Wrestling vs Jiu Jitsu rant
(Cliff's notes at the bottom in red)
I know I've heard people say, it's all part of the same thing. Well, yeah in one part....but at the same time, they are distinct. And usually when a predominantly JJ guy faces a wrestler, we know why the JJ guy lost. UFC rules. Haha, no seriously, it's because the other guy used superior wrestling. But that's not what my rant's about. My rant is about evolution.
As an observer of the sport since the first UFC, I have seen the evolution of MMA. It went from JJ dominatingm then wrestlers, then strikers learned counter grappling and took over for a while. The wrestlers learned some boxing and JJ and have taken over again.
That being said, I'm far from an expert, but I have what I believe to be a well informed opinion on where JJ should go in order to become more competitive in MMA. Well, not just JJ guys. But strikers too. It's starting to get realllllllly boring to see great fighters get wrestlefucked to a decision. So my thoughts:
1: Don't wrestle a wrestler. Accept the reality that eventually you're going to get taken down. Strategize around that. I recall Eddie saying something along the lines of "my wrestling sucked, so I'd just pull half guard." He knew that he had a short amount of time to use his skills. Wrestling wasn't his skill so he gave up on it. Well, here's the thing, if you fight a pro boxer are you going to stand with them? No. What if you know head movement and know how to bob and weave properly? Still no, right? Why? Because that guy's been boxing as long as you've been grappling. They are better than you are. If you get into a boxing match, you're either going to get knocked out, or you're losing a lopsided decision.
From what I see, the best strategy against a wrestler is to NOT wrestle with them. I hate seeing strategies where guys make their game plan, "sprawl". Well, you're gonna get taken down eventually, so what then? So you've spent 3 minutes waiting for a takedown, being inactive, and then they shoot. Even if they don't hit the TD, the judges are going to count that for aggression and you're down on points for doing nothing. Even worse is that he's most likely gonna take you down anyway so you wasted time for nothing (point of reference, Kenny Florian's strategy against Gray Maynard). That doesn't mean don't sprawl at all. That doesn't mean you should just let him take you down. But don't let the guy pin you against the cage for 5 minutes at a time (point of reference: Couture vs Brandon Vera)
While you're wrestling with him to avoid a take down that he WILL eventually get, you're losing on points. The odds are against you in that situation. From what I've seen, it seems roughly 7/10 times when a good wrestler has you pinned against the fence to take you down, eventually he will get that takedown. So during the time where you're getting wrestlefucked, you gotta make it look good for the judges while at the same time doing damage. Instead of concentrating ALL your effort in defending the TD, spend a minimum of 40% of your efforts in hurting your opponent.
In a situation where you're pinned against the fence while the guy's going for a TD, punish them. Make them hurt. Elbow them every where that's legal (point of reference, Feijao vs King Mo). Even if they take you down, I'll tell you this much: once you guys are back on your feet in the next round (or hopefully in the same round) they're most likely not going to want to be in that position again. Advantage: you. That's one less takedown attempt you have to worry about. You may even get a TKO. Another option is to disrupt their breathing. They're expending a lot of energy trying to take you down. If you have a hand over their mouth and nose, or a not quite locked choke, it may not tap them, but it'll definitely help to tire them out. And you definitely want a tired wrestler in the later rounds. Basically, during that moment of positional disadvantage, do some things that later on will work to YOUR advantage.
2: Sweeps sweeps sweeps: Why don't I see more sweep attempts in MMA? I mean, if you're going to end up on your back anyway, might as well do something from there. IMO the time for submissions off your back isn't exactly dead. However, the time for sweep games to improve has arrived. We all know, no matter how much you attack off your back, if you spent the majority of the fight on your back, the judges are most likely going to give it to the guy on top. So why stay on your back and keep firing submissions? IMO what should happen is guys should start mastering their sweep game. I mean, we all know most wrestlers aren't comfortable on their backs. So I mean, sure, they take you down, but if you can reverse it and put them on their back, their takedown only played into your game. And now YOU can win on points. I know it's easier said than done, but with JJ not exactly being high level in MMA save for a few guys, I'm thinking any guys who seriously train and strategize to use sweeps for an advantage are going to do well against wrestlers.
3: strike counters. Namely knee and uppercut counters. My logic behind this is similar to my logic about doing damage while against the cage during a TD defense. You know you're most likely gonna get taken down anyway. So I mean, what's there to lose? But if you land that knee or uppercut when they're on their way in, you just swung the pendulum in your favor. And if you miss, make sure you miss with bad intentions. Let them feel the wind of your fist or knee whizz right by their ears so they know they were inches from getting KTFO. Why? Because again, that will make them just a bit more hesitant about going for a standard double/single. So that's one less attack that you have to be seriously worried about. I mean, it doesn't mean that they won't shoot again. I'm just saying it'll give them something to think about. I remember when Ricco Rodriguez fought the Snowman he landed that flying knee like 3 times and TKO'd him on the 3rd one. IDK but to me, that is way deadlier than a sprawl.
Ultimately my point is, if you're not a boxer, don't box a boxer. If you're not a wrestler, don't wrestle a wrestler. They've likley been wrestling longer than you've even known about MMA. They will take you down. Concentrate on other things. Use YOUR skill set to counter their wrestling. Don't try to use your inferior wrestling to counter their superior wrestling.
Cliffs notes:
Don't wrestle a wrestler. They're better. It's not smart.
Accept that you're most likely going to get taken down and concentrate on punishing them for every takedown attempt on the way down. Balance your efforts between defending the TD and punishing them.
Focus more on sweeps than submissions. In MMA being on your back is a death sentence. Work on either standing up or reversing to get back on top. Fighting for a submission for 3 five minute rounds will likely result in a decision loss. Play smart. Work sweeps. Use failed sweeps to set up subs. Use failed subs to set up sweeps.
Use more strikes to counter wrestlers. Make them fear taking you down. Feints or even failed strikes will make them think twice about shooting without setting it up. Setting it up means striking. That puts it in your world (if you're a striker). And if they take you down, you have sweeps.
I'm open to criticism. I'm ok with being wrong. I'd love to have a good discussion on this subject.
