Anyone else think that MMA success has shifted more to strikers?

Question

The Gracie's came along and submitted the martial art world. For a while it seemed that all that mattered was how good an MMA fighter was at submissions. Now over the years as the submission game has been brought out into the main stream it has been neutralized much of the time. At the last UFC it was for the most part the strikers who are dominating. Great strikers are learning the right amount of grappling enough to win. It seems that a great striker with decent ground and take down defense beats a great grappler with decent stand up. I guess I'm saying stand up has become the competitive edge. Do you all agree or not?

Answer 1

Yes, I think strikers are having more success in MMA.

A striker with KO power and fast hands/feet can get away with only training:

1. Strikes (offense and defense)
2. Take Down Defense
3. Positional Escapes (Escape Mount, Side Control, Back, etc.)
4. Submission Escapes (Escape Chokes, Arm Locks, Leg/Foot Locks, Sweeps, etc.)

Grapplers have to train:

1-4 Above plus
5. Take Downs (Judo Throws, Wrestling Take Downs, etc.)
6. Submissions (Chokes, Arm Locks, Foot/Leg Locks, Sweeps, etc.)

So with less things to train the striker can have an advantage over a grappler and spend more time on developing his needed skills to win.

Answer 2

It's a perpetual pendulum. As grappling gets more and more popular, more and more people practice against grappling and fewer and fewer worry about striking. Strikers therefore have more grapplers to work with, and can practice against grapplers where as grapplers don't bother to practice against strikers. Slowly, the strikers gain recognition until it's "well known" that grappling is nothing against striking. Then the pendulum is on the other side, and grapplers are the odd bunch out, they're able to practice against strikers, they learn the way strikers move, get good at controlling strikers and after a while it becomes "well known" that striking is no where near as good as grappling. Then the cycle starts over and we go on forever. In short, the "best style" is not so much a matter of "best", but more a matter of "best against him." Like Paper, Rock, Scissors.

Answer 3

I don't know...they might have, but i still dont' think there are enough strikers. Martial arts is suppose to be balanced and all, its a way of life. Wrestlers and the non striking styles offer great self defense techniques....but UFC is a sport.

I'll pay the $40 to order these fights, but soon as i see two guys rolling on the ground i'll step outside for a smoke.

I don't' wanna see the best techniques...i wanna see someone bleeding profusely or have multiple bones broken. I also wish there would be more taunting in the rivalries.

I hate Ortiz...not a fan of shamrock either, but in those fights, tito was the dominant fighter. I would've rather seen him ***** slap shamrock a few times instead of taking him out right away. Or like knocking shamrock down and instead of finishing him, walk away and taunt shamrocks corner.

Answer 4

Its hard to say since it used to be that MMA was almost all about JiuJitsu(sp) and submissions. Rarely did guys get truly KTFO. Now that a new generation has come, you're starting to see guys with striking power that use ground game as a last resort. You also see guys like Tito Ortiz that use a hybrid style of taking a guy to the mat and then striking to take him out.

You'll notice the best fighters still have the skills of both. Matt Hughes has striking power, yes, but he also has a respectable ground game. Georges St. Pierre is the same way. Look at the guys in the 155lb class and watch the way they shift styles as easily as most of us blink. A good striker can always be matched by a better striker, but a better FIGHTER will always take out a good striker.

Unless you're arrogant like Tito Ortiz, then you're doomed to job to Chuck Liddell forever.

Answer 5

That's only because they've changed the rules to favor the strikers so they can sell more PPV's and get the Feds(John McCain) off their back. Old rules with no rounds, no restarts, and more brutality would favor more Ju Jitsu and Grappling because they want to get you to the ground and keep you there. Besides all these guys are experts in the other styles anyways, Liddell was a wrestler in college, Wanderlei is a ju jitsu black belt, Gomi was a wrestler before striker, Dan Henderson was an Olympic wrestler, Fedor was a russian sambo champ, Hughes all american wrestler, BJ Penn black belt ju jitsu, Rampage=wrestler, etc,etc,list can go forever. Facts are you need to be schooled in multiple aspects of the fight game. Take a guy like Stefan Leko one of the best kick boxers in the world gets submitted by Ogama who is a world class ju jitsu practioneer in like 2 minutes. I think its more of the fact that all the fighters have had to learn how to strike to compete, where as before all the strikers had to learn the ground game to compete, just shows that MMA has gone full circle to be most evolved fighting style. All the guys need muay thai, ju jitsu, and grappling skills to compete. And ofcourse Muay Thai is most superior, it always has been.

Answer 6

Hey lets get real for a second. If you follow the UFC as I have, I'm sure you see the rule changes being made to suit the striker. It's all about the ratings and ticket sales. U.S. fans do not get a rise from ground technique as they do a good connecting cross. The reality is that strikers put on a good ol' american brawl. They fill seats and lots of beer.

Answer 7

I agree wholeheartedly. If you look at it carefully, there's only a few things you can really do on the ground; on your feet, though, your possibilities are endless. Stances, combinations, blocks, and attacks can all be interchanged and can be extremely confusing when you pit a grappling master against a striking master. I think fighters should balance it and master both. If your skill isn't balanced, your weakness will be too easy to expose.

Answer 8

MMA has evolved thanks to BJJ. now you can't just wait untill a guy get tired and choke him out anymore. But MMA is a sport and has convensions like any other sport. Submission guys do great if they don't get knocked out and stand up guys do great if they don't get arm barred. still sweet to watch. and yes better than the 20 minutes of Royce clinging to Dan Severn or whatever.