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Wrestling Beats Out BJJ As Dominate Form in Mixed Martial Arts

For some time now Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been highlighted in the world of mixed martial arts as the essential ingredient for success—especially in the highly competitive UFC. This system of fighting came to international prominence in the 1990s when Royce Gracie, a 160 pound meek looking fighter appeared on the scene and was able to take down much bigger, stronger and more powerful combatants from varying backgrounds with ease. Since his fateful appearance, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been front and foremost and a must if one wants to partake in the sport of MMA.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu emphasizes the taking of an opponent to the ground and utilizing ground fighting techniques such as submission holds with joint-locks and chokeholds as a means to an end. The premise is that any advantage a larger and stronger opponent with a longer reach or more powerful strikes is negated when submitted and checked on the ground. Unfortunately, what has been lost in this mix is old fashion wresting. Now I am not referring to the profession sport that is featured on television with chairs being tossed, body slams, jumps off the ropes etc but rather Greco or freestyle wrestling.

Wrestling has been forced to take a back seat as it does not have the flash, excitement nor the unpredictability that a MMA match can promise. What is interesting to note however, is the importance that wresting has in the make-up of a great MMA fighter. Current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is a wrestler, as are top heavyweights Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez. They are proof that this system of fighting can be just as effective, if not more so than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They have all met up with and have taken top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters in their division—Carwin demolished Frank Mir while Cain Velasquez destroyed Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.

UFC welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre, is also another example of how effective wresting can be. He used his knowledge of the sport to help him blow through everyone in his division while the second and third best welterweights, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch have also been known to use their wrestling skills to their advantage. The lightweight division also has its wrestling champions in Tatsuya Kawajiri, Sean Sherk, Gray Matynard, Tyson Griffin and Frankie Edgar—who by-the-way, used his wrestling ability to take the best lightweight in the world, BJ Penn.

UFC 117: Siva vs Sonnen is an interesting case study of wrestling at its best—Jon Fitch thoroughly ripped through a bigger, faster, heavier, stronger and not to mention younger, Thiago Alves while dominate welterweight, Matt Hughes, took out Ricardo Almeida. In fact, Hughes, who is an accomplished wrestler, has now beaten three Renzo Gracie black belts in a row—Matt Serra at UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida, Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen, and Renzo Gracie himself at UFC 112: Invincible. In fact, Hughes has also prevailed over the man who started it all, Royce Gracie, at UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie.

Despite all the accomplishments wrestlers are achieving in MMA and the UFC, this system of fighting has yet to attain its rightful place in the sport. It may be the lack of fantastic finishing moves or cool looking submissions, or it just may just be the “creepy” looking singlets that make up the uniform of a wrestler, regardless, this sport just does not have the fan following nor respect it should.

Though it may not be the flashiest sport around and it may not be so much as to what is actually learned in wresting, but rather the subculture surrounding this form of fighting that makes it an integral part of MMA. For those who know nothing about wrestlers, most participants in this sport have an extreme core strength that is not found anywhere else—no matter their size, a wrestler who has spent time in training will be considerably stronger than a non-wrestler of equal size. Their training routines are based on improving cardio, developing power, speed and strength.

The warm-up routine in a typical BJJ club is quite tame by wrestling standards and does not focus too heavily on overall conditioning. By all accounts Carlson Gracie is the only master to combine power and technique with BJJ, however, he was considered to be somewhat of an outcast. If his ideology was welcomed and readily adopted when it was first introduced, BJJ would be more evolved than it currently is and would not be lagging behind wrestling when it comes to the offensive.

Within the subculture of wrestling, being mental attuned to the sport as well as possessing the right attitude and physique is what makes a wrestler stand apart from the masses. Collegiate wrestling is not a popular sport outside the US mid-west and to devote oneself to this requires true dedication. There is no professional wrestling league beyond college nor are there any venues in which one can earn a living within this sport—the Pam American games or the Olympics are really the only avenues to follow outside school. Wrestlers partake in this activity because they thoroughly enjoy the sport.

This in part explains the physical conditioning and attitude of wrestlers within MMA—they have an endless amount of energy, incredible strength, boundless stamina and a will and desire to compete and win. Though their skill set may not be quite fitting for the octagon, they more than make up for it in tenacity. It is hard to break the will of a real wrestler and their work ethic and determination is something that is often lacking from fighters of a different set within MMA—but this is just the humble opinion of a student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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