What if R Rousey makes Judo the #1 way to take people down?

[Will Thaxton]

Love seeing the sport evolve before our eyes.

[Brian Matthews]

I always thought Judo was underrepresented in MMA. I don't think it will be the go-to art for takedowns in MMA for a while. Wrestling is still a much more common art in the US and judo will always be less accessible. Plus, I think many fighters will be nervous about exposing their back, which is a risk off a failed judo throw.

Hopefully, the Eddie Bravo of judo emerges.

[Kurzy]

I always thought judo was the #1 way to take people down....

[Chris Herzog]

I always thought Judo was underrepresented in MMA. I don't think it will be the go-to art for takedowns in MMA for a while. Wrestling is still a much more common art in the US and judo will always be less accessible. Plus, I think many fighters will be nervous about exposing their back, which is a risk off a failed judo throw.

Hopefully, the Eddie Bravo of judo emerges.

There are only a select number of throws that expose your back during throws in Judo as in Wrestling. The majority of the throws in Judo do not expose the back.

[JeremyDeschner]

Whoever she fights next better practice 10,000 arm bar escapes per day.

[Psylo]

I think wrestling can trump judo. It's why you don't see much of any successful judo players in the UFC. You can shoot a double leg from distance whereas in judo you must be in the clinch to get it. To be honest I don't think women's MMA has much competition in terms of competitors and a judo Olympic medalist is taking advantage of that.

[Jon Helton]

Whoever she fights next better practice 10,000 arm bar escapes per day.

I'm pretty sure Kaufman did that.

[Will Thaxton]

You used to hear people say if you want to fight MMA you need to study Kick Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling. Now maybe Judo will have to be something everyone is familiar with.

[David Rosado]

Love seeing the sport evolve before our eyes.

I agree. We've seen judo used effectively in MMA before. But Ronda is just on another level. That's why she makes it look easy. Plus, if I can be honest, women's MMA is still about 2 steps behind men's MMA. That's saying a lot because they've actually closed the gap quite a bit. Point I'm making is that part of Ronda's success is her high level skill. Something that requires mastery, not just practice. And the other thing is that her competition isn't really the highest level.

I'm pretty sure Kaufman did that.

True. Hahah.

I think wrestling can trump judo. It's why you don't see much of any successful judo players in the UFC. You can shoot a double leg from distance whereas in judo you must be in the clinch to get it. To be honest I don't think women's MMA has much competition in terms of competitors and a judo Olympic medalist is taking advantage of that.

I was thinking along these lines, but I don't think it's about which trumps which. Styles make fights. A double leg player will have trouble with guys like Dominic Cruz, Aldo, Machida, JDS...because they control the distance and makes the double leg risky or just totally ineffective. Getting them in a clinch is a struggle too. Styles make fights.

I've always said that Judo is the safer take down art though. Shooting for the double leaves you open for knees. Or you end up on sprawl bottom, which also sucks. And considering that most fights end up in the clinch, it's wiser to work Judo and greco. IMO this is why Randy was so dominant for so long.

I'd love to see more Judo used in MMA. But I don't think Ronda will be the one to cause it. Usually high level MMA evolves based on what people find effective in the UFC. Example, capoeira wheel kicks have been used effectively in MMA. No one in the UFC is using it though. And I saw a guy years before Anderson get a KO via front snap kick. But no one in the UFC started using it. But once Anderson landed it, everyone started trying it. Aoki's been using rubber guard effectively for years. Yet no champs are using it in the UFC. So until someone in the top 10 uses Judo effectively often enough for people to take notice, I don't see anyone rushing to adopt it any time soon.

[John Flores]

You don't even really HAVE to question the power of Judo....I mean look at Chris Herzog..Haha. But seriously, like Eddie says, you should get the best of everything, and I think Judo is great! So it would be wise to put some Judo in your game along with wrestling, because it'll make you develop a SICK clinch game. And like a lot of things, it'll translate great into Jiu Jitsu.