I'm finally starting muay thai. Next it's straight to the UFC. You read it here first.
Get the Ibuprofen ready.
Awesome bro good luck to you.
I am seriously considering joining an Mma gym. At 27 years of age with no fighting experience, even regular fist fights or street fights, am a bit scared. What do you guys think. Am in decent shape other than scrawny legs lol.
Is there a way to spar with professionals and get knocked around without seriously getting hurt?
Just do it, won't hurt you. I crossed over into fighting late too from football&basketball due to injuries and it was easily the best decision I made and I leapfrogged a lot of people in terms of ability simply due to consistency and dedication. Anyone can do that.
In any decent gym they won't put you to spar with professionals, don't worry. Just go to trainings regularly and you'll adapt quickly. If you have someone reliable that's not a bitch to be a training partner, that can help too. My biggest asset is having a friend that always trains so I feel the need to train too always
Definitely work on those legs, all your power gets generated from the hips and legs for fighting. Try to squat as often as your recovery lets you - that can be every day for some, twice a week for others. Definitely recommend jumping rope too for conditioning.
I have a boxing centric perspective but it should do well enough in MMA/MT/Kick boxing or anything else fight related.