The grand evolution of MMA - which fighters evolved it the most and how

TheMaster

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So everyone is in agreement the sport has evolved vastly since the Gracies took their particular brand of submission Judo minus throws and showed it was the best single style in this environment. There is disagreement about how much in the last decade it has really evolved and what counts as a legit evolution.
So describe here what are the main 'evolutions' in mma as you see it and who if any one fighter or several fighters pionereed the evolution in technique, fighting style or training. Im talking actual evolutions, so a fighter may be a legend with legacy etc but does not mean they evolved the sport. I also mean evolutions shown by fighters in actual fights.

I'm starting wih some early evolutions obviously there are ton more I'm describing a few.

Royce - obvious
Severn - first legit wrestling in US mma

Tank Abbott - overlooked legend, first to wear modern mma gloves

Ken Shamrock - guard neutralizer in Gracie 2. At time a draw with royce and surviving guard was a big deal.

Don frye - I would argue first well rounded complete fighter with wrestling, striking and submissions. Frank Shamrock often gets this accolade but Frye was first. Ken could never strike to top level. Amory Bitteti fight proved this the mist in my view as was against a top Brazilian fighter.

Coleman - DID NOT 'invent' gnp that is a ridiculous claim if has been a method since beginning. But took gnp to a new level.

Frank Shamrock - "conditioning is my best submission hold ". Outlasting Ortiz was a big evolution at the time. Nick Diaz is version 2 of this.

Fedor - using top game to beat the best BJJ guard at the time and shows you could win from in guard.

Wanderlai - top level muay thai to win at highest level.

Machida - Showed TMA like karate can work if adapted to mma and well rounded. His UFC title win if not start of 'Machida era' was still hell of win for TMA.

Oleksi Olynyk UFC 208 - Ezekial choke submission. As well as being first win with this sub in UFC I consider significant evolution as shows you can win a fight from underneath while someone has you in full mount.

Oleg Taktarov - first non BJJ sub game in general at top level amd showed there is more to the ground game tham BJJ.


And vastly more, describe whether small or large contribution or addition to the sports evolution shown in fights.
 
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"Evolution" in MMA has essentially stopped since 2005.
 
Conor McGregor - The evolution of Touch-butt-in-the-park movement.
 
Ronda. She showed how far one can go without knowing how to throw an actual punch.
 
Just imagine Randy Couture if he was starting like 10 years ago as opose to his era, dude wouldn't need to be like 36 to learn some boxing, would even learn to put his weight on punches, maybe would even have some kicks and flexibility to his game, his wrestling would still top notch, his movement and space understading would be better... That is no way that starting multi-faceted training early and a more technical approach to conditioning and fighting don't make fighters today a little more evolved... Maybe there is human talent lacking on hw but mma did evolve.
 
Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey evolved the game, took MMA to new heights previously unseen.
 
Not that he started it but Tito really was the first one I remember consistently using vicious ground and pound.

Chuck brough the sprawl and brawl style into the mainstream. If you couldn't take him down you were effed in the A



Side Note- The evolution of Brian Ortega is insane. As well as Chad Mendes becoming the vicious KO artist that he is
 
DJ, Cruz, GSP, DC
 
I think we've seen fighters evolve rather than the fight game as a whole. So when a fighter develops a certain technique and starts using it effectively, other fighters will try to ad it to their game. Calf kicks for example, I don't know exactly who was the first to implement them recently, but I remember Jeremy Stephens destruction of Giblert as one of the first displays of how damaging those can be.
 
That gi-less Ezekiel is sick.
 
So everyone is in agreement the sport has evolved vastly since the Gracies took their particular brand of submission Judo minus throws and showed it was the best single style in this environment. There is disagreement about how much in the last decade it has really evolved and what counts as a legit evolution.
So describe here what are the main 'evolutions' in mma as you see it and who if any one fighter or several fighters pionereed the evolution in technique, fighting style or training. Im talking actual evolutions, so a fighter may be a legend with legacy etc but does not mean they evolved the sport. I also mean evolutions shown by fighters in actual fights.

I'm starting wih some early evolutions obviously there are ton more I'm describing a few.

Royce - obvious
Severn - first legit wrestling in US mma

Tank Abbott - overlooked legend, first to wear modern mma gloves

Ken Shamrock - guard neutralizer in Gracie 2. At time a draw with royce and surviving guard was a big deal.

Don frye - I would argue first well rounded complete fighter with wrestling, striking and submissions. Frank Shamrock often gets this accolade but Frye was first. Ken could never strike to top level. Amory Bitteti fight proved this the mist in my view as was against a top Brazilian fighter.

Coleman - DID NOT 'invent' gnp that is a ridiculous claim if has been a method since beginning. But took gnp to a new level.

Frank Shamrock - "conditioning is my best submission hold ". Outlasting Ortiz was a big evolution at the time. Nick Diaz is version 2 of this.

Fedor - using top game to beat the best BJJ guard at the time and shows you could win from in guard.

Wanderlai - top level muay thai to win at highest level.

Machida - Showed TMA like karate can work if adapted to mma and well rounded. His UFC title win if not start of 'Machida era' was still hell of win for TMA.

Oleksi Olynyk UFC 208 - Ezekial choke submission. As well as being first win with this sub in UFC I consider significant evolution as shows you can win a fight from underneath while someone has you in full mount.

Oleg Taktarov - first non BJJ sub game in general at top level amd showed there is more to the ground game tham BJJ.


And vastly more, describe whether small or large contribution or addition to the sports evolution shown in fights.

It´s more about an evolution of the rules/fight configuration, imo.

In ol´school orgs like BJJ vs Luta Livre, IVC or WVC, even 1st UFCs, u would see more GNP, even from strikers and BJJ dudes...

The game momentarily changed thanks to Pancrase, Rings and Pride, due to specific rules/fight configuration, and a talented generation.

Pancrase & Rings did a lot for the evolution of this game, since u technically couldnt GNP, so u had to be more creative on the ground, which required real...MMA skills since the very beginning..

The generation who went through Early Pancrase HAD TO BECOME highly skilled in Grappling to stay competitive, thats why u could see pure strikers like Bas or Tiger White or Mezger becomin´ much better in the ground game, back in the days.

Guys like Bas or even Tiger White are legit representative of the evolution from NHB/Vale Tudo days to real MMA.

Early Pancrase & Rings were a decisive stage of this evolution because they fostered the creation of Modern teams willing to do Modern Cross-training.

This evolution then flourished in Early Pride [b4 the knee-to-a-downed-opponent rule].
 
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So everyone is in agreement the sport has evolved vastly since the Gracies took their particular brand of submission Judo minus throws and showed it was the best single style in this environment. There is disagreement about how much in the last decade it has really evolved and what counts as a legit evolution.
So describe here what are the main 'evolutions' in mma as you see it and who if any one fighter or several fighters pionereed the evolution in technique, fighting style or training. Im talking actual evolutions, so a fighter may be a legend with legacy etc but does not mean they evolved the sport. I also mean evolutions shown by fighters in actual fights.

I'm starting wih some early evolutions obviously there are ton more I'm describing a few.

Royce - obvious
Severn - first legit wrestling in US mma

Tank Abbott - overlooked legend, first to wear modern mma gloves

Ken Shamrock - guard neutralizer in Gracie 2. At time a draw with royce and surviving guard was a big deal.

Don frye - I would argue first well rounded complete fighter with wrestling, striking and submissions. Frank Shamrock often gets this accolade but Frye was first. Ken could never strike to top level. Amory Bitteti fight proved this the mist in my view as was against a top Brazilian fighter.

Coleman - DID NOT 'invent' gnp that is a ridiculous claim if has been a method since beginning. But took gnp to a new level.

Frank Shamrock - "conditioning is my best submission hold ". Outlasting Ortiz was a big evolution at the time. Nick Diaz is version 2 of this.

Fedor - using top game to beat the best BJJ guard at the time and shows you could win from in guard.

Wanderlai - top level muay thai to win at highest level.

Machida - Showed TMA like karate can work if adapted to mma and well rounded. His UFC title win if not start of 'Machida era' was still hell of win for TMA.

Oleksi Olynyk UFC 208 - Ezekial choke submission. As well as being first win with this sub in UFC I consider significant evolution as shows you can win a fight from underneath while someone has you in full mount.

Oleg Taktarov - first non BJJ sub game in general at top level amd showed there is more to the ground game tham BJJ.


And vastly more, describe whether small or large contribution or addition to the sports evolution shown in fights.
About individuals themselves:

> Hoyce is the most difficult fighter to assess: we all know why Rorion chose him over Rickson, but why not:

1/ Hoyler?: more technical than Hoyce, but he realistically would have been over-powered by HWs

2/ Henzo?: better striking than Hoyce, less agile in the scrambles on the ground, Hoyce with the better chin..

Hoyce is underrated indeed. Being a BJJ dude was not enough to win it all in the 1st UFCs, you had to be able to survive some bombs, like Kimo´s...


> Marco Huas: potentially the 1st well-rounded in Modern MMA, b4 Frank or anyone else (Frank was still learning the game in Pancrase)

Note: there were already people cross-training in the 1960s [Ivan Gomes,Euclydes Pereira...]... It´s not really a new concept.

> Ken hardly exposed BJJ´s guard in the 2nd Hoyce fight...

Btw UFC 1 & UFC 5, Ken had basically 2 yrs to study Royce´s game.
He was injured at UFC 2, but still during an interview at ringside, he stated that he was workin´
on his game, and that he would come back with some kind of "master plan". That was obviously hinted
at Royce.As a matter of fact, he even hired a judo/jiujitsu guy for the camp.
Still, at UFC 5, he didnt really go for the win, he definitely wanted the draw, thus he L&Ped, didnt mount any serious offense (Im aware of the stats though).

BJJ´s guard became problematic because of the rules/fight configuration:
Modern MMA [UFC´s in particular]´s fight configuration [time limit / short rounds] and judging criterias [Ground Control being the Main Paradigm, no reward for submission attempts] make it difficult to commit to particular submissions [leglocks/armbars]


SAKU GOAT dealt much better with the BJJ Guard than Ken 2:
Technically started his preparation for the Gracies fights after the draw against Allan Goes, where he was realistically schooled by Allan, who showed some creative & innovative striking from the bottom.
It opened his eyes about how to deal with a BJJ guard.

> GNP Evolution [Kerr/Coleman]... In a specific environment [NHB/Vale Tudo/With Time Limit/Headbutts Allowed], proved to be lethal. Kerr´s mauling of Gurgel changed the paradigm in the BJJ Community, where people used to believe that technique was enough to overcome the size difference...

> How to deal with a Wrestler: Team Alliance [Maurice/TK/Frank], worked on the Sprawl technique.
 
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Just imagine Randy Couture if he was starting like 10 years ago as opose to his era, dude wouldn't need to be like 36 to learn some boxing, would even learn to put his weight on punches, maybe would even have some kicks and flexibility to his game, his wrestling would still top notch, his movement and space understading would be better... That is no way that starting multi-faceted training early and a more technical approach to conditioning and fighting don't make fighters today a little more evolved... Maybe there is human talent lacking on hw but mma did evolve.
Wasnt he a boxer in the Army?
 
"Evolution" in MMA has essentially stopped since 2005.
That is completely false,if you cant see the evolution then youre a casual or blind by nostalgia
The sports is continue evolving nonstop.today fighters are getting more well rounded and way more technical than ever,especially the lighter divisions.
If the sport somehow stuck in 2005 like you claim then we wouldnt able to see fighters like tj dillashaw, Jones,Cruz,Dj and many more, we would be stuck in the sprawl and brawl day like 2005.
Theres a reason why we dont see brawlers like wand and chuck crack the top 10 in any weight class let alone being a champ.
If you want a great example of mma evolution then watch tj dillashaw fight, what he’s doing is a good evidence of mma evolution

Stuff like good footwork was pretty much non existent back in 2005
 
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Benson Henderson started the calf-kick stuff.
 
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