UFC is chump change. FIghters don’t make any real money there. And since the Randy Couture thing, they stopped offering signing bonuses.

Besides, the UFC doesn’t promote fighters, all they care about is their brand. You should look into some of the other leagues where you can make better money and make a name for yourself.

You’ve got some mighty aspirations. You wont be good enough to compete in the UFC before college so you’re only hope is that you’re good enough when you’re in your 20’s. You don’t need to be away from your home/family at all. If you live in a city where your gym is that’s where you’d be training. I don’t know how you would become a good MMA fighter if you’re not training in your hometown anyway. The only time you’d have to be away from your family is the week of the fight. Normally fighters show up in Vegas or wherever the event’s being held a week early to get settled in but that really doesn’t mean your family can’t go with you for that week.

1) It’s not like the army, you can’t really just ‘go away’ to do it. You have to find a gym and prepare for a couple of years, then do very well in smaller leagues, kind of like baseball.

2) Find a good camp near you that trains MMA. If you can’t find a good one — I’m sure you can find many, but find a well-known franchise with respectable coaches with winning records — then you’ll have to leave home.

3) When you’re IN the UFC, you’ll have to train at that camp almost all the time. Some people like Georges St. Pierre manage to train at a so-so camp near home and then just go away to an elite camp for five or six weeks right before their fights. That’s another option.

4) Go to college first. You’ll need an education to wade through the contracts and competing offers you’re going to get from different organizations. Believe it or not, for most people, the best money is NOT in the UFC.

Not only that, but being in school will give you the time off you need to spend a lot of time in the gym. If you’re working, you’ll have to field a lot of questions about why your arm’s in a sling, or why you need another sick day, or why you have a black eye.

College > Good MMA camp > Small shows > Submit tape to / get recruited by UFC, WEC, IFL, EliteXC, Strikeforce, K-1 HERO’S, etc. > Elite camp > Fight > Win > Profit!

About 2 days.

Competing in the UFC only means you have to be there for the weight-ins, which is the day before the fight, and the day of the fight.

You could fly the day before, fight the next day, and then go home.

If you do UFC, do it after College, get your education first.

good luck!

I’m 23 and I’ll apply for the Ultimate Fighter in 2009… If you are really into it, then do it…

I dunno bout the UFC but in my experience (fighting in the minor leagues), schedule is stiff during training but you will definitely have time for your family. You’re not going to live in a gym, are you?

But before thinking of joining the UFC there are a lot of MMA minor leagues out there have you been into 1? Cause that’s what I’m doing right now, racking up wins first before joining the big one…

Many of the Ultimate Fighter contestants were part of a minor league before joining the reality show and they were given contracts by the UFC after being successful…

Well you can’t just sign up for the UFC…..it’s not a camp or something. The UFC comes to you……if they want you.

You need to have a good pro record before you can expect to be sought after by ANY of the bigger MMA promotions. You need to get yourself trained and start making a name for yourself.

Fighting for a living is an interesting commitment. It’s really not as glamorous as you’d think it to be. It is for the Chuck Liddell’s of this world…..but most of us make no more than a few grand per fight compared to Chuck’s $500k. Anyhow, it can be a tough life, but there’s time for family…..not to mention typically my family travels with me. There’s no reason family cannot come to your events.

Hope that helps…..good luck!

Not long at all.