9 Best Supplements For MMA Fighters (Bulk, Cut & More!)

If you’re looking to get the very best performance out of your body for mixed martial arts training, then supplements might just be the key to unlocking your maximum potential.

In this article, I will cover a selection of the best supplements for MMA fight training—everything from pre-workout to bulking, cutting weight, recovery, and more.

My top picks of supplements for MMA are Crazy Nutrition’s Intensive Pre-Train pre-workout formula to boost workout efficiency and 100% Tri-Protein protein powder for muscle recovery and growth as well as NooCube’s Sleep Upgrade for getting maximum recovery:

Keep scrolling to uncover all the options to support your training. Let’s begin!

Note: Remember, supplements are not a substitute for a healthy lifestyle. It’s important to speak with your doctor or dietitian before trying any new supplements and Do Your Own Research! Additionally, make sure none of the ingredients in these supplements are prohibited by any fight organization you’re affiliated with.

1. Pre-Workout: Intensive Pre-Train

Before every training session, a pre-workout supplement can be a massive boost to ensuring that your body is perfectly fueled for it.

There are plenty of things to be concerned with, such as making sure your hydration is on point, your muscles are ready to work at their best, and your mind can focus on the task.

This is where the Intensive Pre-Train powder by Crazy Nutrition comes in.

It’s a unique formula with nineteen proven ingredients that help fighters improve their energy and focus for elite performance in each training session.

The pre-workout is good for just about any kind of training, so you can use it during your kickboxing drills, grappling sessions, and of course, when strength training to keep your body at its peak performance.

It’s just one scoop added to 16 oz of water. Shake it up and drink 30 minutes before your training session.

The only niggle with this supplement is the flavor can take some getting used to.

The Blue Raspberry flavor is probably the best, as it’s not too “chemical” tasting.

The Green Apple (caffeine-free) option tastes a little bitter, which is fine if you like that.

While the flavors aren’t the best, which is pretty common with pre-workouts like this, the results speak for themselves because just one scoop and your alertness and focus hits the roof.

And what’s better is that you don’t get the same crashes from typical store-bought pre-workouts (generally full of sugar and caffeine).

It’s more smooth energy that lasts and dissipates naturally.

2. During Workout: Ultimate CRN-5

Using the right supplements can make a significant difference when optimizing your athletic performance.

If you need to boost your energy and strength during workout sessions, Crazy Nutrition’s Ultimate CRN-5 creatine powder formula may be just what you need.

CRN-5 is produced with not one but five different types of creatine, plus electrolytes to help boost energy, support lean muscle mass, and maintain hydration.

This unique blend of creatine and minerals provides 5X the workout efficiency without cycling, loading, or bloating.

CRN-5 contains a premium blend of minerals and electrolytes for muscle hydration, helping you lift harder and recover faster.

Whether you’re looking to push records on the weights or for effectiveness on the mats, this supplement can really make a difference.

CRN-5’s uses extend beyond strength and hydration, as it also fuels ATP for intense power and improves muscle recovery post-workout.

It’s just one scoop of the powder mixed with 16 oz of water 30 minutes before your workout.

The orange mango flavor of the powder is particularly delicious, making it easy to drink and get the fuel you need.

3. Build Muscle & Recover: 100% Tri-Protein

As a mixed martial artist, fueling your body with the right nutrients is crucial for peak performance.

Protein stands out as a key ingredient for muscle growth, recovery, and endurance. This is where Crazy Nutrition’s Tri-Protein powder formula hits the nail.

Crafted with six natural, non-GMO proteins, Tri-Protein breaks down into 3 phases, giving you sustained energy and strength throughout your workout.

This isn’t like your typical single whey, hemp, or soy protein. This premium blend combines the best of each variety, giving you a hefty 21 grams of protein per serving.

It also curbs hunger and keeps you energized. No more stomach cramps or “food coma” crashes. This protein powder is designed for athletes with high goals, and that’s what MMA competitors like us really care about.

The six protein variants allow for a slow release, keeping you satiated for longer and your muscles in a fuelled state while they repair and grow.

The chocolate shake flavor has a nice texture, though not ideal for some people. I’m particularly all about salted caramel.

As an ex-military PT and boxing coach, Otis Taitt claims, “This is the only protein shake you need. Makes me feel great and satisfies my hunger. Awesome formula.”

Keeping your protein levels high throughout the training and recovery periods of your MMA lifestyle is absolutely crucial to reaching your individual peak, so I highly recommend grabbing a tub.

4. Bulk Up: Mass Gainer

As a martial artist, you know the importance of building muscle mass and packing on weight to move up a weight class for competition.

But you also know that gaining muscle can be challenging and time-consuming, especially if you’re not getting enough calories and protein in your diet and are on a tight schedule to compete.

This is where Crazy Nutrition’s Mass Gainer comes in handy.

With 488 calories, 40 grams of protein, and 55 grams of clean carbs per serving, this formula can help you achieve your bulking goals faster without causing difficult blood sugar spikes, gas, or bloating.

But it’s not just about packing on weight. Mass Gainer is also designed to improve recovery and boost strength, energy, and mental focus to train harder and longer.

It’s different from most bulk powders because it doesn’t contain garbage fillers like maltodextrin.

Instead, it contains unique ingredients like DigeZyme® to help you digest, Carb10® to lower sugar spikes, and AstraGin® to increase absorption.

If you’re concerned about what’s inside, here’s a current snapshot of what ingredients are in the Mass Gainer supplement:

Oat flour (gluten-free), whey protein concentrate (milk), milk protein concentrate (milk), MCT oil powder (milk), flavors (chocolate, cacao), sweetener (sucralose), magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, pyridoxine HCL, black pepper extract (95% piperine), and DigeZyme® enzyme complex (amylase, protease, cellulase, lactase, lipase), and methylcobalamin.

So if you’re serious about bulking up and packing on muscle mass as a martial artist, this could be exactly what you need to go from skinny-fat to fight-ready.

With clean(er) ingredients, special digestive enzymes, and a useful blend of nutrients, you can finally get the gains you’re looking for.

5. Weight Cut: BURN

The weight cut for every MMA fighter is a key but often challenging process.

Not only do you have to drop your weight and cut fat, but often while also training every day leading up to your fight. And sometimes still in a sauna suit!

So that’s where a supplement like BURN can help, making the weight cut a bit easier while maintaining energy and focus for training and fight preparations.

BURN contains nine unique ingredient blends using mostly natural foods, spices, and elements.

For example, the cayenne pepper extract blend inside every pill helps to boost metabolism by 6%, liberates fat cells presenting as free fatty acids in the blood and even helps to curb hunger.

I’m happy that it includes a B Vitamin mix of B3, B6, and B12 which, as I know, all have their uses for producing energy, reducing fatigue, and how B12 supports lower risks of obesity.

I also love that it has L-Arginine, an essential amino acid that boosts blood flow. This is always good for getting the most out of your muscles during training and helps with recovery and healing.

It’s one supplement that can support the multitude of needs on a weight cut.

Like trimming down fat while preserving muscle, helping with cravings, and letting you train harder even when you’re in that calorie deficit.

This is one to consider if you’re going through a weight cut fairly often or even for cutting phases to improve that shredded muscle look.

6. Boost Testosterone: Testo Prime

Mixed martial arts are high-intensity and demand a lot from your body and mind.

Having high levels of energy and stamina to perform can be really crucial for developing skills and maintaining strength over extended training periods.

If you find that you’re suffering from inadequate stamina to meet the demands of your MMA schedule, then lower testosterone might be one of the causes.

Get your levels checked by a doctor first, and then you might want to consider a supplement like TestoPrime as an option.

TestoPrime is an entirely natural ingredient supplement designed to improve testosterone levels and, in turn, raise your energy and mood, which will help your overall training in a big way.

Scientists put it together to help men win back some of that vitality (you know when you feel invincible), and with no reports of any side effects, it could be right for you.

TestoPrime’s ingredients work together to support the healthy production of testosterone.

There are four primary ingredients:

1. D-aspartic acid is one of the ingredients in TestoPrime, and it helps to increase the production of the Luteinizing Hormone, which helps to increase healthy levels of testosterone.
2. Panax ginseng is another ingredient, and it’s known for its ability to raise energy levels, increase sex drive, and fight feelings of fatigue.
3. KSM 66® ashwagandha extract is a clinically-tested and powerful ingredient that supports existing testosterone for improved energy, cognitive ability, digestion, and muscle growth.
4. Fenugreek is also a key ingredient and has been used for over 6,000 years to help men boost their libido, sexual function, energy, stamina, and metabolism.

There are also several other ingredients, mainly extracted from foods, to add additional concentration and testosterone-supporting abilities to this pill.

TestoPrime can be an incredible addition to MMA training as it can help to reduce stress by up to 71.6%, burn overall body fat by up to 16%, increase muscle strength by up to 138.7%, improve endurance by up to 92.2%, and help convert fat into energy by up to 12%.

I’m particularly fond of the ability to reduce stress with this supplement because getting punched in the face over and over certainly causes a unique flavor of mind-and-body stress.

On bad performance days, the stress can get you down and destroy your recovery. So keeping on top of your general well-being is really important.

The dosage is to take four caps of TestoPrime each morning, and expect to see results within a few weeks. But it can take longer for some people and works best for men who actually have a low-testosterone issue.

It also comes with a lifetime guarantee, so if you don’t like the product, you can open a return after trying it.

7. Fortify Immunity: Biotics 8 Probiotic Formula

Mixed martial arts requires a strong mind and body connection and a robust immune system to protect yourself against common conditions like staph infections.

When your gut feels good, your entire body feels amazing. This is where Biotics 8 can help to cure the gap if you’re not feeling like your best.

Research shows that when the gut microbiome is in tip-top shape, it helps strengthen the immune system to fight off illnesses or infections.

An effective probiotic supplement like this helps improve the entire gut microbiome, works to maintain healthy testosterone levels, fortifies digestion, and improves the gut-brain axis.

One study saw higher testosterone levels, higher sperm concentration, and motility when taking a probiotic packed with a variety like that of Biotic 8.

This supplement will help your digestion by including Vitamin D3, which, when combined with the 20-billion probiotic CFUs, restores the gut microbiome and raises serotonin for mood and digestive enhancements.

When the gut-brain axis works well, it helps improve cognitive abilities like endurance and focus — which can be hugely beneficial to the complicated agility and awareness required in MMA.

If you have no idea what the gut-brain axis is, here’s a quick summary:

It’s the two-way biochemical signaling between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. It’s how your gut microflora affects your vagus nerve, which leads up to your brain and back again.

A good gut-brain axis helps you prevent neurodegeneration, inflammation, and even mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress.

Probiotics from Biotics 8 can also aid weight loss by decreasing unhealthy appetite patterns, breaking down food more effectively, and even shedding excess fat during bowel movements.

Where most probiotic supplements give you a low-grade dose of probiotics, Biotics 8 offers an enhanced probiotic formula designed to improve men’s gut health and microbiome while providing more energy, better mood, and reliable digestion.

A solid probiotic supplement can really make a huge difference in your daily life. I know all too well how my mood and ability to digest have changed dramatically whenever I am fulfilling my body’s needs for more diverse gut microflora.

With Biotics 8, you’re getting ten probiotic strains in 20 billion CFU every day that can really make a difference in a martial artist’s diverse needs for gut support and overall well-being.

8. Increase Focus: NooCube’s Brain Productivity

MMA is a rigorous sport that demands an exceptional amount of focus and alertness. Reacting quickly and staying sharp are essential to performing at the highest level in a fight.

But with fatigue and brain fog being so common in the modern world, maintaining optimal performance for fighting is not always easy.

This is why I recommend that you consider the NooCube Brain Productivity supplement to help support your brain’s needs.

Remember, your brain is an organ like the rest of your body. It needs nutrients just like any other part. Perhaps even more than any other organ.

NooCube Brain Productivity is a nootropic formula scientifically designed to help you gain lightning focus, drastically elevate problem-solving skills, and boost memory and mental alertness.

Not sure what nootropics are? Here’s a quick summary:

Nootropics are drugs or supplements that enhance cognitive, learning, and memory functions while often lacking the pharmacology of other psychotropic drugs (sedation, motor stimulation, etc) but being low in toxicity (unlike modern pharmaceuticals) and having very few side effects.

It’s a unique blend of ingredients backed by research, so NooCube will likely help you improve your cognitive abilities to stay sharp for MMA training and your next competitive fight.

The supplement is caffeine-free and contains Lutemax® 2020, derived from the marigold plant, and contains three eye-brain-supporting nutrients.

Current NooCube users testify to feeling more productive and being able to focus more on their work, making everything feel “easier”.

It’s a product that was originally designed for your everyday desk worker, but the ingredients are suitable for anyone looking to increase their cognitive processing power.

If you’re an active fighter in training, then you know just how your brain can become fatigued from the rapid engagement and adrenaline involved in sparring.

So Brain Productivity can help your brain handle those moments with greater ease, without becoming as easily stressed, and the added benefit of remembering and learning from your fighting successes and mistakes.

9. Restful Sleep: NooCube’s Sleep Upgrade

If you are an MMA fighter or are involved in any kind of intense physical activity, you know how crucial restful sleep is for your body’s recovery.

That’s why NooCube’s Sleep Upgrade supplement may be the ideal assistance to recover from intense martial arts training.

This nighttime pill is designed to work with your body’s natural sleep systems to help you fall asleep faster and get deep, restful sleep while staying asleep longer and waking up ready to take on the next day’s training schedule.

Look, let’s be real, if you’re not 18 years old anymore then your ease of recovery is dropping rapidly. You can’t survive on 4 hours of sleep every night forever.

And especially not if you’re a practicing mixed martial artist who trains regularly. Your sleep and recovery are absolutely critical. I can’t shout about this enough!

Sleep debt is a real thing. And having too much sleep debt can have serious issues on your overall health and ability to recover, like:

• Reduced mental and physical performance
• Lower libido and even erectile dysfunction
• Problems with your immunity
• Increases cravings for junk food
• Raises anxiety, depression, and premature aging
• Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to much worse serious health conditions

So a much smarter thing to do is support your body to get more restful sleep and much more of it.

Sleep Upgrade is a relaxing formula that doesn’t use drugs but a selection of natural ingredients that promote sleepy vibes, like lemon balm, lavender, vitamin D3, magnesium, and calcium.

You’ll notice that Sleep Upgrade does NOT include melatonin. That’s because melatonin affects your hormones and can easily lead to overdosing, imbalance, and dependence.

As both your mental and muscle recovery and growth happen most while you’re asleep, drifting off easily and staying in dreamland for eight hours is going to have a massive impact.

So the bottom line is this, if you know you’re not getting 7-8+ hours of sleep most nights then you’re likely in debt. And that’s going to hinder your recovery.

Poor recovery means your mixed martial arts training is going to suffer. And if not right now, it’s only a matter of time before it catches up with you.

So grabbing NooCube’s Sleep Upgrade can be the game-changer that allows you to maximize rest and see explosive growth from your MMA training.

More reading on MMA recovery

You’ve got a selection of great supplements to help support your body after fight training, but you might also want to consider including CBD in your regimen:

• Best CBD Oils For MMA Fighters
• Key Benefits Of CBD for MMA Fighting