Sports science helps Ben Nguyen prepare for next fight

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Mixed Martial Arts fighter Ben Nguyen is used to training for upcoming fights in the gym and in the cage. But on this particular training day, no punches are being thrown. He’s in a lab in Sioux Falls where a group of sports scientists are helping him work smarter, not harder.

Nguyen, a graduate of Sioux Falls Washington High School and the eighth-ranked fighter in Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division, recently spent two days participating in a variety of tests at the Sanford Sports Science Institute to help improve his performance in the cage.

“I was expecting to go in and get my testing done and come away with data to analyze on my own, but I didn’t expect the Sanford Sports Science Institute to come together at the end and send me home with plenty of recommendations. I felt like part of the team at SSSI,” he said.

Nguyen said he also didn’t expect the team conducting the tests to be as hands-on as they were during the two days.

“I couldn’t believe how much they wanted to help me. When I was in the heated chamber for the sweat test, I had three people in there sweating alongside with me. It was nuts!” Nguyen said.

The VO2 Max testing, which measures an athlete’s cardio-respiratory fitness, and the lactate threshold testing was the most useful, he said.

“As a combat athlete, we are usually fighting around our lactate threshold so knowing exactly where it is helps me train at threshold more accurately,” Nguyen said.

Concussion baseline tests, which included a variety of memory tests, rounded out Nguyen’s two days in Sioux Falls.

“Every little bit helps and the saying “work smarter not harder” couldn’t be more true. I am now getting better results with a lot less risk of injury which is important,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen is currently in Australia where he is training for his next fight.