Originally Posted by
David Rosado
Not necessarily. I think he's just talking about BJJ in general. BJJ can adapt to the rules and be effective. Like I've mentioned too many times already (Bit of a Maia Fanboy), I really feel like Maia has shown a great game plan for how to adapt BJJ to MMA. Just because guys are getting harder to take down doesn't mean you can't grapple. Grappling doesn't just occur when you're on the mat. What needs to be done is:
a. Learn how to safely close the distance
b. Develop a strong cage clinch game
c. Wear them down with strong clinch/ground strikes
Once you engage in the clinch, it's grapple time. Right there you're scoring points in the judges eyes. Plus, if you score the TD from there, you're in your world.....if they take YOU down....you're still in your world. That's why that cage clinch should be part of the BJJ evolution for MMA. What Maia's been doing that's genius to me is faking for the takedown and going to the back. It's a thing of beauty. And he has a killer back control.
Also, my opinion of the guard game in MMA: don't play it for longer than 2 minutes. If you're not subbing them in that time frame, you're losing points. Fight back to your feet or sweep.
A BJJ oriented fighter CAN use BJJ to win fights. They just need to know how to use it in the context of MMA rules.
/rant