Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling in MMA
They’re Not so Different
Well, they are but they aren’t. A question on Quora made me think about how they’re both necessary in MMA but there are groups of people that think one works better than the other. I do feel like wrestling is the best base for MMA, but I don’t think you can leave out the submission aspect when a fight hits the ground.
This was the question asked on Quora:
What is the reason behind most UFC fighters choosing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) over wrestling in MMA?
My answer was that the submission aspect of grappling isn’t really covered in wrestling the way most folks know and come into wrestling. Unless they’re coming from catch wrestling.
Since the very first UFC event, which had no rules and was more a “style-vs-style” tournament, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) cemented its place as required training for what would become mixed martial arts (MMA). Royce Gracie won the first few of those events proving that BJJ works in a real fight against other real fighters.
Wrestling is great. Wrestlers who get into BJJ tend to progress faster in the art because they are already comfortable on the ground and can get to strong positions faster than someone who has never wrestled. From the fighters I have talked to, the submission…
