By – Klara Kristi

Mixed martial artists may practice their craft in the cage, but talent is bought and paid for through hard work. Most fighters like Lyoto Machida or Ronda Rousey have been training martial arts all their lives, but there’s also Travis Browne who waited until much later in life to jump into martial arts training, – the 31-year old 3^rd ranked heavyweight UFC fighter has only started around his 26^th birthday, and now he is only one fight away from a title shot! This has ultimately proven that anything is possible for anyone who’s willing to put in the time and effort into their training.

As with many things in life, MMA isn’t always about the amount of time you put into training at the gym, but also about who you’re training with. That said, if you’re the top dog at the gym you attend, maybe it’s about time for you to seek for a new way to step your game up to the next level. MMA is all about exploring new challenges, getting out of your comfort zone, and experimenting endless new techniques, and what would be a better way than to pack your bag and go on a training adventure?

Over the past decade, thousands of MMA camps have opened up around the world. While there is no doubt that US and Brazil are home to some of the best MMA training camps, with so many outstanding fighters in sports like Wushu and Muay Thai and a steady influx of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts from the West, South East Asia has become one of the most popular destinations to train Mixed Martial Arts. Klara and the team at  BookMartialArts.com  share their Top 5 Destinations to train Mixed Martial Arts around the world of all time. Read on!

Singapore

Image credit: Evolve MMA via BookMartialArts.com

Long dismissed as little more than a sterile stopover, Singapore has reinvented itself as one of the world’s hotlist destinations. Singapore is home to Evolve MMA Camp, who has firmly established its reputation as Asia’s best professional fight camp. It has more world champion trainers than any other gym on the planet including Asia’s best MMA Coaches Chatri Sityodtong and Heath Sims!

The Evolve Fight Team accommodates a legion of world’s high-level fighters namely Dream Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki, UFC lightweight Rafael dos Anjos, and ONE FC stars Eddie Ng, Zorobabel Moreira and Yodsanan Sityodtong. Evolve also gets regular visits and exchange of knowledge from world-class elite mixed martial artists like Renzo Gracie, Greg Jackson, Rich Franklin, and Ryo Chonan.

Thailand

Image credit: Monsoon Gym & Fight Club via BookMartialArts.com

The beauty of MMA is how it combines all of the other martial arts, to see which ones can adapt and dominate. Muay Thai being one of the most prominent styles in Mixed Martial Arts has made Thailand a favorite destination for UFC fighters to deepen their skills. Don’t be afraid to get lost in Thailand, the country has been voted one of the most expat-friendly in the world! The best thing about training MMA in Thailand is there are plenty of options, and they are generally ideal for all levels of experience: from beginners to experts and prospective fighters, Thailand is just the place to be. If you’d like even more information on where to train in Thailand, check out our Top 5 training camps in Thailand post!

Philippines

Image credit: Legacy Gym Boracay via BookMartialArts.com

It is not surprising to us that fighting comes naturally to Filipinos with the popularity of boxing and wrestling across every region in the Philippines. MMA would most likely be easily picked up. Recently, Pacific X-Treme Combat (PXC) came to the Philippines to add more flavor to this budding sporting event, introducing Filipino MMA fighters to international combatants. If you get the chance to train in the Philippines, we would definitely recommend the perfect beach paradise, Boracay. It is one of the best places to get top-notch MMA training. Check out The Legacy MMA gym that is run by world kickboxing champ and ONE FC contender Ole Laursen and houses fighters like Richie Redman and Zebastian Kadestam.

Vietnam

Image credit: Saigon Sports Club via BookMartialArts.com

The fact that Vietnam doesn’t have a long history of combat sports does not stop MMA from growing, especially within the young community. With the movie star Johnny Nguyen and UFC veteran Dave-muthafuckin-Menne’s recent breakthrough in planting the MMA roots in Ho Chi Minh City, the popularity of the sports has never looked more optimistic. Menne has taken his adventure from the Octagon to Saigon through his sign-up as a full time trainer at Saigon Sports Club in 2013. The sports club itself boasts 7500 squares meters of training space making it Asia’s largest mixed martial arts and cross-training center.

The Americas

Image credit: Fox Sports

Quite possibly the Mecca of MMA, America is home to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the center to the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Whether you’re just looking to get in better shape in case the stunning and strong, Ronda Rousey ever responds to your DM, or if you’re looking to make your grand debut to become the next world class fighter, the Americas is the right place to be! There’s a plethora of MMA training camps located all across the USA, Canada, and Brazil for you to choose from, and they are undoubtedly some of the best camps you could ever possibly train at.

Klara Kristi is the Community Manager at BookMartialArts.com, one of the world’s leading online martial arts travel websites. She is a Martial Arts enthusiast and a Mixed Martial Arts practitioner.