Dating back to the first ever UFC, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been a martial art with proven success in MMA. These days, most MMA fighters have more of a rounded game that comprises of multiple martial arts (hence the term MMA). However, one of those disciplines has to be BJJ if you want to be a successful fighter.
In this article, we shall be looking at why BJJ makes a great base for any budding MMA fighter. However, we shall also go into detail about why it’s important to train other skills as well if you want a decent career.
Table of Contents
BJJ is great for MMA
As mentioned, it goes without saying that BJJ works in MMA. Anyone who says otherwise is either a troll or delusional. Perhaps the greatest strength of using BJJ in MMA isn’t its ability to submit people though. Although this is obviously a huge benefit to any fighter, arguably it’s better to use BJJ in MMA to escape bad positions on the ground.
Without this skill, you are lost and can easily lose. Even if you are the better fighter on the feet, if you know zero about BJJ, then a single takedown could lose you the bout. So, learning how to defend yourself in mount, escape half-guard and get back to your feet, and sweep into dominant positions are crucial in MMA. It may not be as glamorous as hitting a fancy submission – but most MMA fighters will use BJJ from a defensive perspective to defend against takedowns and ground and pound.
Of course, you’ll also have the ability to use submissions as well. Obviously, this is a huge positive and can turn a losing fight into a winning one in seconds. It’s almost like the equivalent of having a knockout punch in your locker which acts as a joker card if you’re in trouble. Equally, it can make your opponents fear you and less likely to engage in grappling if you have a skilled reputation.
BJJ specialists who have switched to MMA
Over the years, there have been countless BJJ specialists who have successfully translated their ground game into MMA. For instance, you have the likes of Charles Oliveira whose main base was in BJJ before going into MMA. He became the lightweight UFC champion and was arguably one of the greatest ever in the division. When it came to submissions, he was known for using the rear naked choke from the back which proved his BJJ was top level.
On the same note, perhaps the best ever to go from BJJ to MMA was Fabricio Werdum. Another UFC champion, he was also feared when it came to grappling and even pulled off deep half guard in MMA. This sort of stuff shows the importance of being a versatile grappler.
Similarly, other BJJ fighters such as BJ Penn, Ryan Hall, Jacare Souza, Damien Maia, and Marcus Buchecha have all proven that BJJ serves as a great base when switching to MMA. It should be noted that these were all world champion black belts with years of training under their belts. A few months of a BJJ crash course sadly won’t cut it.
Not every BJJ star does well in MMA
In the name of fairness, it’s only right that we also look at other BJJ greats who haven’t done so well when trying to go into MMA. Perhaps the most noticeable of these is Marcelo Garcia who has an MMA record of 0-1. Fighting in K-1, he lost after just 20 seconds against Dae Won Kim, who would later go on to retire with a 11-7 record.
Despite having superior grappling, Garcia got knocked out which proves that MMA can be vastly different from BJJ at times. Similarly, the GOAT Roger Gracie also got knocked out, and in his one UFC fight he lost to Tim Kennedy who successfully escaped his back triangle.
This is proof that strikes change everything when it comes to BJJ and MMA. Remember, Marcelo Garcia and Roger Gracie both have legendary status and impeccable BJJ records, so this shows that sometimes, a solid BJJ base isn’t enough for MMA.
Is wrestling the best base for MMA?
In recent years, wrestling has proven to be the best base in MMA, and the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Islam Makhachev have proven this. Even before them, the likes of Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman, and Georges St Pierre proved the importance of takedowns.
Arguably, wrestling is better than BJJ as not only can it put people in bad positions on the ground, but defensively you can also escape being pinned by scrambling quickly before the position settles. In other words, there is a strong argument that wrestling is the best base for MMA. If you want to make grappling work in MMA, then this book by Randy Couture is brilliant for applying wrestling and submissions to the cage.
Putting it all together
For many years, internet warriors have debated about which martial art is the best. In this day and age, that debate seems quite petty and irrelevant. Instead, a true mixed martial artist should be just that – using a bit of everything. Whilst everyone always has their strengths and weaknesses, the best base for MMA would include a good mixture of BJJ, wrestling, boxing, and Muay Thai. If you were to get good in these areas then you would become an incredibly skilled fighter.
With this in mind, becoming a good MMA fighter certainly isn’t easy. It can take years to get competent in the aforementioned and even then, it may not be good enough. In conclusion, BJJ is great for MMA but should not be your only style.
