Start MMA
Before your first amateur MMA bout
Ask for the event’s written rules and tell your coach about any previous combat-sport competition. Eligibility and the skills needed for a bout are separate checks. Both belong before a match is accepted.
On this page
Identify the event and its regulator
Find out which organization sanctions the bout, which rules revision applies, what counts as a foul and who supplies each item of kit. Ask about round length, the weigh-in and the medical process. Local amateur events may differ from IMMAF championships.
Bring your record to the coach
Give a complete account of any boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, grappling or MMA competition, including bouts outside the country. At IMMAF championships, eligibility can depend on prior professional activity and what was permitted in earlier bouts. Direct uncertain cases to the federation.
Rehearse the jobs between exchanges
Have the coach watch you respond to a stop command, disengage on the break and recognise the position after a takedown. Practise following one instruction from the corner between supervised rounds. Ask the coach for concrete skills that still need work.
Before agreeing to a weight or opponent
Get the proposed division, bout terms, deadline and medical requirements. Ask how experience is matched and who handles a late opponent change. Raise questions about the weight with the coach and an appropriately qualified health professional. Do not try to make an ill-chosen division by rapid dehydration.