fighting a bluebelt in mma.

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shouldercharge

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ive been training the last 15months in judo cross training once a week in bjj,before that i did bjj for 3months and muay thai for a year.
my top control is good,i have heavy hands good takedowns,lately ive been doing alot of private training with a boxing coach.

in mma sparring with the fighters ive had good success with ground and pound.
ive just taken a fight with a bjj blue belt i know nothing else about him other than its also his first fight.i'm a bit worried about the lack of time and the fact that hes a blue in bjj.
any body have some tips for me?
what i should focus on both as far as game plan and preparing physically.
ive also got to lose bout 11lbs.
 
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Pick up some wrestling, also have your bjj coach work with you on escaping bad positions, as well as maintaining posture in situations where you could be in danger while working from the top.

Find some good guard players willing to work with you so you can get a feel for the timing of throwing strikes from the top.
 
I'd say you probably have the upper edge if BJJ is his main thing. It wont be natural enough for him to catch you if you hit him a few times. Personally, I would completely avoid his guard if you aren't confident enough and see how well you can box him.
 
google his name. find out if he has placed in any bjj tourneys.

Try to find out if his background is more than just bjj. Is he a HS / College wrestler? Did he ever do golden gloves? Google all that stuff!

Check Facebook, Myspace, and ask your local fighter community about him.

Youtube is your friend. I have found BJJ tourney vids on guys who alter go into MMA.

I have been able to find out alot of info on fighters by looking at videos, photos, etc from their school web page.

In the end, if you cant find anything else...go in with your strengths. Work on increasing cardio as much as possible and practice with higher level grapplers.

good luck.
 
Don't worry about it. He won't be wearing his blue belt when you fight him. You have 18 months of Judo and 15 months of bjj once a week. You have got to be close to blue belt level on the ground plus bjj doesn't really work takedowns and Judo does. Good luck.
 
Research, research research! Find out what else you can, if he is a HS state wrestling champ with a BJJ blue you might want to work more on reversals and submissions off your back. IF you find all he has is a BJJ blue, sprawl n brawl is your friend. I would not bother to take it to the ground and if I was taken down I would get up as soon as as possible.

But you have to consider he might be like you, crosstrained. See what you can dig up. The fight promoter may have other info.
 
The most common submissions in MMA are RNC, triangle, and armbar. Make sure you train RNC defenses and back control escapes, and avoiding the triangle choke when you're trying to punch a guy from inside his guard. Drill some armbar escapes too.

And make sure you have a good gameplan going in so you don't lose focus when you get high on the adrenaline.
 
At this point, you only have time left to make and polish a gameplan. Try and learn as much as you can from your opponent.
You could even ask a friend to drop at the place where he trains for some "scouting".

As for gameplans... You need a plan A (things go your way), plan B (Things don't quite go your way), and plan C (Shit hits the fan).
A) which in your case i think is going to be sprawl and brawl. If you can outbox him, use your judo to keep it standing.
B) means he's got better striking than you do, so use your judo to take it to the ground and try and ground and pound him.
C) He's got better wrestling and better striking than you do. You are going to be on your back. Be patient, survive bad positions, do not lose guard and try to capitalize on his mistakes.

Your biggest concern right now, should be working your cardio - without overtraining. If you think you have great cardio, work until you have THE greatest cardio of your life and then some. It's not just about running or swimming or wrestling or striking. It's a combination of all of them (you may want to check the s&c forum section).
It's not strange to see bluebelts beating the crap out of blackbelts in MMA because the bb's gas tank emptied. So even if he dominates you for 2 rounds (just because he's better), you hang on and try to capitalize on the ace of cardio/endurance.

And good luck!

p.s. Don't get carried away with the judo throws. While some look uber cool, they may be too risky for MMA (you give up top position or your back).
 
CajunJudoka said:
Don't worry about it. He won't be wearing his blue belt when you fight him. You have 18 months of Judo and 15 months of bjj once a week. You have got to be close to blue belt level on the ground plus bjj doesn't really work takedowns and Judo does. Good luck.
Click to expand...

15 months at once a week? Thats not almost blue. I've done 15 months at 6 days a week and I'm not a blue.

I'd google him as stated above, find tape and stuff. If he competes then he probably posted his matches and you can learn something about his game.

How long do you have to lose the 11 pounds?

Good luck!
 
A Blue belt is certainly a respectable rank, they can be dangerous. But I'm assuming they are still awkward on some things and may not be proficient at many techniques while also defending punches to the face. For a higher level jits guy, I would think this would be less of an issue.

If you a concerned about his grappling credentials then make sure you don't make it a grappling comp. Make sure to strike when you can to keep him flustered and out of his element. Don't get wild, though - Just stay active
 
I agree with the other posters, google and do your research.

Let us know how the fight goes.
 
There's a big gap at the blue belt level I'm a fairly new blue and I get out positoned by senior blue belts on the ground at my school and I wrestled for 8 years before I started jiu-jitsu. I agree whole heartedly with the other posters on on researching your opponent. I would guess if he comes from a good school that he wouldn't be fighting mma unless he was a fairly senior blue. That is just a guess though. I would work your posture, top control, and passing with your training partners to prepare for his ground game. If you are a superior striker don't be afraid to let him up if you are on top and you feel his guard is to much to handle. Game plan, game plan, game plan, and stick to it as much as possible during the fight. Also, work your takedown defense and if you don't have a strong guard game don't let him take you down. Good luck, I wish you the best on your upcoming fight.
 
By the way, Auspex, go Broncos!!! I miss Idaho!!! Can't wait to get back there!!!
 
just go in and work bad positions for a few hours a day i did this for my last comp and it made it very hard to hold me without me getting guard back.
 
Blue is a tricky rank. Some schools will give a blue after 6 months, in that case you may not have to worry. If the guy's been a blue for a couple years then you wouldn't want to tangle on the ground.

Keep things standing. If it goes down, keep up the punching. Don't let him get settled and comfortable, swat at him whenever you can, even if its not doing a ton of damage. Don't hang out in his guard unless you are very confident. Watch the takedown, but you're judo should help you stay on your feet. If you find yourself on your back, escape to your feet, obviously.

Mostly, fight your fight. Don't be worried about his belt, it only matters if you let him gain the initiative. Good luck.
 
There's not really much we can tell you... Depends on the blue belt. I'm a fresh blue belt and I have an extremely hard time with some of the blue belts I train with. Definitely a lot of purple level blue's out there waiting for a promotion or guys that stopped training gi and concentrated on no-gi for years on end.

The skill gap is a bit less when you take away the gi imo. You should have a solid enough ground game to defend from top position. Just play to your strengths... do some research on this guy.
 
thanks alot for the advice guys keep it coming.i have 3 and a 1/2 weeks to lose 11lbs.

at the moment thats what i'm thinking-work my boxing and takedown defense if it goes to the ground i want it to be on my terms-ie, slamming him in to sidecontrol holding position and gnp-i want to avoid his guard and if he looks like advancing position just stand up.

i havent been to the gym for a while and before i took the fight i was planning on getting back to lifting,but i think i'm already pretty strong for my weight so will focus on conditioning instead.
 
3 1/2 weeks is plenty of time you should be good to lose 11 lbs easily as long as you eat clean and hydrate until a day or two before the fight (depends how you cut, everyone's different). I would quit lifting hard at least a week and a half before the fight and focus more on game plan drilling, light sparring, and cardio. Good luck.
 
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