MMA is a middle and upper class sport

I would say boxing is more middle-upper class, the majority of people who watch mma have low jobs and a low income imo.
 
ImmigrantMentality said:
Why is MMA a middle and upper class sport in the US? In comparison to boxing you see a lot less underprivileged young people training in MMA. I've heard the argument that it's because training costs are higher, however if this is true then how are people living in poverty able to train in other countries like Brazil, Dagestan etc. I believe there's a lot of untapped potential in the poorer rougher areas in America, so why do you think trainers here refuse to make their training more available to the poor kids, like in other places?
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As far as kids from rougher areas not choosing the MMA route as often...….I think MMA as a whole is still not received as a big money sport for fighters to make money in at the highest level. There are outliers like McGregor. However, if you take the biggest stars in something like boxing, basketball or football and compare their earnings to MMA fighters, the MMA fighters are probably not even close. Everyone I know from poorer areas who want to fight pro want to make top dollar. That is their motivation for fighting---a better life, and the biggest payday.

Also, some people don't respect or like the idea of fighting on the ground. Have you ever tried to demonstrate the mount position or full guard to another man (or woman) not familiar with it?...……….yeah, can go beyond their comfort zone.

As far as the pricing of MMA as opposed to other sports they may choose.....Boxing, basketball, and football are more affordable and more widely available in those poor areas. A lot of the coaches in these sports are running programs on a volunteer basis. Basketball, and football can be done through the school. Boxing is often times out of a rec facility with many volunteer staff, or the gym is owned by someone not in need of money trying to give back to the community.

The two local boxing gyms close to me are owned by successful entrepreneurs who boxed in their youth. One is ran by the owner of a landscaping business, and the other owned by the president, and founder of a multi million dollar a year company.

Most MMA or BJJ Gyms I've ever come across are run for profit. Some of them even use to be other style gyms like "karate", "TKD" or "kickboxing" and now they have added "MMA" or "BJJ" to their names. Why? Because it sells. They are in business to keep doors open, and profit. It's just a different culture, and I personally think considering it all $1200 plus dollars a year is a little steep to pay for a gym membership. However, everyone has their own reasons behind charging it or paying for it. This is what I've observed at least.
 
In Brazil many fighters have rich area gyms and poor area gyms. One subsidizes the other and they get good press for it.

Also there are gyms with living quarters for people who are broke but serious about training.
 
thoughtsone said:
MMA gyms are much more expensive then wrestling and boxing, right now, in my area the cheapest gym for MMA is 125/mo (not counting the ufc gym which is still 89/mo) the most expensive is somewhere around 250/mo, the boxing gyms in the area are about 40-50/mo
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This! Same here for me it's bullshit

~DaViD~
 
ImmigrantMentality said:
Why is MMA a middle and upper class sport in the US? In comparison to boxing you see a lot less underprivileged young people training in MMA. I've heard the argument that it's because training costs are higher, however if this is true then how are people living in poverty able to train in other countries like Brazil, Dagestan etc. I believe there's a lot of untapped potential in the poorer rougher areas in America, so why do you think trainers here refuse to make their training more available to the poor kids, like in other places?
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American schools have to make money to stay open. They can't as freely give away classes to prospects and survive.

You can take wrestling in schools, but not BJJ, which you have to pay for, or graduate into once you start an MMA career.

The sports that have lower income kids excel in them because they have access to training through schools. The martial arts are not as accessible because you have to pay to train in them.

Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, and a host of other sports are all funded by the public through public schools.

A few moments of contemplation and you would have realized all of this.
 
yeah dude. all those brazilians in mma were rich af growing up. franics ngannou was a millionaire before he ever thought about fighting. dont get me started on how julian lane dropped out of harvard to start training
 
Coolkid666 said:
i trained with friends in a garage and got to the point of subbing purple belts and a brown belt in jujitsu. hell rich franklin trained in his garage and became champ

training is free to an extent lmao
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How long did you train for?
 
Coolkid666 said:
yeah i had 2 buddies that were purple belts and i always beat them and im 5"8 and they were as big as 6 foot tall lol they would take me to gracie jujitsu gym for "free class" which i went alot and i only went against one brown belt and i beat him once and he beat me 3 times lol he was so strong though. honestly i always took them down and got in side control then arm triangled them. and a few ankle locks
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Most gyms don't allow white belts to attack the legs, are you sure this didn't happen while you were asleep... in your dreams?
 
ImmigrantMentality said:
Is training poor kids really that unprofitable though? These boxing gyms are businesses too after all, they aren't just their to give charity to poor kids. I think a poor kid with less options is also more likely to be hungrier and go all in with their training and become pros at some point as well. Then you have more fighters representing your gym and cutting you a percentage of their payout.
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It really is. Those places usually aren't proper businesses, they're essentially community centers that charge fees where they can to keep the lights on. The vast, vast majority of fighters make approximately dick, so that percentage is largely meaningless unless you have a stable of top fighters.
 
This applies to almost every sport much more than the general narrative would suggest. Look up a big time college basketball roster and you may be surprised that most of the players come from private high schools and prep academies and not poor inner city public high schools.
 
Nowadays boxing gyms cost as much as MMA gyms or more specialized martial art gyms like bjj Mt Judo

I wasn't welcomed at some of the better known boxing gyms in LA unless I paid a pretty penny so I can be ripped off.

MMA gyms generally offer the ability of select programs and such and are more flexible. My gym costs as much as the local specialty boxing and bjj gyms, one of which is a well known bjj gym.

Edit: My coach was a fighter in the pioneer days until the mid 2000s, and he is much more reasonable with his pricing and does his best to make it reasonable for one's financial situation.
 
Nip Tickler said:
yeah dude. all those brazilians in mma were rich af growing up. franics ngannou was a millionaire before he ever thought about fighting. dont get me started on how julian lane dropped out of harvard to start training
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If you read the OP, he is asking about in the US. It's mostly true too. The real reason, it appealed to them first. Combine that with a lack of legitimate BJJ schools on the market. Because of that, it's been relatively expensive to learn bjj in the US
 
Inner city poor kids do not look to MMA as a "way out" the way they do for b-ball, boxing, football or any other mainstream sports. For one, there are no MMA scholarships. Secondly, there isn't a youth MMA infrastructure in high schools the way there is for football, Basketball, etc.
 
Cause when I think "I've made it in life" I think of chris leben and roger huerta
 
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