After 25 years of MMA.. One thing is painfully apparent...

I think it's known for quite some time that a very strong wrestling base is essential to be a well rounded champ especially defensive wrestling. Someone like Aldo that didn't have a wrestling base, but is very difficult to take down and keep down made him a very dangerous man with his striking. You could argue that someone with elite striking and elite TDD (even against the top wrestlers) would be a difficult opponent for a wrestler with mediocre striking to stop.
 
Yes it happened but knees on the ground were mostly devastating to wrestlers, or let me call it typical wrestler positions.
Did you watch Pride?
Yeah.

Pride was fun to watch.
Arona devastated Sakuraba from the from the front headlock with knees.
 
If Guardo has not broken his hand and could continue in UFC 1, we might be living in a different mma climate all together.

Also if Royce has not been allowed to wear Gi in early days.

But to your point, no, you have your arms around my waist and I’m hanging onto a fence and pouring 12-6 down the fight is going to the ground with you unconscious and me standing over you taking your wallet

Fair point about Gourdeau, who fought Royce with a broken hand and broken foot. Royce had an amazingly easy path in UFC 1, starting with one-glove Art Jimmerson (who tapped before Royce locked in a submission and was beaten pre-UFC in a modified kickboxing match against Don "the Dragon" Wilson). However, that has more to do with early UFC politics/marketing than wrestlers vs. strikers. Speaking of which, Ken Shamrock wasn't allowed to wear his wrestling boots though Royce wore a gi. And Shammy had fought 3 days earlier in Japan and was dealing with both jet lag and Denver's altitude. The whole thing was a set up to "prove" Gracie Jiu Jitsu (not wrestling) was the world's best fighting style.
 
You could argue that someone with elite striking and elite TDD (even against the top wrestlers) would be a difficult opponent for a wrestler with mediocre striking to stop.

That pretty much sums up Liddell's career...though if Chuck had to fight Jon Jones and Cormier instead of Randy and Tito, it wouldn't have gone nearly as well for him.
 
Then youre gonna have to give the wrestlers their headbutts too. I guess you missed Mark Coleman back in the day. Conors face wouldve been a bloody crater If Khabib was allowed to headbutt him from top position.

A headbut is damaging to both fighters, do you not get that
 
The only reason wrestlers dominate UFC is because of the UFC rules. They heavily favour wrestlers. The cage heavily favours wrestlers as well.
Mma favors grapplers in general

And wrestlers because of their base, basic techinque etc will pretty much always dominate.

Always
 
P0012.jpg


928369261.jpg
 
A headbut is damaging to both fighters, do you not get that
LOL, how damaging do you think it is for the guy doing the heatbutt to smash the most dense part of his skull (upper cranium) into the nose of his opponent?
Your point is equivalent to saying "if you punch a guy, you'll hurt your hand. Both of you will get hurt!"
Fucking idiot. Go watch some Mark Coleman old school fights. Coleman is nonstop headbutting his opponents' faces into bloody messes and there's nothing they can do because he's smothering them with top control.
 
Yes, wrestling is the essential art to have in American MMA. No debate
 
LOL, how damaging do you think it is for the guy doing the heatbutt to smash the most dense part of his skull (upper cranium) into the nose of his opponent?
Your point is equivalent to saying "if you punch a guy, you'll hurt your hand. Both of you will get hurt!"
Fucking idiot. Go watch some Mark Coleman old school fights. Coleman is nonstop headbutting his opponents' faces into bloody messes and there's nothing they can do because he's smothering them with top control.

thats hardly much of an advantage over what already available to wresters (punches/elbows from top). Vs if you allowed everything, Conor could land 12-6 elbows on Khabibs spine/back of the head on that garbage low single. Just lol @ thinking that would exist in anything resembling a real fight.
 
thats hardly much of an advantage over what already available to wresters (punches/elbows from top). Vs if you allowed everything, Conor could land 12-6 elbows on Khabibs spine/back of the head on that garbage low single. Just lol @ thinking that would exist in anything resembling a real fight.
It's a big advantage because you don't have to create nearly as much space to deal damage while keeping better control of your opponent vs having to posture up for a punches and to a lesser extent elbows
 
thats hardly much of an advantage over what already available to wresters (punches/elbows from top). Vs if you allowed everything, Conor could land 12-6 elbows on Khabibs spine/back of the head on that garbage low single. Just lol @ thinking that would exist in anything resembling a real fight.

People tried that in the early UFCs. Ichihara must have landed about 30 elbows on Royce during one of his weak, slow TDs. Much easier said than done. You have very little leverage when you're getting taken down by a superior wrestler--especially when you're trying to stop the TD, maintain balance and throw elbows at the same time.
 
Yep, wrestlers had much less of an impact on pride than they do in the UFC.

how can u say that when mark coleman won one of the biggest pride grand prixs of all time?
 
People tried that in the early UFCs. Ichihara must have landed about 30 elbows on Royce during one of his weak, slow TDs. Much easier said than done. You have very little leverage when you're getting taken down by a superior wrestler--especially when you're trying to stop the TD, maintain balance and throw elbows at the same time.

At one point I believe Conor was over Khabib and grabbing the opposite leg. In that position you could absolutely land enough elbows on the back of the head or the spine to either make your opponent bail on the takedown or Ko them. Low Singles should never happen in a real fight.
 
After 25+ years, it is painfully apparent that fighters with a wrestling background have continued to dominate this sport. Who wouldve ever thought that wrestling which was never really considered a martial art, would be the absolute BEST background a fighter can have in any mma discipline.

Maybe in another 25 years, Fighters will develop a style that will be a nightmare for ALL fighters who excel at wrestling.

The thing is.. You can't make a guy box with you, you can make a guy wrestle with you..
 
Last edited:
Back
Top