bodyfat percentage for mma fighters

[casperthegst]

Just curious I'm sure there isn't a cut and dry answer but what is the average body fat % of mma fighters during training and at fight time?

 

[lts5025]

Bout tree fiddy.

 

[KILL KILL]

Over 9,000

 

[James Fuller]

"The Athletes Guide to Making Weight" is a great resource. Actually gives bf% averages for different sports and their athletes. I based my goal bf% on a average of several sport's athletes I thought mimiced MMA. Aka wrestlers, boxers and judo players. Also it depends on your relative size I.believe as well as the weight weight class you compete in. Personally, I like to walk around at 16% at 170lbs between camps and gradually cut to about 10% at 155 before weigh ins and cut the last 10-20lbs in water. Also Nancy Clarke's "Sports nutrition guidebook" is great for specifics.

 

[Chernabog]

Does it really matter? Anderson could come into the octagon a fatty weighing 230 and still beat most fighters.

 

[Pathogenic]

Generally, fighters are probably between 8% and 12% on fight night, with a few ranging to 15%. Any more than that is pretty rare in today's game until you reach heavyweight.

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

Does it really matter? Anderson could come into the octagon a fatty weighing 230 and still beat most fighters.

Yeah, it does. Most of us are not Anderson Silva; most of us are closer to average. And there is an optimal weight and BF percentage for everyone; and for most people, its close to the average. So it's not a stupid or useless question.

 

[Pathogenic]

Yeah, it does. Most of us are not Anderson Silva; most of us are closer to average. And there is an optimal weight and BF percentage for everyone; and for most people, its close to the average. So it's not a stupid or useless question.

This. Not too many people are like Fedor. The average person performs better when they're leaner. Hell, I can see noticeable improvements in my athletic attributes just from going from 15% to 10%.

 

[tkdyo]

yep, the things people above me mentioned is why after I reach my strength goals Im going for that nice 10% bf, see what weight that puts me at Im gonna guess 190ish.

 

[bowlie]

Generally, fighters are probably between 8% and 12% on fight night, with a few ranging to 15%. Any more than that is pretty rare in today's game until you reach heavyweight.

Thats interesting, because I have heard I think Rippetoe say that athletes are most anabolic at about 14%bf, and I was wondering if there was any athletic advantage there too. I guess its individual

 

[DrBdan]

Thats interesting, because I have heard I think Rippetoe say that athletes are most anabolic at about 14%bf, and I was wondering if there was any athletic advantage there too. I guess its individual

I've read the same thing from Rippetoe. Of course Rip is coming more from a lifting standpoint but it's probably still relevant. It jives with what James Fuller posted as well i.e train at a slightly higher body fat % and then cut down closer to fight time.

 

[TheeFaulted]

This. Not too many people are like Fedor. The average person performs better when they're leaner. Hell, I can see noticeable improvements in my athletic attributes just from going from 15% to 10%.

I must be like Fedor then, because I perform much better now then when I was a super lean high school wrestler.

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

I must be like Fedor then, because I perform much better now then when I was a super lean high school wrestler.

I definetly feel better when I am a bit heavier, but the issue isnt just performance, its performance relative to your opponents (people of similar weight).

 

[Big Jack]

Surely it doesn't matter as long as you make weight and feel at physical peak...mma is about winning, not looking pretty

 

[bowlie]

I've read the same thing from Rippetoe. Of course Rip is coming more from a lifting standpoint but it's probably still relevant. It jives with what James Fuller posted as well i.e train at a slightly higher body fat % and then cut down closer to fight time.

According to kelly bagget cutting is also bad. He suggests getting to fight weight about a month before the fight. His reasoning is that when you train your muscle fibers shift towards being more slow twitch, and that when you take a bit of time off and your body detrains they shift back to fast, and if you have been doing explosive / power work they go beyond the past levels. But apparently this only happnens with plenty of food, so cutting in the last few weeks before a fight is bad, apparently.


Also, the way I understood it, thats the place where you can best maximize muscle gain, but not necessarily athleticism. Anyway, I think you are right that training at a higher BF% seems like a good plan.

 

[bowlie]

Surely it doesn't matter as long as you make weight and feel at physical peak...mma is about winning, not looking pretty

Which is why we are discussing at which level of bodyfat the body is most primed for athletic ability, not when it looks best

 

[James Fuller]

Which is why we are discussing at which level of bodyfat the body is most primed for athletic ability, not when it looks best

haha beat me to it. People have a hard time separating any discussions of body fat, training etc. from the aesthetic goals of 95% of trainees. Been reading alot recently on the way fat reserves help fuel our energy systems, very interesting stuff.

 

[James Fuller]

According to kelly bagget cutting is also bad. He suggests getting to fight weight about a month before the fight. His reasoning is that when you train your muscle fibers shift towards being more slow twitch, and that when you take a bit of time off and your body detrains they shift back to fast, and if you have been doing explosive / power work they go beyond the past levels. But apparently this only happnens with plenty of food, so cutting in the last few weeks before a fight is bad, apparently.

my response to that would be: who is kelly bagget and who the fuck has he ever fought? Fitness "gurus" simply do not understand what they are talking about when it comes to the hows, whys and when's of cutting weight for combative sports. I would love my opposition to follow his advice tho. Throwing around 135lbers at 150-155 lbs is pretty easy work in my experience.

 

[bowlie]

my response to that would be: who is kelly bagget and who the fuck has he ever fought? Fitness "gurus" simply do not understand what they are talking about when it comes to the hows, whys and when's of cutting weight for combative sports. I would love my opposition to follow his advice tho. Throwing around 135lbers at 150-155 lbs is pretty easy work in my experience.

I think he is a pretty successful trainer, he wrote the vertical jump manual and is apparently very good at training athletes for sprints and basketball and things. He also used to box, although his success is with training, not competing.

 

[James Fuller]

I think he is a pretty successful trainer, he wrote the vertical jump manual and is apparently very good at training athletes for sprints and basketball and things. He also used to box, although his success is with training, not competing.

Having a great vertical jump, being a good trainer are all noble pursuits but it does not qualify him as an expert when it comes to this subject. The art of choosing and making the right weight class is something outsiders just dont understand and never will until they do it and do it regularly. Because at the end of the day its not about being at YOUR best, its about creating the greatest discrepancy between your abilities, your physicality and your size over your opponent. Just like how you dont simply fight your opponent where you're best, you fight them where you have the biggest advantage over them.