Effects of Motivational Strategies on Specific Performance of Mixed Martial Arts Athletes

Psychological interventions are related to improved performance in many sports. However, studies evaluating the effect of motivational interventions on the performance of mixed martial arts athletes are lacking. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of motivational strategies on the specific performance of mixed martial arts athletes. For this, 22 adult male mixed martial arts athletes were evaluated at two conditions: 1) control condition, without any intervention; and 2) experimental condition, which received motivational strategies before the assessments. Athletes were divided into pairs with similar body mass and were instructed to perform a takedown, using the double leg technique, as quickly as possible after watching a motivational video and receiving a verbal command. As results, when comparing the conditions, a difference was found in the execution time of the takedown (p<0.001, d= 0.88, moderate), with lower values for the experimental condition compared to the control condition. Based on results, the acute application of motivational strategies was efficient to improve the specific performance of mixed martial arts athletes. However, the outcomes are preliminary resulting from a pilot study.