Joe Rogan: "Wrestling is the most important skill in MMA"

elite boxing/striker will change that.


Lol really... Ok. You do know there have been plenty of elite strikers in the UFC. Crocrop, Mark Hunt, etc.

So who is going to change "that" exactly?

I happen to agree with Rogan. A wrestling base if you had to choose one skillset is the most useful in MMA, especially in the cage. Not so much in the ring (aka Pride). There if you had someone pinned through the ropes you got moved. If you laid on them too long you got yellow carded.

Wrestling is perfectly suited to the UFC's cage and scoring system.

Wrestlers can nullify BJJ guys and take down strikers.
 
I kind of agree, but a guy that is really good at just one thing can be a UFC champ if it is striking, bjj or wrestling, so not always... (Werdum, Jacare, Maia and Khabib are just terrible in all diciplines except grappling. Conor, JDS have little to no groundgame).
You’re clueless. Khabib is a multiple time sambo champ so his submission game is just fine, he didn’t have to use it much
 
I think its because there is no lucky submissions or sweeps. if you are better and more experienced on the ground. It really shows. Everything is set up and the pace is slower, giving more time for experience and learned skills to play a factor.
Whereas in striking, no matter how good you are its purely instinctual, and things happen at a much faster pace. Sometimes faster than the mind can pick up. Make one mistake and even the best strikers though can get flash KO'd.

If someone has better wrestling than you, and can impose it, you are fucked.
Whereas you look at some of the best strikers not be able to react properly due to things like pressure etc. Anderson vs Chael, Zabit vs Davis, Barboza vs Khabib

Always exceptions but thats how i always think about it.
 
I would agree wrestling is the best base for MMA, but a great striker, ie A. Silva, McGregor, Liddell have slept many great wrestlers.

Liddel beat Couture
McGregor beat Mendes
Silva beat Henderson

Khabib seems like an anomaly as his wrestling is so advanced. Other than Khabib, no UFC champion relies on wrestling to win.


Liddell had a wrestling background? In his prime he had one of the best sprawls in MMA. He used his wrestling the way Gaedjthe does, to stuff takedowns or to get back up again if pinned.

The other two examples are valid however. I am not certain I agree that McGregor has slept "many" great wrestlers. Based on who he fought in the UFC, Mendes stands out with his wrestling base but the rest, not so much. We never got to see him fight Edgar who I think would have taken him down endlessly.

Silva fought a number of guys with a wrestling base but the biggest names of course were Hendo, Sonnen, Weidman, Cormier and Okami. A bit of a mixed bag of wins and losses.
 
Jared-Rosholt.jpg


all you need is some good ol' american wrassling

USA USA USA
 
If your footwork is okay and your TDD is okay, wrestling is not an issue.

Darren Till had no issues with Tyron's wrestling but had a big issue with Tyron's footwork.
 
Since I wrestled in High School I'm basically a UFC fighter according to Joe Rogan...

{<RR}
 
If your footwork is okay and your TDD is okay, wrestling is not an issue.

Darren Till had no issues with Tyron's wrestling but had a big issue with Tyron's footwork.

Till has been doing MMA for years, he has at least a basic understanding of wrestling
 
I'd bet on the wrestler in any fight. Not only do they decide where the fight takes place, but really good wrestlers can break someone's will in one round. It's exhausting carrying someone like Khabib while trying to not make a fight ending mistake.

If wrestling isn't the most important base, then grappling is.
 
A pure striker loses vs a wrestler any day. A wrestler who's got no knowledge of submissions loses to a BJJ guy all day. A striker with good enough takedown defense beats a pure wrestler or a BJJ guy all day.

And so on and so forth.

Kind of a relative term.

But even then, there are too many variables to speak about MMA as an absolute.

TDD could be good enough until he gets faked and eats a punch then gets taken down on the counter. Better wrestlers get taken down by lesser wrestlers all the time, just like how being a more skilled striker doesn't garauntee a win. Just too many variables to talk like this it just continues the cycle in MMA of "striking is the most important skill as long as you have good TDD" to "wrestling is the most important skill as long as you are competent enough on the feet"

It just shifts back and forth every 5 to 8 years or so.
 
Wrestling is the most important skill in MMA. That is universally known and if you're trying to dispute this you're a moron.

Wrestler vs Striker - Wrestler wins
Wrestler vs Striker with good TDD defense - Chances are the striker wins by keeping it standing up. But what does he win with? Defensive wrestling.
Wrestler vs Jiu Jitsu - Wrestler decides to keep it standing or take him down
Wrestler vs Jiu Jitsu with good defensive and offensive wrestling - Pure wrestler is fucked. By what? Wrestling combined with submission grappling.

Good wrestling is imparative to becoming successful in MMA It is the most solid base upon which you work and add on. Look at the champions in the UFC right now.

Rose Namajunas - senior-year wrestler at Milwaukee High
Soon to be champion Valentina Shevchenko - Striker with a judo base and good offensive and defensive wrestling
Amanda Nunes - BJJ and Judo base, excellent all-around wrestling
Cris Cyborg - Do I really have to comment about the woman that repeatedly slammed Tito Ortiz on the mat like it was nothing?
Henry Cejudo - In 2006, while still in high school, Cejudo won the American wrestling federation's national freestyle tournament at the most elite level. Cejudo won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
TJ Dillashaw - Dillashaw is a 3X NCAA qualifier. Division I wrestler.
Max Holloway - Striker with good TDD
Khabib Nurmagomedov - Multiple time Sambo gold medalist in different weight classes
Tyron Woodley - Two-time All-American
Robert Whittaker - former amateur Australian wrestling champion
DC - widely considered as the best wrestler in the sport of MMA

There is no more important skill in MMA than wrestling. All current champions are good wrestlers to some extent.
 
GSP kind of disputes your point though since he grew up doing Karate and learned how to wrestle at such an elite level in no time.

Boxing is the most important cause all fights start standing but above that is instinct.

Wrestling defense is kind of a built in instinct if you have any knowledge of leaverage and awareness of your body ( obviously simplifying a little) but striking is a different art. Having the ability to keep your head up, eyes open and see what your opponent is throwing, dodge it in as little space as possible and leave yourself in position to return with your own offence is much harder to master.

GSP is a prime example of this, instinct, knowledge of leaverage and body position is built in to an extent and can be easily harnessed and learned, Boxing however not so much.

Basically you should train both as early as possible, thats the best base.
I seriously doubt anyone who is a wrestler on here would agree that there is any kind of a natural instinct for wrestling defense. Shit I've got kids in my program who would take down pretty much any non trained adult male like a knife going through butter.
 
Till has been doing MMA for years, he has at least a basic understanding of wrestling

Wrestling here (uk) isn't really enough to help you abroad. Darren Till did a lot of travelling to learn to wrestle.
 
wrestling translates to all the other martial arts the best, so its the best base.
the footwork translates to boxing well, the grappling translates to bjj well, and the timing translates to muay Thai well
 
To be a successful pure striker you gotta have knockout power and good takedown defense.

The most successful pure striker in mma was probably Cro Cop, and he had serious stopping power and was nearly impossible to take down. He was the ultimate wrestler killer.

Jose Aldo should also be mentioned. In his prime he ate wrestlers for breakfast. I'd say he was more impossible to take down than Cro Cop.
 
Maybe 15 years ago.

Id think the most important thing to learn now a days is how to stand the fuqq back up...like Chuck.

Guys should be drilling it for hours.
 
A pure striker loses vs a wrestler any day. A wrestler who's got no knowledge of submissions loses to a BJJ guy all day. A striker with good enough takedown defense beats a pure wrestler or a BJJ guy all day.

And so on and so forth.
What about catch wrestlers who have knowledge of submissions? I believed all you needed was good TDD but then I saw everyone get mauled by Khabib. Yes I know the Tibau fight but that was when Khabib only went for single and double leg takedowns, his game has evolved since then.
 
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