Video of Jacked Joe Mazzulla’s 5 Years of MMA Training Leaves Fans Amused – “Practicing For When JB Pulls a Bam”

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is well-known for drawing inspiration from other sports to help the team.

Video of Jacked Joe Mazzulla’s 5 Years of MMA Training Leaves Fans Amused – “Practicing For When JB Pulls a Bam”

Joe Mazzulla training in MMA (Image via FirstSportz)

Basketball fans are already aware of how Joe Mazzulla likes to operate and teach his players as they look to win another championship or two.

The 38-year-old is well-known to be a basketball savant. The way he analyzes and draws up game plans is why the Celtics have been this successful.

At the same time, there have been criticisms about how certain approaches have cost them games. Particularly his overreliance on the three-point shot, which many believe is why the team lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Many give Jaylen Brown the credit for leading the team to a second-place finish despite not having Jayson Tatum for much of the year, and three other members of their 2024 championship-winning team.

However, some believe that Mazzulla should also get credit for changing his tactics as per the need. Fans are aware that he uses various techniques to motivate his players, but MMA in particular has helped him teach the Celtics how to battle.

The Rhode Island native is known for being fascinated by mixed martial arts. But when fans felt that he was just an observer, a video dropped earlier shows how deeply involved the Celtics head coach is.

Joe Mazzulla was seen throwing punches and kicks like someone who has been doing it for quite some time. In the interview with Ariel Helwani, he revealed that he has been training for nearly five years.

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Fans lose their minds with Joe Mazzulla’s MMA training

Being a fan and drawing inspiration from a completely different sport is not rare. Several coaches and players look towards other forms of competition to learn nuances.

But when they saw that Joe Mazzulla was not just a fan of MMA but was even training to be decent at it, fans lost their minds. On top of that, when they saw that this exercise had resulted in a jacked body, fans took to social media to express their disbelief, examples of which are below.

Other than their appreciation for dedicating the offseason towards building his skills in a different sport, fans felt that now the context of several past incidents becomes clear.

Not only is Joe Mazzulla someone opponents should not mess with as a tactically great coach, but fans felt that anyone looking to mess with him should think twice.

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Joe Mazzulla uses his MMA training to ‘understand his players’

It is not uncommon for NBA coaches to not be as fit as they could be. They use their brains more trying to figure out how to outplay the next opponent, that they lose track of time to get themselves to the gym. However, Joe Mazzulla does not think that way.

Joe Mazzulla with Celtics star Jayson Tatum
Joe Mazzulla with Celtics star Jayson Tatum (Image via Daniel Donabedian/X)

They (players) push themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally all year long… I can go through the whole season and not have any physically taxing moments… The more I can meet them where they are at, and put yourself in that position, it helps have empathy for them and understand what they go through.

Joe Mazzulla said

This means that the former point guard wants to stay in a similar physical shape to his players, so that he knows how difficult it is for them late in the season.

This MMA training allows the 2026 Coach of the Year to gauge and adapt according to the needs. Therefore, this is another way for him to understand his players and make changes as needed.

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