MMA, or mixed martial arts, is a combat sport that was popularized by the introduction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which pitted martial artists from different disciplines against each other. In the early days of the sport, it resembled a freak show, with horribly mismatched fighters taking on strongmen with no business in the ring. However, while strongman training alone cannot make up for a lack of skill, it can give fighters a physical advantage.
MMA
The early days of mixed martial arts showcased the talents of ground fighters such as the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stylist Royce Gracie, who won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship by taking larger and stronger opponents to the ground and making them submit to strangleholds and joint locks. For a while, superior ground skills were perceived as the greatest advantage, but as soon as other fighters began to improve their submission defense, it became clear that as skill levels became more even, something else was needed to break deadlocks.
Strength and Conditioning
Strength and conditioning is a huge part of mixed martial arts. Modern mixed martial artists are well rounded fighters who have to be competent in striking, wrestling and grappling. However, they must also have the strength and cardiovascular endurance to win fights. While technique and skill is an advantage, there is a saying that conditioning wins fights, as when two equally matched fighters clash, the first one to get tired will lose. Similarly, when two fighters of equal skill fight, the stronger man will therefore have the advantage.
Functional Training
The strength required in MMA is functional strength. You need to be able to lift a struggling man or throw someone around. You also need to be strong and flexible throughout a wide range of motion while retaining functional strength. Strongman training has many of the required ingredients, making it superior to normal weight training. Strongmen build enormous functional strength and endurance through lifting and carrying large, awkward objects in a way similar to lifting a man off the ground.
Strongmen Fighters
In recent years several strongmen have crossed over to the world of mixed martial arts. Mariusz Pudzianowski won a record five World's Strongest Man competitions before trying his hand at MMA, where he has compiled a record of three wins and one defeat. However, while he has shown prodigious strength, his lack of technique and enormous bulk have revealed poor cardiovascular endurance. Oli Thompson, a Britain's Strongest Man winner, has compiled a record of six wins and two defeats.
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