" MMA Hybrid"

MMA Hybrid ( 1 suit size does not fit all)
“ To Cut or not to Cut weight “ that is the question.
This is always been a constant struggle for mma athletes. What weight should I fight at ? and how do I put on and retain my muscle mass? As someone who has worked with over 15 UFC athletes , this is enigma wrapped in a riddle. I have seen many a fighter have major challenges with these concepts. Some believe you should fight a weight class well below where you normally are, this way you will be bigger and more powerful. At Burn With Kearns and Sityodtong ( Mark Dellagrotte’s place) nothing can be further from the truth. The reason? Simple, if the weight cut kills you , you will be like a wet dish rag in the ring. A lot of fighters feel if they can recover quickly after the cut and they’ll be powerful. This is so far from the truth. When you cut weight to fast or to much weight you also cut dehydrate your brain, and spinal column. I have personally witness many a lightweight fighter walking around at fight week 20 lbs over their weight class! Can you imagine what dropping 20 lbs in a week and then gaining most if it back in 24 hours would do to you? Just the mere thought of it sounds unhealthy.
Most people know me from working with UFC greats like Kenny Florain , Marcus Davis, Nate Quarry , Kurt Pelligrino and alike. We would coach our fighters to walk around on the off season not more than 20 lbs over their weight class. The motto was “ keep low now for easy tomorrow”. That simply means that if you keep it in check now it’s less you have to drop on fight week.
I personally remember a fight with KenFlo where we originally thought it was going to be a 9 to 12 lb weight cut the week of the fight. To cut that off at the pass I decided one the past ways to keep salt and fat ( killers during fight week) was to cook all his meals. In this way I was able to monitor him completely until the cut. In fact it ended up being a 6lb cut vs 9 to 12! Now anyone who has to cut weight knows that lower you can get prior to the fight the easier the cut. The other factor is the easier the cut the stronger the fighter. Kenny use to have a saying a the day of the weigh ins while cutting weight. “ Today is why I get paid , ( fight night ) is when I get paid”.
I also personally remember a fighter that was using compound heavy weight training up until fight week! This might sound good but adding more muscle mass before the fight is going to be counterproductive to cutting weight. Simple muscle weighs more than fat.
At this point you might be saying “ Ok coach what weight should I fight at ? and how do I build muscle or at least maintain muscle mass while cutting weight ?” Ok I’ll try and help you.
What weight class should I be at ? We recommend being 10 to 20 lbs walking around weight above your desired class. In other words if you walk around at 175 fight at 155 and so on. GSP walked around at around 200 or 205 and fought at 175
How do I build muscle mass up to the fight and maintain it ? We used a 3 phase system. Phase 1 was Strength and Hypertrophy( compound movements, heavier weight, and more rest between sets ) . This would be early in fight camp . The first 4 to 8 weeks . Phase 2 explosive power ( plyometric exercises and ballistic type movements box jumps, KB snatches , Plyo push ups etc) This would be the next 4 to 6 weeks of camp. Phase 3 Gas in the Tank ( sport specific circuit training that mimics the fight utilizing bands, med balls, drills and skills in a timed fashion ) At this phase we want to help drop weight and maintain muscle mass . These workout are short and intense and burn a lot of calories ( we clocked ours with a UFC fighter at 475 calories burned in 17 minutes and we were not killing it !
What if I get a short notice to fight ? Okay back in 2007 I had just this experience. We had a 6 week turn around for a fight. We conceived the concept of the mma hybrid. This was a combo of explosive power and gas in the tank. This way we kept the speed up, aid in dropping weight , and kept the athlete’s strength up. This article will cover this type of workout. It worked very effectively the first time we had to use it.

6 weeks out MMA Hybrid
explosive movements 20 to 30 seconds each with 20 to 30 second recovery. Gas in the tank moves 35 seconds each with 15 seconds rest. It really worked and get our fighter’s body and metabolism on its toes. We would do 3 rounds of the all the exercises.
Water Jug snatches - with a 5 gallon jug this is quite a challenge from and explosive and balance point of view. I wanted to hit as many muscles and stabilizers as possible.
JumpSport Fitness Trampoline power jumps - Vs the old school box jumps this kept our athlete injury free while building explosive leg strength .
Med ball chest pass- this is and excellent upper body power and punching mechanics drill.
Med ball side tosses - for explosive core strength this is hands down and awesome drill
Cage crush - with a stability ball pressing down on you from a partner against the cage this is truly a gas in the tank awful drill )
Slide board elbows - with your arms on a slide pumping your arms back and forth while in a plank position is truly ground and pound
Air Fit clinch rippers - with the suspension trainer air fit this is an awesome drill for grip and pulling work
Slide board muay thai blasters - in a push up position with your feet on the slide board you pump your legs as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Can you say Sityodtong Knockout !
Elbows in the guard - with a med ball or kicking shield between your legs you fire elbows off as you would in the ring at 12 and 6 o'clock . Its legal in the UFC)
This plan work really well a number of years ago. I hope you find it useful when you make weight !

Coach Kearns