The value of Mixed Martial Arts training for police and military is long established, with virtually every member of the US military now exposed to at least the fundamentals of MMA.
However, it works both ways – Special Forces training can be good for MMA, too.
UFC welterweight Paulo Thiago, who fights Michel Richard dos Prazeres at Saturday’s UFC on FX 8, is a member of the Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais or Special Police Operations Battalion, that operates in the anarchic favelas that ring Rio.
To get into the Special Forces you go through a special training program,” relates Thiago in an interview with UFC.com. “That training requires a lot from you physically and psychologically. And once you are in, the daily work of a BOPE officer requires great emotional control. There are tense situations where shooting and death can occur so you must have great emotional control. That helps me in the fight and before going in, during the tense moments. When I am waiting to go it helps me keep calm and go in with more tranquility.
