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Is it necessary part of the training regimen or are there fighters who got results even without lifting?
Any MMA fighter training without lifting weights?
- Thread starter Italianissimo
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There are some
Big nog said he didnt do it
Jon jones didnt do it before entering top 10 in ufc.
These from top of my head
Big nog said he didnt do it
Jon jones didnt do it before entering top 10 in ufc.
These from top of my head
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he lifts nowadays but he reached top 10 without lifting
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I have a hard time believing Jon Jones wrestled and played D-line in highschool without being on a strength program that included weights. He might very well not have been strength training a lot after taking up MMA, but he probably laid the base for his athleticism in some HS-weightroom.
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It's not necessary imo, but there's no rational reason for not implementing strength training that includes lifting weights into your training regimen when you're an fighter.
As @xPINKx says, "Weight training is by far the easiest, most controllable and most efficient way of training for strength [...]"
As @xPINKx says, "Weight training is by far the easiest, most controllable and most efficient way of training for strength [...]"
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@Italianissimo really, it literally has onlay advantages.
Even if you're not doing some complicated program and instead do a few sets of the compound exercises each week, you'll make solid progress in the beginning and certainly more (and in a more controllable way) than you'd do with bodyweight exercises.
Let's say you do every exercise for 3 sets with 10-12 reps two times a week (so a total of 6 sets/60-72 reps per week) which really isn't a lot of volume at all, even if you're training lots of other stuff during the week:
Do 3 sets of 12 reps with a weight you can handle and when you feel like it, do 3 sets of 10 reps with a higher weight, then 3 sets of 11 with the same weight and finally you'll be able to do 3 sets of 12 with that weight.
After that, add weight again, and start again with 3x10, 3x11 and 3x12 reps.
Mind you this is far from any professional program, but it already works way better than getting stronger with bodyweight exercises.
Even if you're not doing some complicated program and instead do a few sets of the compound exercises each week, you'll make solid progress in the beginning and certainly more (and in a more controllable way) than you'd do with bodyweight exercises.
Let's say you do every exercise for 3 sets with 10-12 reps two times a week (so a total of 6 sets/60-72 reps per week) which really isn't a lot of volume at all, even if you're training lots of other stuff during the week:
Do 3 sets of 12 reps with a weight you can handle and when you feel like it, do 3 sets of 10 reps with a higher weight, then 3 sets of 11 with the same weight and finally you'll be able to do 3 sets of 12 with that weight.
After that, add weight again, and start again with 3x10, 3x11 and 3x12 reps.
Mind you this is far from any professional program, but it already works way better than getting stronger with bodyweight exercises.
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Heres the video of him deadlifting 120kg
He was around top 15 if i remember back then
But yeah i think he lifted when he wrestled
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Throw in 2 brothers that play(ed) in the NFL, odds are he has been around weights since HS.
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Lol, always good to see UFC fighters lift weights you can handle yourself, although Jones is obviously much stronger now.
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i just posted it since those are beginner strength levels really
so he probably had some break from lifting weights after school or did not lift at all
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Fedor. Most of his strength and conditioning was running and bodyweight exercises like push ups and pull ups. Possibly some kettlebells as well.
As @xPINKx said, weight training is the most efficient method of increasing strength. Do you have to lift weights to be able to fight? Of course not. But if you can fit a good strength training program into your general physical preparation, without compromising recovery or skill training, it's highly advisable to do so.
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Makes sense, yeah.
I started with slightly less in that rep range, but i'm a good chunk smaller than Jones too, so yeah.
What's crazy too me though is how strong Kai Kara-France is.
The guy is a 135er and deadlifts over 200 kg, which is damn good for a guy his size that isn't a power lifter.
Adesanya on the other hand, always deadlifts around 130-140kg or so in the videos i've seen, yet he never showed a lack of strength in his fights.
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fedor did lift when younger
he quit when he became a pro i think
(theres a pic of him and aleks looking like bodybuilers really)
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Yeah, I think there's an interview where he said he didn't bother lifting free weights because he was strong enough for what he wanted to do. And it gave him extra time he could spend on skill training.
He did a lot of running and bodyweight training even as a pro.
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Tbf, Fedor powerlifted(while he was in the army IIRC). He would've had an excellent strength base already entering into mma. Not to mention all of the grappling, bw exercises, kettlebell training, being Slavic, etc. Is it the same as having been doing barbell training the entire time? No. But it stands to reason his strength loss would've modest, given all of the other factors at play.
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Lol at including, "being Slavic" in the list of reasons for Fedor's strength base being so good.
In Mother Russia, comrade - weights lift YOU!
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Anthony Pettis used to not lift weights, then he started after he took some losses, but it didn't seem to help much. Kevin lee says he doesn't lift weights. I bet people like ryan hall and rose namajunas dont touch weights either
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Wow, I never would have guessed Kara-France could pull that. He's a natural flyweight and slight of frame. I'd say Cejudo and Lineker have the most brute strength among guys who have fought at 125, but both of them outgrew the division. Cejudo has the talent to win state powerlifting titles if he chose to pursue it, but who wants to compete for gas money instead of international championships?Makes sense, yeah.
I started with slightly less in that rep range, but i'm a good chunk smaller than Jones too, so yeah.
What's crazy too me though is how strong Kai Kara-France is.
The guy is a 135er and deadlifts over 200 kg, which is damn good for a guy his size that isn't a power lifter.
Adesanya on the other hand, always deadlifts around 130-140kg or so in the videos i've seen, yet he never showed a lack of strength in his fights.
Ever see Latifi's 200x33 deadlift?
Jones couldn't do this. But we know who'd win a fight though so it doesn't really matter.
