personal experiences. No need to buy anything I'm just giving you uncommon advice. You can get a heavy rope and pull on it while standing on it for a deadlift iso you can do at home. Push, pull, horizontal, vertical, posterior chain, grip, neck, calves, bis and tris, whatever.
Put in the work get the results. As Steve Justa states in his Rock, Iron, Steel book, marathon isometrics create an interconnected steel cable body without "weak links" in the chain (hence it being a cable), so make sure to do those too.
Your post makes me think you'll fail so this is to give you a chance haha

 

[Safi]

Im gonna ask a question for myself on this thread if you dont mind. Hey. Im a mma fighter. Ive been training martial arts since i was 7. I have a red belt dan 2 i tkd. Ive won the nordics biggest tournament in boxing and have been swedish champion in boxing once. Ive been to the national team in wrestling for sweden and i have a blue belt in juijutsu. Ive competed a lot in boxing im 27-7 in grappling im 5-0 and in wrestling 14-2. However ive contracted an injury on my shoulder wich has lead me to being gone for 4+ years. I am on my way back now. What do you guys think, im 26 now, can i still have a shot at the big leagues or is it too late?

 

[Martial Sovereign]

Im gonna ask a question for myself on this thread if you dont mind. Hey. Im a mma fighter. Ive been training martial arts since i was 7. I have a red belt dan 2 i tkd. Ive won the nordics biggest tournament in boxing and have been swedish champion in boxing once. Ive been to the national team in wrestling for sweden and i have a blue belt in juijutsu. Ive competed a lot in boxing im 27-7 in grappling im 5-0 and in wrestling 14-2. However ive contracted an injury on my shoulder wich has lead me to being gone for 4+ years. I am on my way back now. What do you guys think, im 26 now, can i still have a shot at the big leagues or is it too late?

If your shoulder is good then you can yes. Big RoM weighted stretch-shortening exercises will help quite a bit. Think back lever, reverse plank hold, handstand hold, sideways plank hold (1 arm), balancing exercises requiring stabilization and coordination, and endurance isometrics. So a plank is good because it builds and organizes connective tissues. Bear crawls are good because you move dynamically under various tension and it requires a lot of endurance too. Higher rep high mobility sets train the joint to get more fluid in so don't worry about grinding things down. When you can do 100+ push ups they tend to be quite fluid. Marathon isometrics builds solidity and a denser rubbery physique that can heal from stuff better. Think plank for an hour. You do it for a minute then go HAM and do 20+ more plank sets with minute rests, each set to failure until your body or core is rubber. Can do that with any exercise. Standing on a rope with one end in each hand and pulling like it's a deadlift at 80% effort warming up to 99% for 10 minutes. It builds connective tissue.
Heavy jump rope, thick battle rope type stuff, will do good for your shoulders. Circular movement, good for shoulders, go for time. Get up to 10 minutes. Being a fighter is mostly conditioning and this is to prevent being knocked out, taken to the ground, grappled to submission, and to knock others out as well.
If you're not doing rotator cuff exercises do them till you bleed. Read my post on first page here for the rest of the info man good luck: https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/help-with-my-routine-strength-mobility-exercises.4191369/

 

[Martial Sovereign]

Im gonna ask a question for myself on this thread if you dont mind. Hey. Im a mma fighter. Ive been training martial arts since i was 7. I have a red belt dan 2 i tkd. Ive won the nordics biggest tournament in boxing and have been swedish champion in boxing once. Ive been to the national team in wrestling for sweden and i have a blue belt in juijutsu. Ive competed a lot in boxing im 27-7 in grappling im 5-0 and in wrestling 14-2. However ive contracted an injury on my shoulder wich has lead me to being gone for 4+ years. I am on my way back now. What do you guys think, im 26 now, can i still have a shot at the big leagues or is it too late?

Remember to take krill oil, chondroiten and glucosamine. Fermented food, ginger, onion and "medicine mushrooms" are big big too. That's reishi, lion's mane, shiitake, food shrooms nothing illegal.