Are Belts Used in Mixed Martial Arts?

MMA titles or championship belts are awarded to those fighters who have achieved certain level of athletic achievement. Learn more about belts used in mixed martial arts.

Are Belts Used in Mixed Martial Arts?

MMA titles, or championship belts, are awarded to those fighters who are considered by a promotional organization to have achieved a certain level of athletic achievement in a specific weight category (most often through a championship fight). There is no black belt in mixed martial arts or mixed martial arts. It's not an art where someone gives you a colored belt. There is no doubt that you can be a black belt in a martial art, such as Brazilian jiujitsu (BJJ), judo or karate, and compete in MMA.

But there's definitely no belt system in MMA. There are no white belts, blue belts or brown belts or any color belts in MMA. These championship belts are not the type of belts used in martial arts, which are awarded by an instructor. They are not the same “belts” that you would get in a martial arts club or class. You don't have to have a black belt in any martial art to compete in MMA.

You may hear a lot about Brazilian jiujitsu martial artists who do well in mixed martial arts, but they're not the only grappling sport either. There are many other grappling sports, such as sambo, judo, wrestling and submission wrestling, and everyone will do well in MMA. There are even MMA champions who have experience in other impressive martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do and Karate. I suppose some small gyms offer black belts, since you can open a martial arts organization and hand out black belts as you wish if someone wants to get your certification. Most MMA gyms don't do that as far as I know, and they could give out BJJ belts if a practitioner cross-trains in BJJ, as in most places.

The most popular martial arts that use the belt classification system are karate, taekwondo, judo, aikido, BJJ, capoeira, Krav Maga, Savate, Kung-Fu and Wing Chun. Its use usually varies according to martial art, but most of the time, it is given to great masters and some other high ranks. This is the most prestigious stage of martial arts belts and is the time when a student must have full control of their skills and knowledge and also possess the power to teach them to new students. MMA fighters use many different techniques and elements from many martial arts when fighting in the cage. I currently train mainly in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and train judo and wrestling as secondary martial arts. Everyone in the martial arts world has heard of a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a black belt in judo, a black belt in karate and in the line of traditional martial arts.

This is the second level of martial art and the color represents the idea that the sun is heating the seed. This is the belt that beginners usually wear and symbolizes the birth of a seed or a new beginning. Well, the Jackson's MMA team has introduced a new belt system designed specifically for MMA training, with belt levels ranging from the white belt to the black belt, all under the instructions of coach Greg Jackson. Since MMA is a combat sport that is a mix of many martial arts disciplines, I wanted to know how rankings in MMA would work. As stated above, the black belt has generally been accepted as the highest-ranked belt, but for some martial arts, some other colors are placed above the black belt when someone scores very highly. No universally accepted standard governs the colors of the martial arts belt; each type of martial arts follows its own rules, explanations and traditions, and sometimes there are variations within the same type.

As with any martial art, training is a way of life, and graduating through belt classes represents learning and achievement. Jackson's MMA belts will be taught in every gym in New Mexico but they are not only for fighters; they also apply to any student who simply wants to learn mixed martial arts for fun or sport. Because the training focuses on defensive movements, students must compete in a game to demonstrate their understanding before moving on to training for the purple belt. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that focuses on struggle and is dedicated to the understanding of control, strength and endurance.