Can private sessions really get me to a fight?

Yes, and I have done it more than once.

Six fighters I coached reached The Ultimate Fighter and the UFC, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson among them. I have been running this gym since 2008 and I competed myself. I turned pro in MMA at 42, which tells you what I think about people who say they started too late.

One on one is the part of a camp that actually builds you. Technique corrected rep by rep instead of six weeks later. A game plan built around what you are genuinely good at rather than what the syllabus says comes next. Conditioning that matches the format you signed up for. And somebody being honest with you about your holes, which is the part you cannot get from a mirror.

What one on one cannot give you is a room full of different bodies. To fight, you eventually need live rounds against people of different shapes who move in ways you did not expect. I will tell you when you have hit that point and what to do about it, whether that is sparring partners, bringing a training partner of your own, or entering a point event first to get your feet wet.

How long it takes is mostly a frequency question, not a talent one. Once a week builds a real skill but it is a long road to a card. Twice a week or more is where people start moving at the pace this actually needs. See how often you should train.

The date sits on top of all that. Camp is six to ten weeks of getting ready for one opponent under one rule set, and it assumes the base is already there: how long a fight camp runs. I will tell you where you are rather than where you would like to be, and that conversation is the useful part: how to know if you are ready to compete.

If you are reading this before you have trained at all, start at the beginning rather than the end. One session, no package, and see whether you even like it.

And a first step is usually a point Muay Thai or point boxing match rather than a full amateur MMA bout, so the difference between amateur and pro is worth knowing before you enter anything. Then read how to prepare and message me with where you are starting from. Meet the fighters.