Many amatuer events and promotions don't require any training...but things are evolving quickly in the mixed martial arts world, and people are learning fast that not knowing what they're doing and lacking conditioning equals painful and embarassing failure.
Essentially, it depends on your grasp of the material, your physical condition, and whether or not your coaches give you their blessing.
To be completely up-front... if somebody trains dilligently in muay thai they can be proficient strikers in maybe...um...5 or 6 months if not less. The grappling component is a bit more technical and is almost completely arbitrary...but perhaps 8 months might make you somewhat competent...
What you have to remember is that serious fighters train 5-6 times a week for anywhere from 3-5 hours a day and have strong (i.e. many YEARS) foundations of technical skill. It is basically the difference between somebody who rides a horse casually and a seasoned equestrian. Or...think of an amatuer boxer versus the elite professional...only in MMA sometimes due to the lack of venues, the two have a slightly higher chance of being matched together. (...let me elaborate on why I say this...where I live there is a fight promotion called the UCE or Ultimate Combat Experience...and sometimes the people they have fighting are fresh and green, and others are coming off of recieving their black belt in bjj or winning top level submission tourneys...)
In either case, it's fun to mix things up...and there's nothing wrong with being beaten by an expert.
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