The Rising Cost of Training: UK MMA Gym Prices 2020–2025

From 2020 to 2025, mixed martial arts gym memberships have become more expensive, with clubs increasing adult membership prices by around 20% and upwards.

Gyms in London, such as Shoot Fighters, a prestigious martial arts gym that has honed elite athletes, saw a 120% increase in adult unlimited membership prices, rising from £45 in 2020 to £99 in 2025, which is a huge jump.

Fabrizio Calio, long-term MMA fighter and coach said: “£100 is too expensive, especially for a young man with the dream of becoming a professional.”

This isn’t just limited to gyms in London. Gracie Barra Chelmsford, a BJJ gym in Essex, saw a 37% increase in membership prices, starting at £80 per month in 2020 and rising to £110 in 2025. So why could this be?

Inflation may be a cause of gym prices rising, as shown by the graph below measuring the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which tracks the percentage change in the cost of everyday goods and services, such as gas, electricity, and rent, compared to the same time last year. In 2020, CPI stood at 1%, before jumping to 3.3% in 2024, suggesting that the 2.3% increase in costs pushed gyms to raise prices so they could stay afloat.

Ethan Lewis, an amateur mixed martial artist who has been training for over five years, said that higher overhead costs such as rent, water and electricity were the main reasons gym prices have increased. He added that while he would be willing to pay whatever was necessary to continue training, saying he would “pay a grand a month if he needed to”, he acknowledged that gym membership prices have risen over time.

Fabrizio went on to say “In many cases, they are justified because rent and bills increase every year and everything gets more expensive. In order to run the gym and pay coaches, prices have to go up.”

Many mixed martial arts gyms need large spaces to operate and use a lot of energy to keep their facilities functional. As a result, costs such as heating and electricity bills are considerably higher than for many other businesses.

Another factor that may have affected gym prices is COVID-19. The pandemic forced many businesses to close their facilities, resulting in a significant loss of revenue and leading many customers to cancel their memberships.

GHP News reported that “UK gyms have lost £3.1 billion in revenue since the start of the pandemic.” This suggests that COVID-19 had a major negative impact on MMA gyms, meaning increases in membership prices may have been necessary to keep martial arts facilities financially viable.

Even after restrictions were lifted, many of these gyms were unable to lower prices due to increased operating costs, in addition to recovering the income lost during the pandemic.

A growing interest in the sport could be a reason for prices increasing. Ever since the UFC made its debut in 1993, it is evident that mixed martial arts has grown significantly in popularity, with the sport becoming more accessible to the global arena. As a result, more people are looking to learn the sport.

Google Trends shows that from 2020 to 2025, interest over time in January rose from 42 to 63 by January 2025. An MMA coach said: “MMA has grown in popularity but not in participant numbers because it is an extremely tough sport. This is why there are not many hobbyists, even though hobbyists pay the bills for the gym. Professional fighters usually receive a discounted rate or teach at the gym, so they are not really a source of income for the gym.”

When looking for this data, there were things it could not fully show, such as the demographics of people signing up to gyms. This meant I was not able to analyse which types of people were signing up to these gyms less. In addition, the information could have been more detailed, as many MMA gyms do not publicly list fluctuations in their prices over the last couple years.

Overall, the research suggests that MMA gyms have been placed in a difficult position due to rising operating costs and inflation. With expenses increasing across rent, energy, and staffing, many gyms appear to have little choice but to raise membership prices in order to remain financially sustainable.