I am learning ground fighting and takedown defense to avoid the ground. Fooking panic wrestlers.
Been fighting MMA since 2006, no striking only matches, only 2 grappling tournys. Big mistake IMO, that both grapplers and strikers make when entering MMA. I'll learn grappling to avoid the ground, I'll learn boxing so I can survive long enough to get the fight to the ground.
It's a limited rules fight, there isn't just a chance that the fight will go to the ground, and you'll train to avoid that. With your experience, the fight WILL turn into a grappling confrontation, and most likely the fight will be on the ground at some point in every round.
Best to use grappling to enhance your striking abilities. Think to learn wrestling to help set up your striking, not to avoid the ground. Shoot a standing double or standing ankle pick to off balance your opponent then abandon the takedown and follow up with strikes.
Don't go to grappling classes to just learn how to avoid submissions, to really learn how to avoid them you have to know how to apply them. If you don't know how they work, how can you defend against them?
Two years is enough time to become a proficient grappler if you apply yourself. Just take it seriously, try to become a mat beast, so you can be dangerous when the fight inevitably hits the ground, otherwise you're going to spend the whole fight trying to avoid the ground, instead of trying to finish off your opponent wherever the fight goes.