BJJ in MMA — Everything You Need To Know
BJJ plays a big role in modern MMA, and in some way, the sport wouldn’t exist, at least in this form, without BJJ and the famous Gracie family. Gracie deserves a lot of credit for pioneering MMA in some way and proving that, in the early stages, BJJ was the most dominant martial art of them all. But what about the modern days? Is BJJ still the best base for MMA?
In short, BJJ is and always will be present in modern MMA simply because of its effectiveness when it comes to grappling and ground fighting. Not a single martial art out there would teach you how to attack or defend on the ground better than BJJ.
However, MMA has evolved a lot since the early 90s and in this day and age, being one-dimensional does not work anymore. Even the most skilled BJJ athletes like Royce Gracie would need to develop other skills to deal with the modern competition.
Stay with us to learn more about BJJ in MMA, and is it as important as it once was.
Is BJJ still effective in MMA?
Yes, BJJ is still effective in MMA, and it will likely always be. In fact, it is fair to say that you can’t expect to do well or succeed in cage fighting without solid BJJ skills, no matter how skilled you are in other areas of the game. Sooner or later, you will find yourself rolling on the ground with an elite grappler, and it would be just a matter of seconds before you tap out or blackout.
The other thing is, there are no substitutes or alternatives. Not a single martial art out there is better when it comes to ground fighting.
Back in the 90s and early UFC events, MMA fighters were experts in one martial art and the world saw many “style vs style” matchups organized under limited rules. Thanks to Royce Gracie, BJJ emerged as the most effective of them all. A 170-pound Gracie beat all the jacked wrestlers, boxers, kickboxers, and karatekas, often twice as big as he was, and BJJ ruled the competition for many years. But this dominance began to decline as soon as the fighters began cross-training and developing all-around skills.
So in modern MMA, you can’t survive without ground skills, but also, you neither can survive relying on BJJ only, and that’s the whole point. MMA has evolved so much that BJJ went from being the most important martial art to being one of the most important elements of the sport. Each MMA fighter with a strong grappling base MUST train in other martial arts if they are serious about their careers.
Is BJJ still a good base for MMA?
Yes, BJJ is a great base for MMA, and it has been like that since the beginnings of the sport. In fact, one study has shown that BJJ has produced the second most UFC champions in history, with wrestling being in the first place. Most coaches, fighters, and other experts agree that BJJ and Wrestling are by far the best bases for cage fighting, and here is why.
Wrestling or BJJ — Which One is Better?
In the grappling circuits, you can often hear people arguing about which style is better, wrestling or BJJ? But we…medium.com
BJJ matches well against other styles, and it is not hard to spot why. Trained grapplers usually have a much easier time defending against strikers, and countering these attacks with grappling. This is mainly because blocking and throwing strikes are natural reactions. It is also a natural motion that is much easier to learn than how to grapple.
But on the other side, trained strikes do not have a clue how to defend against takedowns, positions, chokes, and joint locks. You can be the strongest and most skilled striker, but you will look like an average person in the grappling exchange. This is because grappling is all about leverage and technique and you can’t use sheer force to defend against these attacks.
Next is the learning curve. Jiu-jitsu is one of the most complex martial arts that is very hard to learn and it also takes a lot of time. It is often seen as a human chess match simply because there are too many variables. Rather than relying on sheer force with limited technique, BJJ is all about weight distribution, balance, coordination, leverage, and technique. On average, it takes between 7 and 10 years to reach a black belt rank, often even more than that.
So, once a BJJ athlete switches over to MMA, they will need around 1 year of hard Muay Thai training to develop solid skills, maybe even less than that. However, a fighter with a base in boxing or Thai boxing will have to spend many, many years training in BJJ, and still have a hard time defending against elite grapplers.
Gi or No-Gi BJJ for MMA?
No-Gi BJJ training is a better option if you want to later switch over to MMA fighting, and the reason is obvious. In Gi training, all students must wear a Gi uniform that includes a jacket (top) and pants made out of thick cotton. No-Gi students wear a rush-guard or just shorts, which is more in line with MMA where fighters compete wearing shorts and a pair of open-fingered gloves.
Due to the lack of clothing, No-Gi differs a lot because the action is much faster, provides less friction, and fewer grips, and it better suits an MMA where you have striking involved on the ground.
But, do not underestimate the power of Gi training. The action is a bit slower and the emphasis is on technique and positioning rather than speed and raw strength. It does a much better job of teaching you proper technique and procedures how to escape from certain positions or submissions, and how to attack.
This is the main reason why it is often recommended that you start your BJJ journey in Gi training to develop a strong base and proper technique. Later on, you can start switching to No-Gi.
What are the downsides of BJJ in MMA?
BJJ is a highly effective martial art when it comes to ground fighting. But, fighting on the ground is just one aspect of MMA where fighters are also allowed to strike in the standup and in the clinch. BJJ is limited in these aspects because it won’t teach you how to throw or defend against punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, not even the basics. It entirely focuses on grappling and ground fighting and totally ignores all other aspects of cage fighting, or fighting in general.
If you want to be a successful MMA fighter, being skilled in BJJ is not enough and you would have to cross-train some striking arts like boxing or Muay Thai. The times when Royce Gracie dominated the game with only BJJ skills are long gone. Still, the lack of striking is not a huge downside. All other martial arts like wrestling, judo, boxing, or Muay Thai are limited in certain areas when it comes to MMA. There’s no such thing as the ideal martial art that will prepare you for all aspects of the game.
Who has the best BJJ skills in MMA?
Throughout MMA history, there have been many great fighters who have built their success on utilizing high-level BJJ skills. Here are some of the most famous ones:
Charles Oliveira — is the UFC champ who, as of 2022, holds a record for most submission finishes in UFC history. Apart from his great BJJ skills, Oliveira also has a strong Muay Thai game which he showed in his title fight against Michael Chandler. But still, BJJ remains his main weapon.
Shinya Aoki — is an MMA legend and one of the greatest submission finishers in history. He has over 30 submission finishes on his record and is considered to be one of the greatest fighters outside the UFC.
Brian Ortega — is a Gracie black belt and probably the most dangerous BJJ fighter on the UFC roster. He is one of those tricky fighters who start threatening with submissions as soon as the fight hits the ground, and he can get you in trouble in a blink of an eye.
Best Female BJJ fighters in MMA
BJJ has been a key part of MMA fighting since day one, and it’s fair to say you can’t succeed in MMA without BJJ…medium.com
