The Bottom Line: Foreseeable Complications

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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Amanda Nunes’ announcement that she will not participate in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s planned May 9 card—she cited a lack of preparation time—was almost certainly a harbinger of things to come. If sports return without fans in the coming months, it will present athletes with greater competitive challenges than most have ever faced in their professional lives. Mixed martial arts is no exception to that rule, and fighters like Nunes are going to struggle to enter into competition with the optimal level of preparation to which they are accustomed.

This is far from unique to MMA. The NFL draft will take place Thursday, and the players there will be selected without late physical evaluations and private workouts that are standard in that sport. One of the major concerns in the NBA and NHL if those organizations complete their 2019-20 seasons is how much time will be needed for the players to practice together and get back in shape before play resumes. In MMA, those issues are compounded by the nature of an individual pursuit where there is less centralized preparation and because it is looking to resume earlier than other sports.

One of the benefits of the UFC’s more strenuous pace of shows is that it makes it easier for established fighters to get in full training camps if that’s what they desire. New fighters often take fights on short notice as their way in, and some veterans who want to get in as many fights as possible will also take more short-notice assignments. However, veteran fighters who want a full training camp can largely get one. That’s going to become more difficult as long as the coronavirus lingers.

With so much uncertainty in different parts of the country and world, there isn’t going to be a universal approach to travel restrictions. As outbreaks arise in different locations, restrictions could change at any time. The UFC’s Fight Island is an attempt to get around some of these concerns, but it will hardly be foolproof. Even if the UFC can get its shows going every week, individual fighters are almost certainly going to need to pull out at higher rates and oftentimes on very short notice. It will also be harder to find replacements for the same reasons. There will be scrambles to find opponents, and not every card is going to be as stacked and equipped to handle those changes as the proposed May 9 event.

Greater levels of uncertainty will make it more difficult for fighters to sign a bout agreement, complete a full camp and fight the planned opponent. The preparatory issues for fighters don’t stop there, though. The nature of their preparation will also have to change. Fighters benefit from sparring with different partners and elevating the different components of their game. Under current circumstances, that’s going to be much less common.

Some fighters may feel that one-on-one training is too risky, both from the standpoint of personal health and in terms of jeopardizing the fight. The training partners themselves might also balk at that physical interaction. For those who are willing and able, there is still the issue of travel that makes it harder for fighters to get together. This might play in the favor of fighters located in more densely populated areas who have more options, but either way, it throws a whole lot of fighters for a loop. Some fighters are going to do their preparation primarily alone, and others are going to be working with one primary partner rather than many.

Beyond training partners, fighters will in many instances be more physically isolated from the coaches who work with them on specific techniques. Nutritionists will likely have a more difficult time supplying the proper foods to their fighters, affecting weight cuts. If there are reductions to corners, that further alters fighters’ preparations. All in all, this is going to be a very challenging time for fighters from the standpoint of getting ready for fights. It could lead to a lot of unpredictability when it comes to results, and we’re only likely to pick up on the trends when we have the benefit of hindsight.

While the current generation of fighters is going to be challenged, they can take solace from the fact that their predecessors worked through many of these same obstacles, albeit for different reasons. It wasn’t that long ago that star fighters started their professional careers by showing up at events and agreeing to fight opponents in different weight classes with little to no notice. Training camps were at one point an evolution in the sport, as fighters gathered together to share knowledge in greater numbers. There was too much financial pressure to not accept significant fights when they were offered. All this to say: While fighters can work through this, we should acknowledge and respect the challenges with which they are being presented.

Todd Martin has written about mixed martial arts since 2002 for a variety of outlets, including CBSSports.com, SI.com, ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, MMApayout.com, Fight Magazine and Fighting Spirit Magazine. He has appeared on a number of radio stations, including ESPN affiliates in New York and Washington, D.C., and HDNet’s “Inside MMA” television show. In addition to his work at Sherdog.com, he does a weekly podcast with Wade Keller at PWTorch.com and blogs regularly at LaTimes.com. Todd received his BA from Vassar College in 2003 and JD from UCLA School of Law in 2007 and is a licensed attorney. He has covered UFC, Pride, Bellator, Affliction, IFL, WFA, Strikeforce, WEC and K-1 live events. He believes deeply in the power of MMA to heal the world and bring happiness to all of its people.