Dana White, the UFC president, has said he considers the second fight between Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg (UFC 52,) as one of the greatest fights in the history of the organization. There were so many aspects of Hughes’ game that impressed during the encounter. Injured by an illegal strike to the groin, he still battled on after absorbing a number of head shots and didn’t give up. If that wasn’t enough, he refused to submit from a full-on rear naked choke from Trigg and eventually reversed position. 

What impressed me most, however, was Hughes’ incredible display of strength to pick Trigg up from the floor, throw him over his shoulder and run across the ring before eventually slamming Trigg into the canvas – to the delight of the 14,500 fans in attendance.

This display of dominance led to his submission victory and the keeping of his UFC belt. Matt proved in particular that not only must a champion be able to weather the storm, but also demonstrate superb strength and power when it counts the most. Although Matt has amazing development of the neck and upper body muscles, this article is going to move down the combat athlete chain and cover the hips.

Interestingly, as I grow to understand MMA, not only do I see that the hips are an important area to be strong, but I also see that if one can control an opponent’s hips either on the feet or on the ground, that opponent can be controlled. 

Without this control, all of the strength in the world cannot stop your opponent from sprawling away or escaping on the ground.

As we have seen from the history lesson above, strong hips and the ability to sprawl and or get to the feet are a few of the reasons why fighters like Matt Hughes have enjoyed a long and successful career in the UFC.

The muscles surrounding the hips are some of the largest and most powerful muscles of the body. Not only do these allow you to explosively sprawl and escape, they are also critical to throwing powerful kicks and punches as well as moving in quickly for lightning-fast takedowns.

The primary muscles I am going to focus on in this article are the gluteal muscles and the hamstring group.

These are the next links in the powerful posterior chain of a fighter that connect the muscles all the way from the neck, back and core down to the feet. Interestingly, when people ask me what is the most common area of weakness for many of the MMA fighters I have dealt with, this is most often it. This is due to the fact athletes will “mold” their bodies into shapes according to what they use or train the most. 

When an athlete spends most of their training on the ground and/or posterior chain exercises are missing from their current program, they are going to have a classic look: strong forearms, back and neck, and skinny legs with no gluteal and hamstring muscles to be found.

When I look back at many of the physiques of the fighters of the past, this area was commonly missing. 

Here are five of my favorite exercises to develop strength in the hips.

If many of these exercises are currently missing from your training routine, it is time to add some new tools to your workout arsenal.

1) Weighted Lunge Walk

This exercise can be performed with a straight bar or dumbbells, as shown. This is performed by lunging forward with the front leg and lowering your body until the back knee almost brushes the ground.

Then stand up on the front leg returning to the original height and step through onto the next leg and repeat. Perform this for three sets of a number of total steps or distance. 

2) Step-Up

This exercise can also be performed with either a bar or dumbbells. Place one foot up on a box that is the correct height to make the raised knee sit at 90 degrees. From here, place all your weight on the raised leg and step up onto the box. The key here is not to kick up using the grounded leg. Then lower yourself slowly for a three count.

Do not quickly drop to the ground. Repeat five reps each leg for four sets.

3) Cross-Over Step-Up

This is excellent for developing hip abductor and leg strength.

Position yourself alongside a box and put the outside foot on top. Without using force from the bottom leg, step up onto the box from the side.

Then lower back under control. Dumbbells can be added, and perform three sets of six reps on each leg.

4) Explosive Step-Up

Begin with one foot resting on a box and hands in an opposite relationship. Explosively fire the arms as you press into the box and jump into the air. After landing on the box, slowly lower down and repeat. Perform six reps on each leg for three sets.

5) Power High Pull

This is another power exercise for the hips. Begin with the feet and hands shoulder-width apart. Explode up as fast as possible and pull the bar to chin height. Lower under control and perform for three sets of eight repetitions.

Pro Tip: Strong hip muscles can be a very valuable tool for strength in mixed martial arts, but if over-developed they can case back pain. Tight hip flexors tilt the pelvis forward and can cause discomfort, unless counteracted by strong abdominal and lower-back muscles. Make sure your hip workouts are balanced and ensure you take time to strengthen their counterpart areas.