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It's important to remember that all fighters train differently and take fights with different time frames. Ideally, fighters would get at least 12 weeks for preparation and they will start with their strength work and the basics in all of the disciplines of MMA.

Myself, I like to train all of them, as MMA is a never ending story of learning. It's best to learn whilst not in camp, but things always happen whilst you train which you will learn from, so sometimes it's just unavoidable.

I like to go to my training camp six weeks away from the fight and stay there till maybe two weeks away depending on where the event is. I think it's very important to accumulate when fighting overseas as this could affect your performance when it comes to fight time.

Ten days for me is the least amount of time I like to be in the city I'm fighting in. Some people like less and some more but it's very important to do it as the last thing you want to do is have a great camp, be in be in the shape of your life and then be in the octagon half asleep because you're on the other side of the world. If it's a city with a time zone difference, I find two weeks is more than sufficient time to adjust my body clock.

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I normally go away to train for at least a month, just to get away from home comforts and concentrate on training. If I'm fighting in my home city I like to come back ten days before to finish off here and get comfortable again, but every fighter is different, I know some fighters who go away for their whole camp to escape the bubble of their home life.

Fighters will usually do their MMA sparring six to eight weeks out from their fights and stop doing so ten days before so that they avoid any injuries. After that they will then focus on doing all of their speed and fitness work up until three days before the fight night.

(Image: Getty)

Depending on the fighter, you either go to a camp or bring in coaches and sparring partners to help you train. Which of these you do will normally depend on the type of fighter they are fighting, for instance, if you're fighting someone with a wrestling background, you would bring in a good wrestler to spar with and so forth.

Good trainers and fighters study their opponents and see what habits they have and try to capitalise on that. This is very important at the highest level as all it takes is one mistake for the fight to be over. At the same time, it's also important to concentrate on what you are good at as a fighter and impose that on your opponent in the Octagon. All fighters have habits but the best don't rely on these habits to win.

Next week, Jimi will be telling us all about he mentally prepares himself before a fight.

Photo credit: FightStorePro