The Further Evolution of MMA

It's this humble writer's opinion that we are finally seeing in the game today the strikers standing up and (yes, pun intended) pushing their collective way to the forefront. For years grapplers have dominated MMA but finally we are seeing some strikers excel. And it's not just Chuck Liddell I am talking about here. A short list would include :


Tim Sylvia
Andrei Arlovski
Mark Hominick
Sam Stout
David Loiseau
Luke Cummo
and maybe, hopefully, Anderson Silva

Now it's not to say that strikers have never acheived anything in MMA. Not at all, but by and large it has been the grapplers. First the Jiu-Jitsu wave led by the Gracie clan. Then, and especially in America and the UFC, the wrestlers. BJJ was dominant for so long because of the lack of knowledge of submission moves but now that awareness has circulated they aren't as dominant, if you don't have some ground and pound to soften up your foe then against a decent fighter you just won't win. More recently the wrestlers have taken over with their ability to control their opponents body. At first they were susceptible to the submissions holds but now that they are training to recognize and defend they have, in my opinion, become the most dominant group. i.e. Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, GSP, Ed Herman, Randy Cout....okay let's just say Team Quest and stop there.


It's no surprise that the standup guys have borrowed from the grapplers, and more specifically the wrestlers to finally push themselves to a higher level. Liddell is the best but not the only example of this. Other high level examples would include Pride's Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson (formerly of Pride) and Cro Cop.

Part of wrestling is controlling the level and that is what had been lacking in the typical strikers arsenal. Developing a strong sprawl is now fundamental to excelling in MMA. All the Muay Thai, boxing or Tae Kwon Do credentials in the world don't do a damn bit of good once you're underneath the next NCAA champ to hit the Octagon. It's just plain fact.

Defend the takedown. Keep things standing and then finally let the grapplers get a taste of what it's like to be out of their element. From the big picture vantage point it plays out like a chess game.....but who makes the next move? I don't know but I will be watching!