Fighter build guide
How to build a better MMA career.
Every Cagemaxxing draft forces a choice between strong skills. There is no guaranteed perfect build, but a few principles consistently give a career more chances to score.
Protect Health
Health determines career length. A grade of 90 or higher unlocks 40 fights; lower Health means fewer opportunities for wins and finish bonuses.
Build two-way offense
Striking and grappling both matter in the simulation. A dominant phase is valuable, but a balanced build is harder for opponents to exploit.
Turn wins into finishes
Career Score rewards wins first, then finishes and first-round finishes. Once a build can win consistently, finishing skills create the fastest path upward.
Why defense and resilience matter
Big offensive ratings do not remove risk. Defense and resilience help protect a promising career against tougher opponents later in the run, when competition is weighted more strongly.
Does weight class change the best build?
Yes. The final card assigns a division with specific buffs and penalties. You cannot draft around a known division in advance, so keeping a broadly capable build is usually safer than sacrificing every secondary skill for one strength.
What is a perfect Career Score?
The maximum is 100: 40 wins, no losses, and 40 first-round finishes. Explore the formula in the Career Score guide, then test your choices in the MMA career simulator.
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