Suppose you are passionate about MMA or not. I think that sometimes happen to you to see in some important event of MMA or boxing the weight-in, this is an important phase before the match that every fighter must perform, to check if the fighter is inside the category form where he is competing.
What do MMA fighters eat before fight? the fighter that has to do a professional match starts on average the diet one month and 15 days before, eating a small portion of meal, like:
- Fruits
- Potatoes / sweet potato
- Rice
- Pasta
- Oats
- Wheat bread
And for protein they eat chicken and red meat.
The eating process for a MMA fighter is a delicate phase where the fighter is followed by a nutritionist for every meal, and have a different diet depending on the category that he/she will have the match.
There is much more to know about the fighters as for example : what an MMA fighter do before a fight and, probably you can think what is the best supplement for the MMA fighter ? if you want to know more about this and more keep going down.
What is the best supplement for MMA fighters?
The MMA is one of the most consumed energy sports on the world, the training that a fighter has to do before a fight is too intensive, either on mental that on the physical side.
A session of training for an MMA fighter involve cardiovascular and strength exercise, and sparring, as you can imagine this will consume a lot of energy from your body.
For an MMA fighter is essential to have the right quantity of energy in his body to perform and to give the 100% of his power.
Sometimes fighter is not able to recover the quantity of energy burned during the training, and he must use some supplements to recover faster possible.
Why MMA fighter use supplement?
The MMA fighter use supplement to recover the energy lost during his training section, it gives to the fighter a boost of energy necessary to reach the top of the level mental and physic.
The MMA fighter usually use different types of supplements before the training section; some of these are :
Pre-workout
Have the right quantity of energy before training can make a big difference in your performance, so the fighter is usually to use some supplements that have (Taurine and L-Theanine), Electrolytes caffeine, in these particular types of supplement usually the caffeine is found in small quantity, this is mainly due to not lose concentrations.
Post-workout
Most of the fighters use the creative as post-workout, this is mainly because the creatine is made up of three amino acids: Glycine, Methionine, and Arginine, and the function of this is to create more ATP (denosine triphosphate) for our body, to give as more muscularity energy.
Do MMA fighters drink protein shakes?
Yes, most of the MMA fighter use to drink protein shakes to recovery from their routine workout, this is mainly used to fighter that not have a high-protein diet, and they need protein to give to their body the nutrients it needs.
Some of the advanced that fighter gets from drink protein shakes are :
Muscle recovery
training for an MMA fighter is exhaustive, and they require a lot of energy, during weight-lift or whatever training section on an MMA boot-camp, they will use the power of their muscle, and this energy must be recovered as soon as possible, that’s why the MMA fighters use protein shakes
Weight Loss
If a fighter is trying to lose weight, the protein shakes will help me to boost this process, by using the protein shakes the stomach will have a sensation of full, assisting the fighter in eating less.
Maybe now you were wondering ok, “ I understand what MMA fighter eat before a fight, I understand how important is to recover from a training section, but regarding quantity how much protein does an MMA fighter assume ?”
How much protein does an MMA fighter need?
The protein that an MMA fighter should assume depends upon some different factors, but in general, the recommended quantity is set to 0.8 grams per Kg of body weight per day.
This is the quantity for sedentary individuals.
For athletes and in this case for MMA fighter, the quantity of protein that should assume is around 1.5 to 2.0 g/kg.
To be more precise here a table that shows the quantity of protein that an MMA fighter needs depending on his weight
| Weight (lbs) | Daily Protein Needs (g) |
|---|---|
| 135 | 105 |
| 145 | 113 |
| 155 | 120 |
| 165 | 128 |
| 175 | 136 |
| 185 | 144 |
| 195 | 152 |
| 205 | 159 |
| 215 | 167 |
| 225 | 175 |
| 235 | 183 |
| 245 | 190 |
| 255 | 198 |
Can fighters drink alcohol?
I think that if you are reading about that, probably are you thinking Conor Mcgregor when he was drinking whisky during the conference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD3YL9YwBto
In your mind, you can think but can MMA fighters drink alcohol? The answer is that yes they can nobody tell them that they can not drink but, there are some critical consideration to evaluate before doing it, and these are the main reason why the majority of the fighter does not drink alcohol
Drinking alcohol damage to our body
Studies are done shown the negative impact of drinking alcohol for our body, you can read here
In summary, the damage is on
Brain
Because the alcohol will interfere with the pathway of communications with the brain
Heart
If you drink alcohol you can have a problem like:
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
Liver
- Steatosis, or fatty liver
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Fibrosis
- Cirrhosis
For more details, please refer here.
What do fighters do before a fight?
If you are fighters probably the moment or the days before a fight, you feel some tension, and this is normal, as human the tension and feeling a little of fear ( that is caused primarily for the event, expectation ) is normal. Usually, the pro fighters have some rituals or some routine that they perform before a fight.
Some of the ufc champions had reported that they like to be relaxed in a room alone, other fighters prefer to spend the days before a fight with their family.
The fighter on these phases adopts the best strategy that will help him/her to find his calm because more calm they arrive at a fight and more probability of success they have.
If a fighter before a fight is not calm, he/she can encounter a different problem as the increased muscular tension, low concentration and they disrupted rhythm and coordination.
Conclusion
The MMA is a particular sport very intensely, and as for anything particular, it is necessary to have the right mentality and the right mindset to make it better.
Be an MMA fighter means training hard, focus, and have a mental-stability, the MMA fighter during the period of his training need to respect what to eat, to achieve the weight-in on his category.
The food to eat before a fight will verily depend from fighter to fighter, but the only thing In common is that everyone, in the same manner, must respect that.
During this article, we also saw the importance of supplements that for a professional fighter are essential, and how they help him to recover from the training.
if you are interested read also How much money can a pro boxer make