[Cabrave]

Pretty much every good MMA fighter started off with a base in a discipline such as BJJ, Wrestling, or Muay Thai. However, now that MMA training has become more specialized, is it really neccessary to have this base? Can a young fighter decide to train specifically for MMA, rather than start in wrestling, MT, or BJJ?

[Michelangelo]

I prefer Base10. It just comes naturally to the western world, even though it originated in the arabian peninsula

[Blade07]

It might be the future to start training MMA from scratch. But MMA isn't that well-established right now. There aren't very many MMA gyms and very few of those actually teach MMA. Most MMA fighters train in some combat sport and then start working on MMA. Perhaps when MMA is far more established we'll see more MMA gyms pop up around the country and people can start training in MMA from a young age. I think that will greatly elevate the game. Right now there are lots of fighters who are only good in one area. But many fighters would probably have been very well rounded had thay started learning all the aspects of the fight game from a very young age e.g. 6-7

[aaronegg]

Originally Posted by Cabrave

Pretty much every good MMA fighter started off with a base in a discipline such as BJJ, Wrestling, or Muay Thai. However, now that MMA training has become more specialized, is it really neccessary to have this base? Can a young fighter decide to train specifically for MMA, rather than start in wrestling, MT, or BJJ?

isuppose a base helps, cos odds are youve been doing it since youwere young. Does rich franklin have a base??????? ithink hes a new breed of mma fighters

[aussie_mma]

what if mma is ure base, there is a mma gym near where i live, it cost nothing the its run by security guards,there are a quiet a few young fighters there who have only been trainin mma

[FightDoctor]

You don't have to start with a base. But when you train MMA it's usually broken up into seperate classes. For instance at AMC it's : Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Submission Wrestling, and Pankration (MMA). According to your body type, and other factors you will naturally be better at certain areas. Just train everything, but when you're fighting try to push the fight to whichever area is your opponents weakest, or try to keep it in the area you are strongest. When you start cross training immediately you won't develop "bad habits" for mma. For instance there are certain bjj moves you would never try in mma because you'll get punched in the face. Also your standup stance and combos will have to factor in shots, and clinching. MMA is a completely different game, and it's best to learn it's lessons immediately rather than spend time learning techniques which will work in a bjj match, but not in a fight.

[FightDoctor]

Originally Posted by Blade07

It might be the future to start training MMA from scratch. But MMA isn't that well-established right now. There aren't very many MMA gyms and very few of those actually teach MMA. Most MMA fighters train in some combat sport and then start working on MMA. Perhaps when MMA is far more established we'll see more MMA gyms pop up around the country and people can start training in MMA from a young age. I think that will greatly elevate the game. Right now there are lots of fighters who are only good in one area. But many fighters would probably have been very well rounded had thay started learning all the aspects of the fight game from a very young age e.g. 6-7

Some ppl have categorized fighters this way, and I agree:

First generation fighter: Posseses mastery of one skill, and tries to keep the fight in this area.

Examples: the early UFC fighters

Second generation fighter: Posseses mastery of one skill, and later has cross trained in at least one other to augment his skill set.

Examples: Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Matt Lindland, Matt Hughes, etc..

Third generation fighter: These fighters have trained in two or three disciplines since the beginning of their career.

Examples: GSP, Shogun, Fedor

I do think we're going to see more third gen fighters in the future, but for now the best second gen fighters can still hang because there aren't that many third gens around.