What Is The Best Base For MMA?
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is the most complex combat sport and fighting system. It is the only sport that covers all the elements of fighting on the feet, in the clinch, and on the ground. The rules are flexible and enable the fighters to use techniques from different martial arts and combine them together in harmony.
Most MMA fighters come into the sport as experts in one particular martial art. This represents their “MMA base” on top of which they add more techniques to cover all the aspects of the game. And in this article, we will discuss which martial arts are the most effective and provide you with the best chance of winning.
What Is The Best Base For MMA?
According to statistics and many experts, wrestling is considered to be the best one can have when joining the sport of MMA. And this is confirmed by a study. If you focus on the UFC, wrestling has produced the most champions out of all other martial arts. The majority of UFC titleholders in history have all had some type of high school, collegiate, or even Olympic-level wrestling background.
During the early 90s, BJJ ruled the MMA world with Royce Gracie destroying the competition in the first couple of years. But wrestling would take the upper hand as the sport started to evolve and develop. Notably when skilled wrestlers started implementing submission defense and offense into their game in the mid and late 90s. Some of the most famous wrestlers of that era were Dan Severn, Frank Shamrock, and Mark Coleman.
These fighters set the blueprint for all other wrestlers on how to win fights inside the cage. And during the 2000s, the world would see many high-profile wrestlers coming into the sport and enjoying instant success. One of the biggest advantages is that they can adapt very quickly and learn on the go.
This is clearly confirmed by UFC fighters who joined the sport in their 30s, quite late. If you focus solely on fighters like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Daniel Cormier, or Yoel Romero, you will see that the only thing they have in common is a strong wrestling background.
Why is Wrestling So Dominant In MMA?
High-profile wrestlers are the ones who dictate where the match takes place inside the cage. For instance, if the opponent is a skilled striker, they will put them on their back without much resistance. Defending a well-time takedown requires a high level of skill and years of practice.
If the opponent has a dangerous submission game, they can choose to keep the fight standing. They have all the skills needed to stop BJJ takedown attacks.
So overall, wrestling matches well with all other styles. Let’s look at the other reasons why wrestling is so dominant in MMA.
Safe for beginners
This is one of the reasons why wrestling is a great base and probably the “safest” option for beginners. No matter what happens in a fight, beginners good at wrestling can choose where the fight takes place. They can fight where they feel most comfortable, and make up for the lack of other skills by solely relying on wrestling. While fighters from other arts must spend years training before making a pro debut, skilled wrestlers can do it almost instantly. Bo Nickal made his UFC debut in his second pro-MMA fight, for example.
Competition experience
High-profile wrestlers have years of National and International competition experience. In the US, for instance, amateur wrestling events are very popular and each event is sold out and televised on national TV. So wrestlers who come into MMA already know how to deal with pressure, and cameras, perform in front of a live crowd and stay calm in the heat of the moment. This gives them an advantage over fighters who didn’t have previous fighting experience.
Short learning curve
Each fighter who transitions to MMA must develop striking and grappling skills to cover all the aspects of the sport. This is where wrestling has the upper hand as it is much easier for wrestlers to learn how to strike than vice versa. For instance, wrestlers need around a year of training to develop solid boxing skills and learn how to check kicks. Or two years to become really good at it.
However, strikers need to spend many, many years working hard on the wrestling mats to learn takedowns and other aspects of grappling. They need at least five years to reach a level needed for the highest levels of the UFC, and maybe even more.
Thus, wrestlers can make a faster transition to MMA than athletes from most other martial art systems.
Fits well within the rules
The other reason why wrestling is good for MMA is judging and point-scoring criteria. Takedowns and strong top control are highly valued in MMA, and a fighter who spends more time in the top position is usually the one who wins the round/fight. Strong wrestlers are masters in scoring takedowns and maintaining top positions, so it is easier for them to win rounds.
In short, it is much easier and safer for a wrestler to get a takedown and establish strong top control, than for a striker to dominate on the feet.
Training discipline
Wrestling is physically demanding and training sessions are as intense as it gets. As a result, wrestlers are among the finest athletes and they already understand what it takes to become an MMA fighter. They all have strong work ethics and discipline and are familiar with most MMA workouts such as HIIT workouts or plyometrics.
What Are The Best Martial Arts For MMA?
Over the years, the following four martial arts have emerged as the most effective for MMA fighting:
- Boxing
- Wrestling
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- Muay Thai
Let’s take a closer look at what each of these combat systems brings to the table, and why these are so important in cage fighting.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ)
BJJ has been an integral part of MMA fighting since the early days of the sport. It was the first martial art to emerge as the most effective one, and its importance has become even bigger over the years. No matter how skilled you are in other aspects of the game, you can’t expect to do well without BJJ skills. Sooner or later, the lack of submission grappling skills would catch up on you.
To prepare for matches, most MMA fighters primarily train in no-gi styles of jiu-jitsu. Traditional gi style is also good, but no-gi fits better within the rules. First, they learn how to secure a strong grip and advance to the ground utilizing judo throws, trips, and sweeps. Once on the ground, the key is to maneuver into a dominant position and submit the opponent with chokes or joint locks.
Like wrestling, BJJ takes a lot of time to master, up to 15 years to reach a black belt rank. So naturally, this martial art is also considered as a great base for MMA. According to stats, BJJ has produced the second most UFC champions in history.
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is widely regarded as the most complete striking martial art. When it comes to cage fighting, it is seen as a total package because it prepares you for all striking scenarios. With Thai boxing, you will know how to utilize all limbs as weapons to fight at any distance and in any position.
In MMA, fighters are allowed to use all limbs to strike with punches and kicks, or elbows and knees inside the clinch. That being said, Muay Thai is the only martial art system that covers all of these aspects. It primarily focuses on vicious kicking techniques, but it also covers the fundamentals of boxing. But what makes it really practical both in MMA and self-defense is the clinch work.
Thai boxing puts a lot of emphasis on securing a dominant clinch position from which you can unload with vicious elbow and knee strikes. A single-well placed knee to the rib cage or liver can easily cause a bone fracture or temporarily shut down the liver and force the opponent to give up. The same stands for elbows that can easily cut the skin and cause deep cuts and severe bleeding.
On top of that, Muay Thai fighters have a fundamental understanding of clinch and how to stop/execute throws and trips. Upon switching to MMA, they must fully focus on grappling to develop all-around skills.
Boxing
At first glance, boxing might seem limited in cage fighting as it teaches you “only” how to use your hands to do damage. Although this is true to some degree, boxing still transitions well in MMA. Not a single other martial art will teach you better punching techniques and combos, and how to mix it all with fast footwork. Whether it’s MMA or any other type of freestyle combat, punches remain the fastest and most effective way to hurt a person in front which makes boxing very practical.
What boxing brings to the table are laser-precise boxing combos, advanced footwork, and head movement. Fighters who have good boxing skills are masters in using long-range punches such as the jab to maintain their range, do damage, or set up other attacks. At close range, they rely on head movement, footwork, and angles to create openings and counterattack. And above all, they know how to generate big power in every shot to shut your lights out with a single punch.
Overall, boxing is one of the most underrated martial arts in MMA. Though limited, it goes well in combination with other systems such as wrestling for example. In fact, the boxing-wrestling combination is considered the most effective in modern cage fighting. Some of the great examples of this skill mix are:
- Kamaru Usman
- Daniel Cormier
- Cain Valasquez
Sambo
Sambo is another versatile combat system that represents a good base for MMA. In MMA, Sambo is suppressed by similar martial arts such as BJJ. This is mainly because Sambo is not that popular outside of Russia and Eastern European countries. But this doesn’t mean it is less effective by any means.
Sambo is rooted in freestyle combat and it is composed of techniques from different striking and grappling-based martial arts. It primarily focuses on submission grappling and folkstyle wrestling and jujutsu. But, the system also includes boxing and karate techniques. The concept of competition in combat sambo is very similar to modern MMA which is the reason why Sambo fighters can make a quick transition.
In recent years, the MMA world has seen the rise of Russian fighters, and if you examine their background, you may see that the majority of them have Sambo experience. Some of the most popular sambo representatives in MMA are:
- Fedor Emelianenko
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
- Islam Makhachev
Other: Karate and Taekwondo
No one can deny that certain elements of Karate and Taekwondo are very practical.
Karate or Taekwondo on its own won’t help you as much as wrestling or Thai boxing, but incorporating some of the moves into your game is very beneficial.
What karate brings to the table are versatile kicking techniques, fast footwork, timing, and accuracy. Karatekas are masters in counter-attacking, and moving in to land a strike and out without being hit back. This karate skill is mainly influenced by the famous point-fighting rules where each clean strike brings you a point so you must be extra careful. Fighters like Robert Whittaker or Wonderboy Thompson are also masters in landing kicks from all angles and ranges, and hiding them behind punches.
The same stands for Taekwondo which, on the other side, primarily focuses on kicking techniques. When it comes to this specific technique, Taekwondo is the best. Each fighter has an amazing ability to demolish their opponents with fast and powerful kicks. Some of the most famous Taekwondo fighters in MMA are Edson Barboza, Anderson Silva, and Anthony Pettis.
Can You Start MMA Without Any Background?
Although having a martial art background is a huge plus, there are also fighters who join MMA without any previous experience. In modern times, there are plenty of MMA-based academies where people can learn all aspects of MMA under one roof. Each week consists of striking, grappling, and wrestling classes, and though training is hard, it certainly never gets boring.
Over time, students without any background will discover the area they are good at. They will progress faster in certain areas, for example in boxing than in grappling which will shape their fighting style. But bear in mind that coming in without any experience means you need to spend more time developing skills before going into the competition.
For example, people who come into the sport from wrestling or BJJ need around a year of training to make a successful transition. These fighters have a strong base to rely on, and they can quickly add other techniques to cover their weaknesses. The ones without any background need much longer, at least 3–5 years of consistent training 5–6 times a week.
So overall, yes, you can start MMA without any experience and success, but you will need more time.
Final Thoughts
MMA is the most complex combat sport, a human chess match considering all the variables. Over time, certain martial arts proved to be more effective than others, with wrestling and BJJ being the best ones. When it comes to striking, boxing and Muay Thai skills got established as mandatory, while certain elements from Taekwondo and Karate also work really well.
If you are looking for a martial art to train in and later switch to MMA then the choice is quite obvious. If you are a teenager, signing up for wrestling classes is a smart idea. Adults in their 20s, however, should consider joining the BJJ gym as this martial art fits their age better. Wrestling is still an option, but you don’t see many adults joining the classes in their 20s and starting from scratch.
People who are in love with striking should sign up for boxing or Muay Thai classes. In fact, if you are a total beginner, it’s always better to start with boxing, because it is simple and easy to learn, before switching to Muay Thai, which is more advanced.
