i know there was a thread on here a month or two ago with a good list of criteria on when you are ready for your first mma fight. i was wondering if somebody could re-post it or tell me where else i may find it at. Thanks
DMT
stfu
1 YEAR BOXING
1 YEAR MUAY THAI
BLUE BELT BJJ
HARD ASS 6 TO 7 WEEKS CARDIO AND GO FIGHT!GOOD LUCK!
Drunknirish, you must have an awesome life to be going on to other peoples threads and telling them to "stfu" when they are asking for info about becoming a fighter. Maybe i should give the dream up and stick to being an internet warrior like yourself.
Fuckin loser.
DMT
thanks for the response joey101, but the thread i'm looking for was more in depth than that.i think the original post was be ray elbe, but i'm not sure.
DMT
Here's what Ray said:
How does a person know when to step into the cage for the 1st time....
Here are my "kinda rules"
Don't fight unless you can roll in BJJ with MOST blue belts, and SOME purple belts in a Gi-less roll.
Don't fight unless you can go 3 hard 5 minute rounds in either kickboxing or boxing. (cardio standards)
Don't fight unless you can "grapple"...from your knees for more than a 20 min~ CONTINOUS roll....(different cardio than boxing and kickboxing)
Don't fight if you notice yourself "Always" looking for the "submission" but never the "posistion"....just because you can "roll with a purple belt"...doesn't mean you could "beat" a purple belt with better posistioning.
Umm...
Don't do a first fight against someone with more than 3 fights. You are REALLY nervous for your 1st fight, and that affects your cardio...and your decesion making skills.
Make sure that you are "EASILY" beating guys with less than 1 year of kickboxing... *Some people pick up standup fast, ...but others don't....so you have to use your own judgmet"...Point is...you WILL get to a point where you can tell how much experince your opponent has....Once you are able to analyse a fight to the point of "skill levels"...then you are finally able to understand tha value of having a well rounded game~
Around the 3 fight period....of my career I notice a HUGE drop in the "stress" leading up to the fight. I agree my whole attitude changes before a fight..I am Grumpy usually from cutting wieght..I am Sore *from extra cardo drills, and those "nagging" injuries...and I am "STILL" nervous about the outcome.
Fighting is the only sport that gives you "stress" before you compete. In football you often don't think twice about "tha game". The "stress" from a championship football game" is no where near the stress of a fight.
All that being said...I NOTICED around the 3 fight period most guys "learn" how to channel that "stress" into a motivation factor. They spend their free time watching fight tapes, shadow boxing, "visulizing" the fight.
Don't take a fight unless you are able to defend "most" of the "good highschool" wrestlers....*and when you do pick a fight...look to match yourself up with someone who has around the same or less wrestling skill, until you can roll with all Brown belts, and Most Black belts Gi less)..
fighting a guy you can't take down...or defend the takedown against is tough...if the guy has better striking. Also...a guy can take you down and avoid the submission.. *it is really tough to win a fight going on your back if you can't submit him Early in my carreer I didn't know the value of this...I was a young kid who thought he could "punch his way out an armbar"...only after fighting did I learn who important BJJ is....and I suffered several loses because of simple mistakes...not defending a key lock...not being able to execute a good single leg...not being able to sweep an opponent...ETC..these are all skills that I SHOULD have learned early in my career before fighting anyone above "streetfighter" style.
You can start marketing your name now*
Keep friends informed about BJJ matches, Kickboxing shows, things like that...let them see 1st hand how exciting your "dream" is...they will support you later when you are wondering if your doing the right thing...when your sore, grummpy, and your girlfriend/wife doesn't understand cutting weight...
Women... Make sure you have a girl who will Support you..She needs to be willing to help you promote your name. She needs to understand that you need a "fan base"...that you have to cut weight, and stay late training, and wake up early to go running...If you don't have a girlfriend/interest who will support you...don't fight until you do~
Feel confident that you can "teach" something...on the ground, standing, and in wrestling...no matter what that something is~
Don't fight if you have any "serious" injuries....I took a fight early in my career...two days after getting a cast off~ I was a "dumb" kid who thought he was tough...and had no BJJ After that fight, I got with a GOOD purple belt, who trained me properly....and Have continued to grow upon his training
Make sure you know the "habits" of the fighters school/instructor...If that instructor likes go-go-plattas...and the X-gaurd..you better know what those are, and how to defend them....Prepare the best you can against an "ideal" fighter...someone who has the same "thought process" as your opponent.
Don't forget about "chance, and luck" ...those are a big part of a fight, one missed chance, one broken hand, one slip, one fall, one droped hand...changes a fight...just make sure you WATCH the tape..and LEARN.
I have a lot of fights for a 23 year old...I am 18-10 as a pro in MMA, 5-3 in boxing, and 4-2 in kickboxing...
I have fought some tough fighters...Deigo Sanchez, Charuto, Rich Moss, Donnie Liles...
I have fought a fight giving up 31 pounds...(and won)...and fought another fight where I lost to a guy who had 35 pouns on me (rich moss...one of the guys cornering riggs at the UFC)
I have fought in hawaii and experinced "Jet Lag"
I cut weight...usually walk around 200lbs, but fight at 170lbs...
I have won several "tournament style" fights...and won..
I have been K.O.'d (twice unfortunatly)..once by Gabe Rivas (a dangerous striker)..and once to a guy i was suppose the be the favorite against...(Lenord Wilson rematch will be Jan 7th in Colorado for Kickdown).
I have beaten an "undefeated" fighter, and Lost to one..
Donnie Liles was "listed" at 5-0 as a pro, but has a totatl fight record of 19-0 (and 5 championship belts from various shows)..many people compared him to a Diego Sanchez fight*mmaweekly did an article on him the week of the fight* I also fought Diego Sanchez and got TKO'd from a fight that showed me HOW valuable wrestling is..I couldn't stop the takedown..and he was a better BJJ guy. I still believe a guy who will stop the takedown and brawl will beat diego for the 1st time
I have been the "main event"..both as a "favorite" and as a "bet he'll lose guy"...I have won several, and proved the fans right in a few...but the thing is I TRIED....Nate Quarry said it best "if I didn't take the fight...you would have never known"..I agree with that...it's a fight..anything can happen
I switched teams, once because of HUGE stress from the gym, and once from a change in ownership...
...those are just some of the "things" that have given me this experince~
Part II (by Ray Elbe)
Dont fight until you can wrap your own hands~
Don't fight if the promoters event doesn't have any insurance...you can't afford to flip the medical bills if you get hurt.
Don't be "wow'd" by promoters telling you how much of an "opportunity" they are giving you. Outside of the UFC/Pride pay per view sales are VERY marginal...
Before you fight get a contract signed with weight, purse, rounds, and rules all agreed upon most good shows want to do this...
Make sure you have a cornerman you are comftorable with. Sometimes the guy that can help you "get your game face on"...or "stay calm" isn't the "head trainer"...he still needs to know WTF he's doing though..
Practice using your cornerman during practice...you have to be able to pick your cornerman's voice out..when others are screaming stuff at you...(I.E. break that turtle kneck's face in)
Don't be "afraid" to take a day off...sometimes guys get to "focused" on having to train and they don't have a good practice because they are mentally "forcing themselves"...obviously you need to train, and train hard...but a day or two off can keep you from burning out.
Many fighters into into a "fight" without helping themselves to EVERY advantage they can.
Here are some simple things that others have taught me along the way....
Should you tape your hands? Of course you need to tape your hands. The year it was mandatory for fighters to wear gloves KO's rose 40%...the reason, you were no longer punching with five fingers, but one object. Also...people stopped breaking their hands as much. You need to tape your hands, and do a good job at it to protect your knuckles, and increase the "blunt" striking surface. Anyone who has ever felt a boxers wrap "knows it's not extra padding".
Brush your teeth before you fight~ Not only does it increase breathing...but the floride in the toothpaste forces the blood vessels to contract in your mouth~ sending less blood flow to your lips, lowering the odds of you recieving a blood lip. the floride trick isn't a long lasting trick..but brushing your teeth also helps with breathing~cardio...*every lil trick helps
Often fighters don't understand the dynamics of fighting in a cage vs. a ring...know how to "cagewalk" or get your head off of the fense before you ever decide to fight in a cage (you can use any wall in a gym for that~)
Arnica Gel- is a cheap gel that helps you with those daily "bumps and scraps"..it's a natural, NON SENTED gel. (it's not like Bengay or Ice hot..it actually increases blood flow to the sprain, bruise..causing it to heal quicker)
Have a wet towel to damp the bottom of your feet before fighting on canvas, it helps give bare feet traction.
good breathing can help poor cardio a lot. Practice breathing in everything you do~ Pushups, concentrate on your breathing...you'll be surprised how much longer your "wind" will last.
Long runs are good for cutting weight...but short sprints help build "fight" cardio. *10-20 yard sprints).
know the elements...before the fight..see what part of the ring/mat is hard, soft...find out where the fense sags, where it is springy...find out where the ropes give, where they bounce...AND REMEBER THEM..make sure your cornerman knows as well
98% of the promoters will lie to you. Once you get your opponents name do your own yahoo, fcfighter, sherdog, search. Don't just run the name Ray Elbe, run Raymond Elbe, Magicalray, etc. You will come up with different stuff each time...*sometimes fighters have several variations of their name with fights listed)
Don't be affraid to change schools...if you get to a point where you spend more time "teaching" than learning...it's time to move on...
This will be published in Tapout magazines 1st issue..make sure you buy it!!
good advice
hey thanks a lot guys that is what i was looking for
DMT
DMT, you training? Planning to fight someday?
Wow, that was a fascinating read.
TTT.
I didn't follow this..."Don't do a first fight against someone with more than 3 fights. You are REALLY nervous for your 1st fight, and that affects your cardio...and your decesion making skills. "
Another one I would add is don't fight with open hand slaps if your opponent is a better grappler than you.
Ray Elbe wrote it and I think its going to be published in a magazine.
Bodyguard or FIghtSport I think but don't quote that.
DMT, chill bro, just messing with you a bit. damn! anyways, the posts on here so far are very legit, it really depends on how comfortable you feel.
hey this is a great thread........ we need to start up a folder attached to this board of the great threads like this........ kinda like a hall of fame........Mods make it happen
Shit, by most of these standards, i sure aint ready...and i'm fighting this weekend!!
Great advice from Casual Fighter and Brown Pit! I was very impressed by how thourough Casual fighter was with his response. He really covered a lot of ground.
yo ray when is the first issue of the mag coming out do you have an idea?
its all good glock.
i'm fighting in 3 weeks and i'm in the same boat as you.
great advice though.