If you clicked on this post and you are wondering, “How long does it take to learn MMA?”, then it is likely you are someone who has not yet started MMA or is still quite new to MMA.
You may have ambitions to become a professional MMA fighter or even to test yourself out in the cage at least once.
Either way, asking ‘how long does it take to learn MMA?’ is a valid question and we will break it down for you in this post.
And also, we look at how long it took complete beginners to learn MMA – going from knowing almost nothing about MMA to being competent in the basics of MMA – step by step.
Can a Beginner Learn MMA?
Absolutely yes!
Anyone can learn MMA no matter where you are starting from.
An absolute beginner can go from knowing virtually nothing about fighting to become very proficient in the foundational techniques in MMA including striking, wrestling and ground fighting.
The question of ‘can a beginner learn MMA’, I think stems from the fact that up until today, most successful MMA fighters were not complete beginners to combat sports when they started their MMA journey.
Many top MMA fighters were first pretty high level wrestlers, kickboxers and BJJ competitors before they ever took up MMA.
But no matter, if you have absolutely zero combat sport experience – absolutely anyone can learn MMA even a complete beginner to martial arts and combat sports.
So let’s get into how long does it take to learn MMA as a complete beginner?
How Long Does it Take to Learn MMA for a Complete Beginner?
For a complete newbie to combat sports i.e has zero experience in any other combat sport or martial art such as Judo or Boxing it can take several weeks to months to learn the absolute basics of striking, stand up grappling and ground fighting.
So to make this easier to understand the different levels are broken down for a complete beginner as follows:
i) Drilling the basics – 8-12 months to get the basics down so they become second nature.
A lot of your time as a beginner will be spent drilling the basics, over and over and over and over and over again. If you really want to become good. Then repetition is key!
ii) Sparring – with the foundation laid you can express yourself better and are ready to spar. Mostly light, technical sparring. After 1 year of training
To become very proficient at the basics and to spar effectively and make the most of all your techniques it can take 8 to 18 months. This means controlled sparring and being able to make your own decisions in the heat of ‘battle’.
iii) ‘Smoker’ ready – ready to take on a non-sanctioned competitive fight against someone from another gym that you are not familiar with.
1 year plus of training. At this time you could also be competing in Grappling competitions at the low-mid belt levels.
iv) Amateur fighter – after 1.5-2 years of solid consistent training you could be ready to take on amateur fights and fight regularly maybe 2-3 times a year.
You could also find more regular fights in kickboxing or muay thai in order to sharpen your skills.
v) Pro level – after 2-3 years fighting as an amateur you should be ready to go pro. An amateur record of 10-20 fights would be ideal.
So for a complete beginner to learn MMA to become a pretty decent MMA fighter a timeline of 3-5 years is realistic.
If you have some combat sport experience and have competed then it can take quite a bit less time to become a good MMA fighter.
How Long Does it Take to Become a Good Fighter?
So based on the above mentioned timelines for a complete beginner to go from knowing virtually nothing about MMA or combat sports to competing at the pro level it can take up to 5 years or maybe more.
This is just a ballpark figure but it should be sufficient time for a complete beginner to become a pretty decent MMA fighter.
But for someone who already has combat sport experience then obviously the time could be decreased quite a bit.
In fact a person could already be a good fighter in their style before even taking up MMA.
They could be a good (or even great) Thai boxer, Wrestler or even a BJJ World Champion.
But to become a good MMA fighter there would still be so much to learn and train.
But if you are already a good or decent fighter in Judo, Boxing, Karate then it would take significantly less time to become a good or even great MMA fighter.
Combat Sports to MMA
Pretty much all MMA champions today started out as competitors in other combat sports.
This is because MMA is still quite a young sport and there are still not too many fully MMA dedicated gyms that teach children and young adults.
So all the current top MMA fighters would have started out in another combat sport.
Ronda Rousey – Judo
Rousey was one of the most popular and dominant UFC champions in history.
She began learning and competing in Judo from an early age. And she took part in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, winning bronze in 2008.
Rousey made her MMA debut in 2010 and became UFC Champion only 2 years later.
Khabib Nurmagomedov – Combat Sambo
Another dominant UFC champions and one of the greatest MMA fighters ever, Khabib was a two-time World Champion in Combat Sambo before he was ever UFC Champion.
He also competed in Judo, Wrestling and Sambo which set him up for a very successful MMA career using his wrestling, grappling and mauling style that came from his background.
Nurmagomedov made his MMA debut in 2008 and signed a contract with the UFC in 2011.
Khabib became lightweight Champion in 2018.
But there is a difference between being a combat sport fighter and a street fighter or self defense expert.
Combat Sport ‘Fighters’ vs Martial Arts/Self Defense for MMA
There is one key difference when it comes to MMA and become a good MMA fighter based on your background.
A competitive combat sport background would put you in a better place to succeed at MMA faster than a self defense or ‘martial art’ background where they do not compete at all.
For example a Judo player already has experience competing in front of crowds, lots of randori or free sparring, experience in making weight to fight and calming the mind before competing.
Whereas a Wing Chun or Krav Maga or self defense fighter would have little experience in regular sparring, plus a lot of their techniques are not allowed under most combat sport rules. i.e knee to the groin, finger to the eyes etc.
So safe to say you would b e better suited to learn and progress in MMA if you have experience training and competing in a combat sport such as Boxing, Judo, Muay thai, Sambo etc.
What is the best age to start training MMA?
The best age to start training MMA for someone looking to become a good fighter and competitive at the highest levels would have to be as early as possible.
But as discussed above, there are still limited MMA dedicated gyms that specifically teach MMA to kids.
But having a solid background in another combat sport such as Boxing or BJJ would be a great start to learning MMA and one can can start learning most combat sports at the very young ages of 6-8 years old.
In muay thai kids begin learning from as young as 5 years old and begin competing around the same age also.
So by the time they are young teens they have the experience of dozens of fights already.
So, what is the best age to start training MMA? Ideally as young as possible.
But with the limited number of MMA gyms teaching kids it is also very favourable to begin learning any combat sport to start off with.
