Why does fighters from wrestling background are more sought after in mma compared to other athletes from different discipline?

[VAfan]

Not really

lol. no one said it doesn't happen occasionally.

 

[Dr. Rose]

What MMA promotion favors strikers in terms of ruleset?

PRIDE pre-2001 used to change rules at the last minute to hinder wrestlers. ONE seems to favor strikers, but that might be just how they sign fighters.

 

[Intermission]

lol. no one said it doesn't happen occasionally.

That didnt look too hard. More effort taking someone down.

 

[Dr. Rose]

For me... It's most likely due to career...
I believe i'm being pretty wrong on the next lines but...

Wrestlers seem to have a small career... I mean... They get titles, olympic aspirations but then... There's nothing more... It's either becoming a coach or going to WWE/do something else... That normally happens... Before the 30s (i could say even before 25).
For a striker... There's a lot more career options at the striking market... I mean, there's boxing, kickboxing, MT... So in other words, their career span is longer while being more profitable also.

I can take 2 examples for my post:

First is Alex Pereira, who fully joined MMA around 30s (his debut was before that but he did some more KB bouts before fully commiting into MMA).

Second is Tyrell Fortune, who joined MMA at around 23 ~ 24 after an extensive career in Wrestling.

Career length is a factor for sure. Hard to make a living for that matter.

Another factor is the grind. I do not think other combat sports have the grind aspect down quite like wrestlers. Not unusual for high end wrestlers to have replaced knees in their 30s-40s. Kurt Angle won the Olympic trials with a broken neck.

There are some elite boxers embrace the grind, but it seems to dwindle quickly the further you go down the ranks.

 

[VAfan]

That didnt look too hard. More effort taking someone down.

you're confusing 'land' and 'throw'. dudes whiff for five rounds straight, might not be exhausting but gets you nowhere.

 

[nostradumbass]

Having the ability to dictate where a fight takes place is a huge advantage. They can make strikers grapple and make grapplers strike.

They are not sought after ?

It just American Wrestling is huge ...in America..and the UFC is an American company so in the sample size that is America ( the UFC largest demographic of viewers) them seeing wrestling being use in fights is more recognizable and appealing vs lets say an MMA promotion in thailand..where you would undoubtedly see more Muay thai based fighters then wrestling...

Its just one of the styles that more recognizable in the West or relatable .

But if you look at the roster my guess there's probably a pretty even spilt between wrestlers and strikers...if you remove other grappling styles...if not more strikers then just wrestlers

Well that's a ludicrous theory. How many Americans do you think could even name the top wrestler in their own country, let alone the world, let alone list several? Most guys at least could name you a handful of boxers, and probably not a single wrestler who hasn't already moved to MMA and joined the UFC.

 

[NoSmilez]

Not in lesnar vs Overeem it didnt. Not in Ortiz-machida it didnt.

These guys trained wrestling to keep the fight standing. Wrestling is how someone dictates where the fight takes place at. You need to learn wrestling even if you are a striker or a BJJ guy.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

I dont get it sherbro, should fights begin on ground? Even in wrestling fights begin stand up no? Begining of the fight is really no mans land, you got to take yours.

Standing away from your opponent benefits who?

The wrestler or the striker ..

You would say the striker...if your honest..but i, for the most part agree the rules are as split as they get with a slight bias towards the striker..ever so slightly

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Having the ability to dictate where a fight takes place is a huge advantage. They can make strikers grapple and make grapplers strike.







Well that's a ludicrous theory. How many Americans do you think could even name the top wrestler in their own country, let alone the world, let alone list several? Most guys at least could name you a handful of boxers, and probably not a single wrestler who hasn't already moved to MMA and joined the UFC.

Are you from America?

Im Canadian...i could name Jordan Burroughs..

Not much else as far as none MMA crossover wrestlers unless i sit and think about it..but wrestling is quite big in several states across America...

MMA Crossovers from America would be..

D.C.

AARON pico..

Tito Ortiz

Randy Couture

Dan Henderson

Justin Gaithje

Gilispie

Etc

 

[nostradumbass]

Are you from America?

Im Canadian...i could name Jordan Burroughs..

Not much else as far as none MMA crossover wrestlers unless i sit and think about it..but wrestling is quite big in several states across America...

MMA Crossovers from America would be..

D.C.

AARON pico..

Tito Ortiz

Randy Couture

Dan Henderson

Justin Gaithje

Gilispie

Etc

Yes, I'm American, and how many people do you think could have picked any of those guys out of a lineup before they moved over to MMA? Maybe 3 or 4, all in their immediate family.

Big in several states means in comparison to most states that don't even care a little bit. In fact, if you said to most people that ____ is a wrestler, they would assume you mean like WWE. It's definitely not even close to boxing, the reason wrestlers are more highly touted coming to MMA is because that's been the best base for MMA, not because wrestling is a big fans sport in the US. I would imagine it's bigger in Russia.

 

[marvinparsons]

Maybe BJJ is getting more kids (IDK) but wrestling has the best pipeline of athletes training seriously from a young age and getting quality athletes, at least in the USA.

Boxing, Muay Thai/kickboxing, BJJ, karate, Tae Kwan etc. None of these are in elementary/high schools/NCAA, to my knowledge.

Wrestling is. So you get a lot of great athletes taking it up like Brock, Gathje, Jon Jones, Randy, Kerr, Coleman. The list goes on and on. When they finish NCAA MMA is a way to use their skills to make $$$.

 

[Robbocop]

What evidence do you have that fighters with a wrestling background does more sought after? I think kickboxing background or muay thai tends to be seeked by the real ones.

 

[Söze Aldo]

Maybe BJJ is getting more kids (IDK) but wrestling has the best pipeline of athletes training seriously from a young age and getting quality athletes, at least in the USA.

Boxing, Muay Thai/kickboxing, BJJ, karate, Tae Kwan etc. None of these are in elementary/high schools/NCAA, to my knowledge.

Wrestling is. So you get a lot of great athletes taking it up like Brock, Gathje, Jon Jones, Randy, Kerr, Coleman. The list goes on and on. When they finish NCAA MMA is a way to use their skills to make $$$.

Yeah, it's not just that UFC rules benefit wrestlers (they do a fair bit) but wrestling really develops a great athletic and toughness base in kids at a pretty young age.

One of the reason Thailand still produces the best MT fighters despite the global spread of the sport now, is they start training and actually competing, at ridiculously young ages.

 

[scorpiorising]

Because they have no where else to go

 

[Jarilo]

Standing away from your opponent benefits who?

The wrestler or the striker ..

You would say the striker...if your honest..but i, for the most part agree the rules are as split as they get with a slight bias towards the striker..ever so slightly

We are humans . its natural we stand. You coudnt even say that street fights begin any other way that standing ( 1vs1) some begin with confrontation and if you dont have Chael p in you ( i cant let you get cloose to me), thats your own fault.
I Am all for stand up( boxing , muay thai) but i love it when its get tested from grappling discipline.
Now lets say rd1 stops when somebody is in dominant ground position, and you start the next round in same positions.
but if you go down this rabbit hole there is no ending and rounds become obsolete.
So no, start of the fight nobody is naturally in advantage, like i said you must take yours.
Or should the fights start with huggin?