MIXED MARTIAL ARTS: CONDITIONING ROUTINES AND PHYSICAL FITNESS ASSESSMENT OF FIGHTERS FROM PELOTAS/RS

Abstract

To investigate the profile of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters we gathered infor- mation about their training system and physical fitness considering that MMA performance depends largely on aerobic and neuromuscular conditioning. Thus, the objective was to record the workout routines and to assess the physical fitness of regional level MMA fighters. Eight fighters from Pelotas/RS were enrolled. The procedures included: i) semi-structured interviews with ten open-ended questions, ii) neuromuscular evaluation, with maximum strength test (1RM) in bench press and deadlift, and iii) aerobic component evaluation, with the determi- nation of speed at VO2max (vVO2max), maximum aerobic power estimation (VO2max) and time limit (TLim) quantification. The results indicate that most fighters from Pelotas perform only two specific workouts per week, do not use weight training and use running as part of their training sessions. With respect to anthropometry and physical fitness, the fighters presented a BMI of 26.19±26.19 kg/m2, 9.47±4.06% of body fat, 76.25±10.61 kg in 1RM bench press and 115±10.69 kg in the deadlift 1RM, VO2max was 52.5±4.95 mL·kg-1·min-1, vVO2max was 15±1.41 km·h-1 and the TLim was 360.75±55 seconds. We concluded that aerobic and strength training frequency of these fighters is unsatisfactory for MMA performance, their body fat is low and, despite the moderate aerobic fitness, the absolute and relative strength levels of these fighters are lower than those presented in the literature.