Which is Better: MMA or Boxing Training?

For a long time in this country, when it came to contact sports, boxing was king. Great bouts between legendary fighters such as Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali kept the sport at the top of the charts for decades, with no signs of slowing down. Even today, boxing still has an ardent following, with the most recent “fight of the century” between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao resulting in record-breaking attendance and sales.
 
However, since the early 2000’s, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been making a steady advance to oust boxing as the top contact sport. Whereas before most MMA fights were hardly televised or covered by the media, today top fighters are becoming more and more popular, with MMA, in general, being just as beloved or more than traditional boxing. So which sport is better? While that debate may never be settled, we can look at the training methods for both sports, and decide which offers a more comprehensive approach to fitness.
 
Boxing
More so than anything, boxing is about endurance. Sure, strength counts, but a boxer has to go through round after round in the ring, with many fights not even resulting in a knockout blow. Thus, if you’re training to become a boxer, you have to work on your stamina and speed just as much as your strength. Also, when it comes to raw power, a boxer wields all of it in his upper body and his arms, so boxing training will make you top heavy, at least regarding where the bulk of your muscles are.
 
Boxing Training Benefits:
Stamina
Speed
Upper Body Strength
 
MMA
Whereas boxing is mostly about endurance, MMA is all about strength. Simply put, an MMA fighter has to make all parts of his or her body equally strong, since fighters use hands, arms, legs, and feet to win in the ring. Stamina does play an important part, but since many fights end with a knockout rather than a full twelve rounds, MMA training does not highlight stamina quite as much as boxing. If you are looking into MMA training, you will get a more comprehensive strength and endurance workout than with boxing. Since your whole body will be a weapon, you will have to mold it like one.
 
MMA training benefits:
Whole body training
All-around strength
Variety of workouts
 
So which training is better? Ultimately, it’s up to your particular goals. For some, MMA training surpasses boxing training, simply because it requires much more discipline and effort. Because you may win with a leg sweep or a knockout punch, you have to turn your whole body into a solid piece of muscle, which makes MMA training more comprehensive than boxing training. A boxer, on the other hand, focuses on key parts of his or her body while training. For this reason, some people prefer boxing, in order to really hone a particular skill set and training regimen. So determine what you’re looking for and where you want to focus, because either MMA or boxing in Los Angeles may better suit your goal.

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