Developing a training strategy for teenage athletes in mixed martial arts for high-level competitions

Abstract

Background: With the increasing demands aced by teenage athletes in mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions, there is a pressing need for scientists to develop innovative training. This study aims to formulate a strategy for training teenage athletes to excel in high-level MMA competitions, leveraging the physiological characteristics of neuromuscular system adaptation to stress-inducing stimuli. Additionally, the practical efficacy of this strategy is be assessed.Materials and methods: The research encompassed 24 male athletes, representing various age and weight categories of the Ukrainian national youth team in MMA: U14 (G02–G05), U16 (F01–F04) and U18 (E03–E06). At first, the results of athletes’ performance at the 2022 MMA World Championships were analyzed. The training procedures for these competitions were analyzed. In the second stage, the strategy for sportsmen's preparation for the World MMA Championship 2023 was developed. It employed physiological features of the neuromuscular system adaptation to stressful stimuli. An innovative system of training management was implemented. The mechanisms for improving the functional support of technical actions in fights were developed. In the third stage of the study, a comparative analysis of the athletes' performance at the World MMA Championships in 2022 and 2023 was carried out.Results: The 2nd place at the 2022 MMA World Championship was won by the study participants due to the successful implementation of suffocation and painful techniques. 20% of the victories in fights depended on the referees’ decision. The strategy for training athletes for similar MMA competitions in 2023 was based on maximizing the adaptive potential of the neuromuscular system. The strategy implementation allowed for winning first place at the World MMA Championship 2023. The dynamics primarily increased owing to the growth of the maximum strength and adaptive body reserves, as well as a change in the priority of using technical actions. The number of victories by knockout and technical knockout doubled compared to similar competitions of the previous year. The number of victories obtained by referees' decisions decreased by 3.5 times, which reduced the possibility of errors during judging. Conclusions: Developing a strategy for training teenage MMA athletes requires a detailed study of the physiological processes of the neuromuscular system adaptation to different load modes. The efficiency of performed technical actions and their priority depends on the functional capabilities to carry out these tasks. An important factor of the training system is the validity of using power load regimes depending on the expediency of increasing adaptive reserves of priority muscle groups.