What to expect from our sessions...
At UoB MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) we strive to provide our members with quality training from professional coaches, practical self-defence skills and a fun high high-intensity work out. Our coaches from Kombat MMA are high-level professional MMA fighters and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts, including Aiden Lee and Melissa Hill, who provide world-class training sessions multiple times weekly. Sessions are suitable for both complete beginners and advanced martial artists with a wide variety of skill levels present at the club. Sparring is encouraged and takes place during most sessions; however, it is not compulsory, and members are welcome to sit out and watch.
Striking
Our striking sessions consist of an MMA striking style, including punches, kicks, knees and elbows that incorporate elements from Muay Thai, Boxing, Karate and Taekwondo. In these sessions, you will learn distance management, correct technique, footwork patterns and combinations. Most sessions will have you practicing with pads and then ending with some light sparring and conditioning.
Grappling
Our grappling sessions will have you learning the fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as well as Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling, taught by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts and experienced wrestlers. Most sessions will consist of learning and practising different techniques with a partner, before finishing with positional and full sparring.
Sparring
Our favourite day of the week is our sparring session, giving you an opportunity to test out all the techniques you've learned from the striking and grappling sessions in full contact striking, grappling and full MMA sparring, where the two are combined! Sparring is kept light and playful, creating an environment where fighters can try out new techniques and are not afraid to get hurt.
MMA
Our newly introduced session this year will be the MMA sessions on Friday afternoons! We will be working on implementing and merging the techniques you will have covered in our other classes into continuous, MMA-relevant sequences, which will then be followed by controlled, full MMA sparring. Again, sparring is closely monitored to keep it light and playful, allowing our members to explore and refine their skills without fear for injury.
Women's MMA
Each week we also run a womens only session taught by highly skilled female coaches. This is a good place for women who may be intimidated by MMA, to give it a go in a safe environment where they can recieve more attention from the coaches and help each other gain confidence. These sessions will cover the basics of mixed martial arts as a whole, as well as providing practical self defence skills. This is far from the only place for women in our club however. Women are encouraged to attend all of our sessions throughout the week, as we hope to increase the amount of women participating in our sport.
Session Prices
Each session costs £2/hour and after the taster sessions, all participants require membership. We pride ourselves in being one of the most affordable martial arts, sports or societies at UoB!
Fight Night
For the past three years in a row, we have run a hugely successful student inter-university MMA fight night, giving opportunities for members to experience the thrill of a full-contact MMA fight! This event happens near the end of the academic year to give time for fighters to go from having never put on gloves at the start of the year to putting on a spectacle in front of a crowd of over 200 people by the end. This year, we are planning to make this event even bigger and better than before, so if you are keen to get in the cage in front of a crowd, this is the society for you!
Contact us!
Feel free to follow us on instagram @uob_mma, or join us on facebook: UoB MMA Society where keep up to date with all our new events! Feel free also to messgae us any queries or concerns you may have or if you are nervous before your first session we can give you some more details about wat to expect.
Email: mma@guild.bham.ac.uk
Thanks for taking the time to read our guild page, we hope to see you at a session very soon!
2025/2026 Committee members
Chair: Ollie Venediger
Secretary: Jacob Prowse
Treasurer: Gabriel Rickerby
Grappling Captain: Konrad Box
Social Secretaries: Finley Ruddle & Sam Curran
Competition Secretary: Chris Birch
Women's Secretary: Devina Patel
Well-being Secretary: Nathaniel Obeng Darko
Media Secretary: Zain Din
Kit Secretary: George Johnson
A new group established in September 2017