The effect of warm-up on peak impact force of the rear hand strike in full-contact combat sports.

Warming up is a generally accepted practice that leads to improved performance and reduces the risk of injury in a wide range of sports. However, the evidence about the influence of warm-up in combat sports is limited and, specifically, little is known about the impact which delays between a warm-up and the start of a match may have on fighters' performance. This study investigates the influence of warm-up and cool-down on one of significant performance predictors in full-contact combat sports, the peak force of a rear hand strike, in a sample of 31 athletes.Peak impact force was measured before, after, and at two time points after a standardized warm-up routine; skin temperature and heart rate were also monitored. Warm-up and cool-down periods were substantial predictors of body temperature and heart rate, but we observed no effect of the warm-up routine on strike impact force. Strike impact force remained unaffected even after the cool-down intervals.Strike impact force does not seem to respond to physiological changes elicited by a warm-up. This measure is partly related only to fighters' physical characteristics, namely the body weight. Athletes and trainers could thus concentrate on other aspects of successful performance during warm-up routines.

Acute fatigue affects reaction times and reaction consistency in Mixed Martial Arts fighters.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a multielement combat sport where fighters need to quickly react to an opponent's movements under fatigued conditions. Research indicates that fast reaction time is important in many sports, but the effect of fatigue has shown negative, null, or even positive influences on reaction time. However, few studies have been conducted in a controlled setting, especially using MMA figthers, whose matches are frequently resolved in a split-second. Therefore, this study investigated whether acute neuromuscular fatigue affects reaction and movement times, and their consistency in MMA fighters (N = 45). Before and after an upper-body Wingate test, a simple visual reaction time task was completed. Results showed a significant negative effect of fatigue on the reaction times and their consistency, with longer reactions (1.5% change) and lower consistency (14.7% change) after the Wingate test. Further, greater amounts of fatigue during the Wingate test seemed to negatively affect the consistency of post-Wingate movement time. Due to cumulative fatigue and the dynamic nature of MMA, our data indicate that not only the decrements in aerobic and anaerobic power likely affect a fighter's performance, but their reaction time and motor time may also be compromised during a fight.

Predictors of Fighting Ability Inferences Based on Faces.

Facial perception plays a key role in various social interactions, including formidability assessments. People make relatively accurate inferences about men's physical strength, aggressiveness, and success in physical confrontations based on facial cues. The physical factors related to the perception of fighting ability and their relative contribution have not been investigated yet, since most existing studies employed only a limited number of threat potential measures or proxies. In the present study, we collected data from Czech Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters regarding their fighting success and physical performance in order to test physical predictors of perceived fighting ability made on the basis of high-fidelity facial photographs. We have also explored the relationship between perceived and actual fighting ability. We created standardized 360° photographs of 44 MMA fighters which were assessed on their perceived fighting ability by 94 raters (46 males). Further, we obtained data regarding their physical characteristics (e.g., age, height, body composition) and performance (MMA score, isometric strength, anaerobic performance, lung capacity). In contrast to previous studies, we did not find any significant links between the actual and the perceived fighting ability. The results of a multiple regression analysis have, however, shown that heavier fighters and those with higher anaerobic performance were judged as more successful. Our results suggest that certain physical performance-related characteristics are mirrored in individuals' faces but assessments of fighting success based on facial cues are not congruent with actual fighting performance.