I’m super pumped. Why? Because the UFC will be in Australia this weekend for UFC 110.

You might think I’ll be there at Acer Arena to witness is, but I won’t. You see, tickets were literally sold within hours of the pre-release! So, hell yes I was bummed. Tickets are now going for upwards of $600 on eBay. Now THAT is a market, and its easy to see why MMA is undisputedly the fastest growing sport on the planet.

The UFC organise events every 2-3 weeks, enough to keep their fans satiated, but still leaving them wanting more. They’ve branched out all over the world and audiences are clambering to get in to their events, which almost always sell out. And not only that, some of the PPV numbers are just massive, rivalling and even surpassing other sports like boxing and football. They are growing so fast it will be interesting to see how the organisation handles the growth, and how its president Dana White handles his time. Right now it seems he’s everywhere – choosing and cutting fighters, doing deals with venues, and even making appearances on the hit tv show ‘Ultimate Fighter’. As the UFC gets bigger and bigger he will definitely have let some of this stuff go if the company is to grow without a bottleneck.

Now let’s look at the fighters. First I want to preface this by saying I’m an exercise physiologist/scientist and have worked with many elite athletes. When I look at a UFC fighter, it amazes me as to how extreme their sport is. So lets take a look at how the best athletes prepare, and how you can take those same lessons and apply it in your business.

Before a fight, they usually take 4-6 weeks of their lives and commit to a training ‘camp’. This removes them totally from their normal daily routines and people and FORCES them to train, eat, sleep and recover. They also strategise and watch footage of their opponent, putting together a strategy to beat them.

How does this apply to you?
Do you find your productivity explodes when you have a deadline? When you’ve made it public and other people expect a good performance from you? If you answered yes, and you KNOW this works for you, why not turn all your projects into 4-6 week ‘camps’, make yourself accountable and get a great team on board?

The best fighters spend their camps training at the best academies available – Chute Box, AKA, Miletich, Team Quest and Greg Jackson to name a few. Here’s a beehive where the only other bees you bump into are killer bees. Guys that are way better than you and push you time and time again until your altitude can’t help but rise. GSP (one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet) said after his 4 round mauling of BJ Penn: “my training was so hard, the fight was easy”.

How does this apply to you? Are you surrounding yourself with people who beat YOU up? Or are you comfortable…..? Do you have access to business minds that help expand your context? Fellow entrepreneurs that inspire you with great ideas? You don’t have to find the worlds best organisations to push you. There are people who excel in your circle of influence right now. Hang out with them!

This blows me away. The term MIXED martial arts is just that: a melting pot of fused disciplines that a fighter can draw on to submit, knock out or defeat their opponent. There is Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo to name a few. Some fighters are incredibly gifted and good in all areas, although the top of the foodchain fighters are exceptional in 1 or 2 disciplines.

How does this apply to you? Are you spreading yourself too thin by trying to be a master of everything in your business? Just like UFC fighters do, you’ll get beaten up in business if you try this strategy. Focus on the stuff you’re good at. Then get BETTER at it, and find a team to help you with the stuff that you aren’t good at.

With that being said, any fight could end with a lucky punch. And just like in business sometimes things are unpredictable. But every fighter has gotten back up to fight another day. And you should too!