Ragdoll MMA Beginner Guide: Your First Fight

Ragdoll MMA combines physics-driven punches and kicks with contact grabs and ground fighting. Your inputs change with your situation, so learn how to strike, grab, and act on the ground before entering a match.

Open Controls from the main menu. In the layout with a Training menu, choose Training → Learn to Fight → Controls Guide. Select your device and browse the Strike, Grab, and Ground categories. PC and controller play are supported; the guide also has a Mobile category. Settings → Keybinds provides a keyboard, mouse, and controller reference.

On PC, open Settings → Arm Controls and choose a mode:

• Simple Arm: Click a mouse button to punch. This is a useful starting point while learning distance and movement.
• Full Arm: Hold a mouse button and move the mouse to guide that arm. Try it when you want more direct control over the arm's movement.

See the PC controls guide for the full set of inputs and arm-mode variations.

These steps use keyboard and mouse. Start with Simple Arm if you want click-based punches:

1. Move and punch. Use WASD to move. Face your partner and click the left or right mouse button to punch with the corresponding hand. In Full Arm, hold the button and move the mouse to guide the arm instead.
2. Kick. Outside grab mode, hold Q or E and move the mouse to guide a leg. Move across for a sweep or up and down to adjust height; release the key to retract the leg.
3. Grab by making contact. Press G to enter grab mode. Hold a mouse button and guide that hand into your partner. Release the mouse button to maintain the grip; press it again to reposition the hand. Press G again to release all grips.
4. Strike while holding on. In grab mode, Q and E switch the left and right arms into punching mode instead of guiding kicks. Keep one hand gripping and switch the other to punch using your selected arm controls.

Space jumps while standing or requests a return to standing when you are on the ground.

• Guided Training: Choose Training → Learn to Fight → Guided Training for lessons with a practice partner and instant resets. Use it to learn the inputs in sequence.
• Practice: Choose Fight Now → Practice to enter The Gym and freely practice attacks on hanging bags. The bags swing when struck.
• Fight a Bot: Choose Fight Now → Fight a Bot, then select Easy, Medium, or Hard. Start with Easy when you want to try your inputs against an opponent.

Once you can move, strike, and establish a grip, try a bot or another player. The training guide covers the individual lesson tasks.

1. Open Fight and select Quick Fight, labeled Casual matchmaking.
2. Wait for an opponent. A casual search can look across servers, with a message saying it is finding a casual opponent across servers. To stop searching, use the cancel control shown in your layout, such as Cancel Queue or Cancel Search.
3. Once matched, follow the fight setup and entrance into the arena. If you want to skip the introduction, select Skip Intro. All fighters must agree: in a two-player fight, 1/2 means one vote is in and the other fighter still needs to vote.

For other ways to play, see the fight modes guide.

Face your opponent and move close enough for your punches or kicks to connect. If an attack misses, adjust your position before trying again. At close range, you can enter grab mode and make contact to control an opponent while using your other hand to strike.

An ordinary fall does not end the fight. While the round is active, you can still move and attack on the ground. Press Space to request to stand; a grip can remain in place, and a heavier fighter can take longer to get up.

When the fight ends, read the winner and ending type on the result screen. Results include Knockout, Bone break, Referee Stoppage, and Decision. A decision uses accumulated round points when the bout reaches its scheduled end.

Choose Back to Menu on the result screen to return. For a rematch, follow the result screen's agreement prompt; all fighters must agree.

• If your attacks keep missing, work on distance and contact in the striking guide.
• If you struggle to establish or keep a grip, use the grappling guide.
• If you are unsure what to do after a fall, see ground combat.
• If you lost by decision, use the scoring guide to read the round-by-round results.