Thinking of doing MMA? For the most part it is a bad idea
Take it from someone that has 3 professional fights under his belt; me. I participated in MMA in the late 90's and early 2000's when very few people knew what it was, on a very low level circuit. I question the legality of what we were doing at the time but whatever man, it happened, and to some degree I am glad it happened because it was fun at the time.
I am still happy that I left that scene though, and not just because I was headed towards a future of brain damage if I had continued.
I recently ran into an interview with Sean Strikland and I believe he was talking to Joe Rogan, when he was talking about how a vast majority of all MMA fighters are broken, in their bank accounts, their bodies, and their mental health. Very few actually make any sort of living in this and the chances of you becoming not just wealthy, but even being able to make a living at it at all, is very very small.
src
Now Strickland isn't exactly someone I would look to for advice about literally anything else, but when it comes to MMA, he knows what he is talking about. I kind of suspected that when he was running his mouth about this or that social issue or this or that political issue, that he was trying to position himself for a job that doesn't involve lacing up the gloves and taking punishment.
Donald "whipping boy Cowboy" Cerrone also commented about how each and every fight that he had he would be in the locker room lamenting that he was about to go out there and either get beaten up or beat up someone else for the amusement of fans that enjoy that sort of thing. He is one of the best known names in MMA history with a losing record, but still he complains about the stress and lack of fulfillment that you get from a fight, win or lose.
src
Cowboy tried to transition himself towards films but thus far it doesn't really look like that is going to pan out for him. I'm not saying he isn't good, ok yes I am.
Then most recently we have Alexander Volkanovski, who was an electrifying champion for a bit, but now that he has lost and is now working towards getting back into the championship picture, he is starting to say things that indicate that his heart isn't really in it anymore.
I’ve always been this guy to build up to the fight, win it, then kind of get emotional in the relief of being done, but not properly enjoy it as a human being."
src
Even one of my favorite fighters ever who also has a less-than-awesome overall record, is a bit nonplussed when it comes to the industry that has resulted in him becoming very wealthy because of it.
Nate Diaz said about fighters pretending to be happy to be in the Octagon
“I just despise these people who are happy to go out there, That’s fake. If it’s not fake, you must be crazy.”
src
Nate has described his time just before fights as "horrible" and how he had to kind of put himself into a trance just to endure the stress of it all. He also said that some of his in-ring antics are the direct result of him genuinely not enjoying being a part of it. The "Stockton Slap" could be KO punches if he wanted them to be, but it was kind of his "middle finger" to the sport in general by refusing to go for the kill when it is available to him.
The really tragic thing here is that these are the words of the people who were very successful at it and made a bunch of money doing it. For the vast majority of fighters, over 99%, they live a life of destitution, barely making enough money to survive and often needing to rely on other jobs just to be able to live life.
We, on the outside think that these guys are just enjoying their millions upon millions of dollars that allows them to live a life of frivolity, but the truth is precisely the opposite.
I learned this in my 3rd professional fight where the payout for fighting was $100 but I had several thousands of dollars in medical bills because of it. Yeah, you get some props from your friends and even strangers that think it is amazing that you would do something so courageous, but at the end of the day it is a battering sport that really grinds at your overall happiness.
There are a ton of people that enjoy martial arts, but there aren't very many genuinely happy professional MMA fighters. Most of the ones that do podcasts after their careers in the octagon are finished, actually end up making more money doing that then they were ever going to make by actually fighting.
I think this is why we see so many fighters trying to create a persona in their fights and interviews. This is why we see so many antics that don't really have a lot to do with fighting and we see so many fighters attempt to create a character so that they can go and make money doing things that aren't related to getting punched in the face.
The thing is, according to most of the fighters, the payment they receive doesn't really seem to have a huge impact on their own mental health as far as participating in the sport is concerned. As someone who actually was standing in a locker room (a small and dirty one) who was about to be announced to crowd of either dozens or maybe hundreds of people, I can share in their sentiment of this being an incredibly stressful situation that a lot of time and self-torture lead up to being a part of. Then, to have all that preparation still result in you getting your butt kicked (even when you win) this isn't a great world to live in.
I'm not telling people to not get involved in martial arts. I still practice them to this day even though my days of competing are very far behind me. What I am suggesting is to look at the idols who you may admire and listen to what they have to say about the sport. Almost none of them have "glowing reviews" of being involved in it, and to me, that is very telling indeed.