In the hushed moments before an MMA fight, as the arena’s energy crackles with anticipation, ever wonder what’s in that bottle the fighter’s sipping? It’s not a magical elixir or the tears of their rivals. It’s science, hydration, and a dash of personal preference.
But let’s dive deeper, shall we? Because while you and I might crave a latte or a soda, these warriors are making choices that could mean the difference between a knockout and… well, being knocked out. Ready to quench your curiosity? Let’s step into the ring.
MMA (and UFC fighters) usually drink a caffeine-rich drink like Monster Energy or pre-workout before a big fight. They also sip electrolyte-rich beverages like Gatorade alongside regular water to stay hydrated. Many athletes drink protein shakes to facilitate recovery and muscle repair.
| Drink | Timing | Reason | Key Benefit | Best For |
| Protein shake | 40 minutes before a fight | Helps improve performance | Promotes muscle gain and recovery | Heavyweights |
| Pre-workout | 15 minutes before a fight (or with a protein shake) | Makes fighters feel pumped, energetic, and alert | Make energy from sugar immediately accessible for a fight | Strikers |
| Energy drink | 15-30 minutes before a fight | Boosts energy and maintains focus | Immediate pump | Grapplers |
| Water | Before, during & after a fight | Replaces lost water | Prevents fighter from feeling tired or weak | Flyweight, lightweight, and anxious fighters |
| Hydration drink | 40 minutes before a fight. Between rounds & after a fight. | Replaces lost water | Helps muscles contract | Flyweight, lightweight, and anxious fighters |
In this article, we will go over the five different drinks that MMA fighters drink before fights, including:
- Protein shakes
- Pre-workout
- Energy drinks
- Water
- Hydration drinks
1. Protein Shakes
- Timing – MMA fighters drink protein shakes 40 minutes before a fight to have plenty of time to digest and metabolize its contents. They also consume it after the fight.
- Reason – Helps improve performance.
- Key Benefit – Promotes muscle gain and recovery.
MMA fighters drink protein shakes a decent while before a big fight. The protein in these drinks can convert the energy they expend in a fight into muscle mass. However, protein shakes do not immediately impact the fighters’ performance like pre-workout drinks do.
(That’s why the norm for many athletes who pump iron is to have their pre-session protein shake with a pre-workout supplement.)
Fighters who prefer energy drinks and don’t consume protein shakes before a fight still drink protein-rich beverages. But they do so after the fight.
Ultimately, fighters need protein to maintain and build muscle mass. Protein shakes are more effective after a fight than before it.
2. Pre-Workout
If you ever wondered if fighters take pre-workout before a fight, that’s a big yes. Below is how it is taken by fighters and how it benefits them.
- Timing – 15 minutes before workout or with a protein shake
- Reason – Preworkout helps fighters feel more pumped, energetic, and alert.
- Key benefit – The stimulants in the pre-workout make energy from sugar immediately accessible for a fight.
Pre-workout contains caffeine in a higher dose than a cup of coffee. It boosts alertness, focus, and accessible energy during the workout.
When fighters consume their routine protein shake before a fight, the pre-workout included in it boosts their energy, while the protein content of the shake keeps them from having muscle cramps.
Pre-workout is more significant to a fighter’s immediate performance than a protein shake. The caffeine content of the pre-workout mix or shot allows a fighter to access more of their stored energy.
Sugar-free pre-workout drinks, the norm for pumping iron, aren’t ideal for fighters.
Why?
Because MMA fighters don’t have enough fat reserves to convert to energy.
Pre-workout drinks, added in a carb-rich protein shake, are perfect because it allows the fighter to access the drink’s energy.
3. Energy Drinks
- Timing – 15 to 30 minutes before a fight.
- Reason – An energy drink boosts the legitimate energy levels of a fighter and keeps the athlete focused during a match.
- Key benefit – It offers a convenient combination of sugar and caffeine for an immediate pump.
If you want to side-step the long-winded process of making a protein shake (for its sugar) and adding pre-workout (for its caffeine), you can simply go with energy drinks as your power-up.
Energy drinks require less effort to prepare and are far more efficient at filling you up with sugar and stimulants that make sugar’s energy immediately usable.
On average, fighters who consume energy drinks before a fight have their pre-fight beverage 15 to 30 minutes before a fight. And fighters who use a mixture of protein shake and pre-workout consume it 30 to 45 minutes before a fight.
By the Way, Why do UFC Fighters Drink Monster?
UFC fighters drink Monster because they need to consume an energy drink before a fight, and Monster is the UFC’s meta-sponsor and multiple fighters’ direct sponsor. This sponsorship requires many fighters to pick Monster for on-camera consumption.
A fighter sponsored by Monster Energy but wants to drink Red Bull needs to empty the contents of a Monster energy drink can and fill it with Red Bull.
Monster Energy is so efficient with its branding that it even formulated a hydration solution for fighters, eventually becoming a consumer product. We’ll discuss this in the hydration drinks section.
4. Water
- Timing – Before, between rounds, and after a fight
- Reason – It helps replace the water lost to sweating, breathing, and caffeine consumption
- Key benefit – It prevents the fighter from feeling tired or weak
Caffeine can be great at helping fighters be alert, but it can also dehydrate them. Fighters need to start sipping water almost immediately after their energy drink to offset the water loss that can occur from consuming caffeine.
Seemingly simple, water can be a double-edged sword for UFC/MMA fighters:
If they gulp water, they can feel heavy, and if they don’t have water at all, they can get drowsy after a while. This makes hydration difficult after one consumes an energy drink.
5. Hydration Drinks
- Timing – 40 minutes before a fight and between rounds
- Reason – Hydration drinks replace lost water longer than plain water
- Key benefit – Helps muscles (like the heart) contract
The solution to complicated water sipping requirements is to have a hydration drink. While the average customer and UFC-independent MMA fighter would go for the market-leading hydration beverage, Gatorade, UFC fighters drink Monster Hydro.
As mentioned earlier, Monster Energy wanted to monopolize all drinking in front of the camera. But since athletes couldn’t dehydrate themselves by drinking monster energy only, they were given water wrapped in Monster branding. When viewers got interested in the Monster “water bottles,” the company decided to modify the product and make it available to everyone.
Of course, simply slapping an M over a bottle of water wouldn’t work as well for the non-UFC audience, so the modified version was a mix of a Gatorade-like hydration drink and caffeine.
Ironically, this is one of the best drinks for UFC fighters to have before a fight because it combines hydration and caffeine in a single serving.
Hydration solutions feature electrolytes.
You might have heard this term before with Gatorade and other sports drinks. Electrolytes act as sponges that soak up water and keep it in your body. This sponge effect helps reverse or prevent dehydration after drinking coffee, pre-workout, or energy drinks. It also helps replace water lost to sweat, exhales water vapor, and loose stools.
Which Drink is Best for Fighters?
Now that we have covered different drinks that fights consume during, before, or after a fight, let’s compare the pros and cons of each so you can see which one suits different fighters the best.
But first, what drink is best for fighters (in general)?
The best drink for fighters is Monster Hydro because it features caffeine and electrolytes that prevent dehydration. Monster Hydro doubles as an energy drink and a hydration beverage, making it more convenient, portable, and the least preparation-intensive of all the options.
Different types of athletes and their varying fighting styles can result in a variety of pre-fight drink preferences. Let’s explore which beverage is the best for fighters in different situations.
Best for Heavyweights
MMA heavyweights must consume a drink that does more than speed up their metabolism.
Protein shakes are best for MMA fighters in upper weight classes and can be consumed 2 hours before a fight to ensure their contents are metabolized by the time they step into the cage.
Best for Strikers
Pre-workout drinks are ideal for an MMA fighter who strikes more than he grapples.
Strikers need to be quick and precise, and pre-workouts help athletes stay focused and give them immediate access to their energy reserves.
However, if a striker is dehydrated because of pre-workout, he might get tired past the third round. That’s why pre-workout should be paired with plenty of water.
Best for Grapplers
Whether you are a BJJ enthusiast or an old-school all-American wrestler, your grappling skills need to have an energy drink before a big fight.
Given that a significant portion of the UFC roster consists of grapplers, it is understandable why Monster Energy monopolies most of the beverage sponsorships.
Best for Flyweight to Lightweight
Lean MMA fighters need to maintain their weight to stay within the weight class to which they belong. This restriction means they cannot afford to add extra calories to their diet, so sugar-free energy drinks are best for flyweight/lightweight fighters.
To remain hydrated, they can use water (at flyweight and bantamweight) or Gatorade zero (at featherweight and lightweight).
Best for Anxious Fighters
While MMA fighters have formidable command of their nerves compared to non-athletes, they still have varying degrees of anxiety.
For fighters who feel jittery after drinking coffee and overthink generally, it is best to avoid caffeine before a fight.
Zero caffeine removes energy drinks, pre-workout, and Monster Hydro from their potential pre-fight drinks.
So the best drink for anxious fighters is water or hydration drinks because they don’t add any extra jitters.
Sometimes, knowing which beverage you should not drink is more important than knowing which one you should.
Which Drinks Do UFC/MMA Fighters Avoid Before a Fight?
Continuing the theme of knowing what one must consume before a fight and what one must avoid, let’s go over the drinks that MMA fighters do not drink when they are on the card.
Alcohol
Most MMA fighters give up alcohol from day one of fight camp and stay booze-free until after the fight. It is part science, partly delayed gratification, but it seems to work.
Many MMA fighters who give up alcohol seem to perform better without it. Others have it in moderation and keep a 48-hour booze-free period.
There is no hard and fast rule about MMA performance and alcohol. But generally, any context where you need to focus is where alcohol can bring your performance down.
Having a drink after a big win feels all the more rewarding when you have not had one for a while. Wouldn’t you agree?
Milkshakes
Fighters usually avoid liquid calories that aren’t on their nutrition plan, especially when close to their weight class boundaries.
A welterweight who doesn’t count his milkshake intake might become a heavyweight with more fat than muscle!
The only fighters who drink milkshakes during fight camp or within 24 hours before a fight are ones with milkshakes in their nutrition plan.
Pre-Fight Drinks in Excess
Finally, MMA fighters avoid every pre-fight drink in excess. Everything from protein shakes to water can be harmful if consumed in excess:
- Too much Monster Energy can blur a fighter’s vision.
- Too many electrolytes can make a fighter cramp up during a fight.
- A lot of water can make them feel nauseous.
There is no dichotomy where one can have as much of an “allowed” beverage as one likes. Discipline is crucial even with helpful drinks, let alone neutral or potentially harmful ones.
How Much do Drinks Affect a Fighter’s Performance?
Pre-fight beverages supplement specific areas of a fighter’s performance. And the drink will help to the extent that the fighter lacks in that area.
For instance, if a fighter is naturally alert and focused, having caffeine will not improve performance as much. But for a fighter who isn’t as alert, a pre-workout shot will do the trick.
Similarly, if a fighter is constantly thirsty, his body doesn’t hold water well. Consuming a hydration beverage followed by sipping water will work like a miracle on his performance.
In other words, pre-fight beverages can improve a fighter’s performance if they are selected to offset his natural weakness.
Final Thoughts
MMA fighters consume energy drinks and plenty of water before a fight. Doing so keeps them hydrated and caffeinated so they can put their best foot forward during a big fight.
We don’t recommend gulping water because it can make fighters feel heavy. But sipping it consistently before a big bout is advisable. And for fighters who don’t hold water well, a hydration solution can be a great supplement.
