In the past few years, with the continuous performance of outstanding Chinese players such as Zhang Weili , Li Jingliang , Song Yadong , MMA mixed martial arts events represented by UFC have rapidly heated up in the country.
However, there is more than just applause and cheers on this stage, because the sport started relatively late in China, and it is not easy for Chinese players to make breakthroughs in professional events dominated by Westerners. In fact, every step they take is Full of hardship.
At present, taking advantage of the opportunity that famous Chinese star Li Jingliang is about to take the stage at UFC Fight Night on July 17, The Paper reporters will follow the perspective of industry insiders to take you to learn more about the stories behind Chinese athletes competing in the world.
Li Jingliang (middle) and his team departed from Capital Airport for the United States. Picture of this article: Photo provided by the interviewee
To improve yourself, you can only go abroad
"After 2019, due to the global impact of the epidemic, many foreign coaches were unable to come to the country, resulting in the lack of guarantee of the training quality of domestic players, such as Beijing The boxing world club, Zhang Tiequan coach cooperation Brazilian foreign teacher Hu Yi has never been able to come back. "
"Almost every player in the country has to face this problem. If you want to improve, you can only choose to go out..."
The person speaking is Wang Le, currently. One of the few Chinese people working for the top international mixed martial arts agency, his company Paradigm In addition to signing MMA superstars such as Conor McGregor, Isley Adesanya, etc., Sports also serves many Chinese UFC players including Li Jingliang, Yan Xiaonan, Ao Riqileng, etc.
Wang Le told The Paper, “For Chinese players, training overseas is a way to quickly improve themselves, where you can get guidance from high-level coaches.”
“In addition, there are top players from various countries. , you can access different Style, training and competing with them, such training conditions are unmatched in China. "
We have also heard similar words from Song Yadong. As the highest-ranked Chinese male fighter in the UFC, Song Yadong is based in California, USA. sacramento .
It sounds like "study abroad" is a good thing from any angle. Currently, many of China's 12 UFC fighters are training overseas, but what it feels like is something that non-participants cannot understand.
Li Jingliang (third from left) is in his apartment in the United States. He invites his teammate UFC star Robbie Lawler (third from right) to visit him.
The first thing is to calculate the living expenses
The United States, where the UFC event originated, has many high-quality boxing gyms, but Chinese players are faced with more than just the seemingly simple option of choosing which boxing gym to train in.
Like many people who are "drifting" overseas, the first thing Chinese players face when they first arrive is food, housing and transportation. According to Wang Le, "Nowadays, when Chinese players come to the United States to train, they don't first consider which boxing gym they go to. Instead, they have to calculate their living expenses and see how much they can afford."
Li Jingliang signed the pictorial for the weekend competition.
In order to prepare for the UFC Fight Night competition held in New York on July 17, Li Jingliang came to the United States as early as early April. He chose to train at the Sanford MMA boxing gym in Florida which is a 40-minute drive from Miami .
"This time Li Jingliang rented a two-bedroom apartment with two other athletes Shaylan and Bachat, coach Doss, and team leader and translator Ren Zhongxian. The monthly rent was 3,500 US dollars, which already cost them The cheapest solution imaginable," Wang Le said.
UFC player Ao Ri Qileng also used shared renting to reduce the cost of living. After he went to compete in the United States at the end of last year, he also stayed at the Fight Ready MMA gym in Phoenix, Arizona to continue training.
“The apartment Aoriqileng rented was priced at US$2,700 per month, and it was unfurnished. When he first rented it, he could only sleep on the floor. The bed frame and mattress were later found on a local second-hand platform. Fortunately, he and the other two Players Ala Teng Heili and Balakin share a house, which can share a lot of financial pressure. "
Yan Xiaonan and his boxing coach Marcus .
The rent pressure is huge
In the past, Chinese players often rushed overseas to train and prepare for the competition in a short period of time before the competition. The cycle was only half a month to 40 days. Because time was relatively tight, they often faced jet lag and weight loss. and other problems, affecting the training status.
In addition, entering the training camp of foreign teachers is also very difficult in a short period of time. They are not familiar with each other enough, and they cannot really understand some new playing styles. Over time, some players chose to stay in the United States for longer periods of time.
Yan Xiaonan, currently China’s top-ranked female player, has been training at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, the capital of California, for more than a year.
According to Wang Le, when Yan Xiaonan first came here, he rented a small studio in an apartment near the boxing gym, and the monthly rent was about US$1,500.
Chinese players can only sleep in small cubicles in the training hall.
"Public transportation in most cities in the United States is extremely underdeveloped, and it is difficult to move without a car. In order to facilitate training, she can only find accommodation near the boxing gym. The monthly rent of US$1,500 is still the price that can be obtained by signing a one-year lease. If It's a short-term lease, and the monthly rent will rise to more than 2,000 or 3,000. More dollars.”
Another Chinese female player, Wu Yanan, and her training partner, ONE Championship player Meng Bo, have been in Jackson, the capital of New Mexico , Albuquerque. Wink MMA boxing gym training, one of the reasons for choosing this boxing gym is that the boxing gym is equipped with dormitories.
"Although the so-called dormitories are a room with several beds squeezed together, without separate bathrooms, and the accommodation environment is relatively difficult, the monthly rent is only US$500, so the financial burden on the players can be slightly smaller." Wang Le said.
Yan Xiaonan (first from right) and Team Alpha Male teammate Song Yadong (second from left).
makes money, but there is no hope
Some people may ask, is the income of professional players not enough to support their expenses? People in the industry will tell you that the situation is not as good as everyone thinks.
In fact, when a player first enters the UFC, he will sign a rookie contract. The appearance fee of the rookie contract is usually the same for everyone (with the exception of a few famous players).
Although the UFC is already the highest-paying event in the MMA field, the amount of this rookie contract is still relatively low. If you simply calculate an account, a player can only play 3 games a year at most, because competing in the United States means that the income There is also a 30% tax deducted from the income, plus the share distributed to the coaching team or domestic clubs, which also accounts for 10% to 20%.
After one year, the money players can get is quite limited.
After fulfilling this contract, UFC will decide whether to renew the contract and what kind of contract to renew based on the player's performance. In the fiercely competitive UFC, there are many players who have been laid off because their performance is not good enough, and the second contract even The third contract can gradually widen the income gap.
In short, for Chinese players who have not been in the UFC for a long time, working hard in the United States is still a long way from making big money. Inability to make ends meet is the true portrayal of more people.
Wu Yanan and Meng Bo are training in the United States.
The knowledge of choosing a coach
In addition to the economic cost, Chinese players also have to bear the cost of "trial and error". There are countless good boxing gyms and good coaches, but how to choose the one that suits you is a big question.
"Normally, Chinese players will find coaches they know and have established contact with, and go to the boxing gym where the coach is located to train. There are also some Chinese players who do not have such resources and can only find some big-name boxing gyms based on reputation. ”
In Wang Le’s view, big-name boxing gyms are certainly beneficial, but they may not make every Chinese player feel comfortable.
"Whether the coach's style and the characteristics of your training partners are suitable for you, whether there are enough players of the same level to train with you, and even whether the coach pays enough attention to you, these are all questions."
"Although some big names in boxing gyms are not But from another perspective, the coach has more energy and time to help you. In some boxing gyms where there are many stars, the coach will not have much time to give you. If you go there, the effect may not be good."
He mentioned a Chinese fighter who had previously competed in Las Vegas. The latter had trained in a boxing gym in the United States where many well-known UFC fighters gathered. Wang Le still remembers this fighter coming to compete alone. It looks like.
"Generally, UFC matches are held on Saturdays (local time in the United States). Players come to the venue with their training teams on Tuesdays to carry out pre-match check-in and other preparations. I remember that he was there on Monday. He was flown in and his coach only arrived on Thursday. "
" The player had to go through the most painful weight loss process one week before the game, and he had to face it alone. I think the coach and team did not give him enough help, which was one of the reasons why he was overweight and lost in the end. "
What should I do if I can't understand English?
If this Chinese player is a little unlucky, then the difference between overseas training models and domestic ones is a problem that almost all Chinese players have to face.
As we all know, MMA requires the training of different fighting skills. Different training gyms also target different specialties - boxing requires going to a specialized boxing gym, jujitsu requires going to a jujitsu gym, and there are also specialized gyms. Can train.
A player often has to travel between different venues and meet different coaches and training partners according to his own needs. For many players in China who have come out of the professional team, this is very uncomfortable. Wang Le felt deeply, "In China, it is basically a one-stop service. The coaches have arranged it for you, and they will always keep an eye on you and urge you. This is completely impossible abroad, and you have to plan a lot by yourself." and coordination. "
Wang Le also mentioned that Chinese players have to face language barriers when working overseas. "What do you want to practice, you need to communicate with the coach and partners. For purely technical issues, you may not understand even if you can't understand it. I understand, but if the training is sublimated to specific tactics and strategies, such as why you are playing like this, and you have to communicate in depth, if your English is not good, there will be obstacles in understanding. "
Even if there is no problem with language communication, it will take time to reach a tacit understanding with overseas coaches. "After the players enter the Octagon, the competition between the two sides changes rapidly. At this time, the coach shouts and you know what to do. If you are not a native speaker and you don't have It's really hard to react after being together for a long time. "The price paid by
is difficult to estimate.
Wu Yanan is someone who has come before. She came to the Jackson Wink MMA boxing gym at the beginning of the year because of a knee injury. Mike Winkeljohn, the old coach who has been coaching former UFC champion Holly Holm, is very experienced in coaching female athletes. , but because the official resumption of training has not been long, there is no real chemical reaction between us.
"Coach Wink will give us small lessons alone to help me analyze the opponent and formulate tactics. Another coach Joey. Villasenor will also accompany me to competitions, but after all, the time we have been training in this boxing gym is too short, and it takes time to develop a tacit understanding.
Yan Xiaonan, who has just confirmed his next UFC match, also admitted that he has gained a lot from training overseas, but it is not suitable for everyone.
"One of the reasons for staying abroad for a long time is that it costs a lot of money; the other is that it is far away from home. Not being able to see my family makes me miss you so much. "
" In terms of training, it is also important whether you can be self-disciplined and whether you can achieve sufficient tacit understanding with the coaching team... In short, you need to pay a heavy price to work hard overseas. "
Wang Le saw all this and made an analogy, "For players to train in the United States is like 'study abroad'. It is indeed very helpful to the growth of players. Many media and boxing fans will also feel that the future is bright, but It is not easy to truly adapt and persevere, and the pressure is far greater than everyone imagines. "
" When you usually see the players posting on social media, you feel that they are very happy and unrestrained, and have a good life. The real fighting life is not only this side. What "
" posts is always to make everyone happy. Only the players themselves know best the difficulties they have to go through. "
Source: The Paper
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