are the days of the dominant wrestler almost over?

Between fighters like, JJ, Holly Holm, Conor McGregor, Dominick Cruz, Luke Rockhold, Carlos Condit, and Wonderboy, it is beginning to appear like the evolution of mma has come to the point where the effectiveness of a wrestling centric base may no longer be feasible. I'm not sure when the shift began, but it's refreshing to see fighters feeling unrestricted in their standup. I realize that there has always been fighters that fought in this manner, but it does seem as if the success has increased.

Noobs, evolution my ass. More like most people who are in the "human ufc" time period are followers. All these thing we are seeing from all the new fighters you mentioned are methods that are forgotten and/or thought to be useless in MMA. The reality is nobody had the confidence in these moves to try them out properly in the UFC. There is no evolution at all. These are all old moves from styles already invented 1000s of years ago.

Evoultion guieessesesee herp a derp when will it be mineeee turnzz for the sexer.
^^^^^^ That statement is quite mean and I don't really mean it. Just kidding around.
 
Certainly dominant wrestlers are not so much in the drivers seat like they used to be, and dominant strikers are learning how to make their skills work against that type of fighter.
 
It is not so much that dominance of wrestling in MMA is over.

It is probably that striking is much harder skills to learn and refine than wrestling. Thus it seems it is easier for a striker to pick up enough wrestling skills to be effective in MMA whereas wrestling takes a much longer time to pick up enough striking skills to be effective in MMA.

I think if you look at the history of martial arts itself it seems to reflect this - the arts, the schools and the texts on striking knowledge far outnumbers the amount of documented knowledge base available in wrestling/grappling.
 
Also to not be dismissed is the fact that wrestlers dominated because of their work ethic. As Rogan has mentioned many times, and of which I can attest to, amatuer and collegiate wrestling is a grind which used to have no equal. TMA's simply did not have this on a whole, as a basic fundamental building block. Of course there will always be exceptions. Now, as mma progresses as a sport unto itself, you see guys with TMA backgrounds embracing that grind and getting better because of it.
That "wrestling grind" also attributes to piss poor training practices resulting in injury and also piss poor weight cutting practices
 
That "wrestling grind" also attributes to piss poor training practices resulting in injury and also piss poor weight cutting practices

LOL

throwing-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater1.jpg
 
I fuckin' hope so, nothing stinks the joint up faster than a dominant wrestler.
 
Just more evolution of the sport. 4 years ago wrestling was hot, not striking is hot. In the near future submissions may make a gigantic comeback. The sport ebbs and flows like anything else. As soon as one guy looks unstoppable and like he has everything figured out, another one will come onto the scene and beat the shit out of him.
 
Interesting point, but I do find it interesting that so many stand up fighters with no wrestling background are able to negate wrestlers at the highest level

The thing is -- the way TDD works has changed over the years.

It used to be about stuffing the takedown. Having the wrestler shoot on you and then trying to defend that takedown. Sprawl-and-brawl basically. See any Chuck Liddel or Wanderlei Silve or Igor Vovchanchyn match. And Jose Aldo really perfected this.

These days, it's much more about denying the very opportunity for the takedown artists to initiate a takedown. This is accomplished by using footmovement, positioning and distance. You simply manuver yourself so that, either they can't shoot, or they are forced to shoot at such an unfavorable position that the takedown will be easy to fend off. Look at RR vs Holm. Holm ran circles around her, peppered her with punches, only once did RR get the clinch.
 
Interesting point, but I do find it interesting that so many stand up fighters with no wrestling background are able to negate wrestlers at the highest level

The thing is -- the way TDD works has changed over the years.

It used to be about stuffing the takedown. Having the wrestler shoot on you and then trying to defend that takedown. Sprawl-and-brawl basically. See any Chuck Liddel or Wanderlei Silve or Igor Vovchanchyn match. And Jose Aldo really perfected this.

These days, it's much more about denying the very opportunity for the takedown artists to initiate a takedown. This is accomplished by using footmovement, positioning and distance. You simply manuver yourself so that, either they can't shoot, or they are forced to shoot at such an unfavorable position that the takedown will be easy to fend off. Look at RR vs Holm. Holm ran circles around her, peppered her with punches, only once did RR get the clinch.
 
125--Demetrius Johnson--wrestler
135--Dominic Cruz and #2 BW Mendes: wrestlers
145--non-wrestlers do well (Conor, Aldo, KZ...)
155--dominated by wrestlers historically, champion RDA's last loss was to a dominating wrestling
DC and Jones are top 2 guys at 205 and wrestlers

Wrestling is still very dominant, whether used directly (DC, Khabib) or as a base (Cruz, Jones)
 
No. But it's not now, nor ever was, invincible. A good striker with great TDD can beat a great wrestler if he can keep the fight on the feet.
 
but that's the point of this thread, is that maybe it's not. See conor and thompson.

Two fighters hardly constitutes the opposite. In fact Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Chris Weidman,Cain Velasquez, Frankie Edgar and many more prove my statement that wrestling will always be the base for all of mixed martial arts.
 
Dominating style will continue to fluctuate and repeat, however fighters will continue to be more and more well rounded.
 
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