The most important skill in MMA.

Wrestling.

You can dictate whether or not to bring the fight to the ground or keep it standing.
 
Dan155 said:
They're taught in BJJ gyms, but they did not originate in BJJ. "Indigenous" was the salient point. Also, guard pulling is not a takedown.

If a BJJ player takes down his opponent, he's using a supplemental skill to do it.
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And leg takedowns did not originate in United States Collegiate wrestling. "Origin of technique" is a pointless argument.

Here are the facts:

- U.S. Collegiate wrestling rules allow leg takedowns and throws
- BJJ competition rules allow leg takedowns and throws

Therefore, leg takedowns and throws are part of both disciplines and practitioners of each train them so as to be prepared and effective in competition.
 
mmafan0 said:
And leg takedowns did not originate in United States Collegiate wrestling. "Origin of technique" is a pointless argument.

Here are the facts:

- U.S. Collegiate wrestling rules allow leg takedowns and throws
- BJJ competition rules allow leg takedowns and throws

Therefore, leg takedowns and throws are part of both disciplines and practitioners of each train them so as to be prepared and effective in competition.
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That's a bit of a specious argument. By that standard, if BJJ competition allowed leg kicks tomorrow, leg kicking would now be a BJJ skill set. So I'm changing my answer to Sambo, catch wrestling, or Army Combatives (blehhhh) in that case.

EDIT: I'm more OK with the argument if you're only talking about the comparatively low calibre of wrestling one encounters in the typical BJJ gym. It's a stretch to say "BJJ is the most important skill set" and represent that as elite level wrestling + elite BJJ. BJJ practitioners' takedowns are less specialized and, as a generality, suck by comparison to wrestlers and Judoka.
 
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hoevan said:
State of mind.
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Was just gonna say this, also and the ability to adapt to adverse situations and improvise I'd say. Oh and having at least some grappling knowledge and being able to throw a punch and block properly.
 
boxing is the most important skill cause wrestling sure as hell aint gonna knock people out
 
dragonclaw said:
They aren't dominating because competition isn't part of Krav Maga, like how it is with all other forms of martial arts.

It's the purest and most lethal form of martial arts training there is.

You put a MMA fighter up against a Krav Maga specialist on the street and I guarantee you, the MMA fighter will walk away with broken bones or seriously injuries if they're lucky, and if not, they'll end up dead.
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Lol
 
The best base to have is a striking base. High level tdd can be learned in a short period of time. To master high level striking it takes years. High level BJJ is barely relevant now.
 
dragonclaw said:
When and if a high level Krav Maga practitioner decides to compete in the UFC, he will become champion of his weight class.
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How about nope. Krav Maga is the most over hyped martial art in history. It is to MMA what diet pills are to exercise, a promise of something super sweet, where little work is involved, when in reality best case: you either end up just as fat as you were day 1, worse case: you end having a heart attack.

Only people who swear by Krav Maga are 35+ out of shape white guys who are bouncing between classes at curves, krava maga, and neighborhood watch patrols.
 
S Class said:
It's hard to say which is the most important skill in MMA because you need to utilize a variety of techniques to be successful. I guess "well-roundedness" is important, to me.

Or, you can always go with:

spinjutsu
Kd9Kl.gif
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Sure you show the one time that it didn't work, but you conveniently leave out the dozen times James "Roly Poly" McMichaels knocked his opponents out with that formidable technique.
 
Marce Porter said:
Oh, damn.

To be honest, I didn't know takedowns were involved in BJJ.
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It's cool man. A lot of people don't. Now the ignorance of that fact has been replaced with knowledge. :)

If you look into the history of a lot of TMA's, at their root (ie, before becoming watered down McDojo's), many were more well-rounded than in the sport versions we tend to think of.
 
That question has already been answered. You need to be good at everything and be able to mix it together to be at the top today
 
Wrestling without a doubt. Look at top guys from every division. Most have a wrestling background or are well versed in it. It's becoming common to teach wrestlers striking and subs rather than teaching a striker TDD IMO.

JBJ, Cain, Benson, Frankie, Joe B, Chris Weidman, Bader, GSP, Rory, Hendricks, Ellenberger, Demetrious Johnson, John Dodson, Ian Mcall, DC, Barnett, Mendes, Faber.

I could go for days on this one.
 
Dan155 said:
That's a bit of a specious argument. By that standard, if BJJ competition allowed leg kicks tomorrow, leg kicking would now be a BJJ skill set. So I'm changing my answer to Sambo, catch wrestling, or Army Combatives (blehhhh) in that case.

EDIT: I'm more OK with the argument if you're only talking about the comparatively low calibre of wrestling one encounters in the typical BJJ gym. It's a stretch to say "BJJ is the most important skill set" and represent that as elite level wrestling + elite BJJ. BJJ practitioners' takedowns are less specialized and, as a generality, suck by comparison to wrestlers and Judoka.
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I disagree that it's specious. BJJ as a martial art is about doing what is most effective to subdue a stronger and larger opponent by way of leverage and superior grappling technique. This is very broad and not exclusive of techniques that appear in other martial arts. BJJ as a combat sport implements rules that restrict what you can do, but still allows all of the takedowns and control techniques that wrestling does.

BJJ fighters do train takedowns, but there are a few reasons why they are typically not as good at them as collegiate/olympic wrestlers in MMA:

- Takedowns are a bigger part of the wrestling game, therefore wrestlers train them more rigorously.

- BJJ is traditionally taught with a Gi (uniform), and grabbing of the Gi is allowed. This changes which takedowns work well and which don't, and many BJJ guys have to adjust to no-Gi takedowns for MMA.

- Sometimes the most effective way for a BJJ fighter to submit their opponent is to jump guard, so the takedown is not the primary tool in the BJJ arsenal (but it is still a tool none the less)

But as a total fighting "skillset", BJJ is more complete than collegiate/olympic wrestling. That was the argument. The counter arguement is that BJJ fighters tend not to be as specialized in takedowns and top control as wrestlers.

Disclaimer: I currently train and study BJJ and have a wrestling background, so I've done both
 
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Well everyone will say wrestling b/c it dictates where the fight takes place.
I think you can break it down a little further and say that you can learn "half" of wrestling and still be very successful and even a champion.
TDD if you want to keep the fight on the feet, and TDO (take down offence) if you want it on the ground.
TDO alone though might be problematic b/c you would have to beat your opponent to the 'punch' if you want to make sure you're on top.

From a different point of view you could also say boxing (mma-suited type of boxing) is the mot important skill.
Most fights I can think of have a ton of boxing in them.
 
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