Has wrestling overtaken BJJ?

[George Whorewell]

With guys like Jon Jones, Velasquez, Carwin, Lesnar, Edgar, Bader, Evans, GSP and now King Mo ( I am assuming Mo won because Moussassi fought like Minataro in Pride except he went for zero submission attempts) bursting onto the scene and dominating-- has wrestling re-established itself as the best base to have in MMA?

Of course guys like the Shamrocks, Severn, Matt Hughes, Coleman Hendo etc. are all legends of the sport-- But lately I feel as if being a dominant wrestler is almost a sure fire way to guarnatee success.

Being well versed in BJJ is certainly an asset, but time and time again we have seen a great wrestler can impose his will over pretty much anybody.
 

[CARTEL]

Wrestling and striking seems to be the recipe for winning in MMA today.

[Nathan]

Personally I found it easier and faster to hit ppl than thake all the steps for a sub, If you have good striking power that is.
Also a good way to stun or create distractions for a sub. IMO a lot of the pure BJJ are short on striking power and thus have to rely on subs for the win. Of course the best stratagie is to be well versed in all styles in order to take advantage of as many openings to victory.
I personally like the kind of hobbies you can never master compleatley so there is always new things to do.

The more you know the less you know IMHO anyways

[big L dawg]

wrestling is the best base to have....

[*ChuteBoxe*]

Wrestling alone can't overtake BJJ, it's when all of those guys that are already good wrestlers, learn BJJ that truly makes them seem unstoppable.  They don't even have to be great at BJJ, they can just hit the basics and defensive BJJ hard for a couple years and solidify themselves.  The 2 really go hand in hand if you ask me.  Unless were talking old day pure wrestler vs. pure BJJ, then BJJ takes it 9/10.

[Nathan]

Yeah non rounded Wrestlers = take down after take down withnothing else I hate those fights.

[RancherRanger]

wrestling is the best base to have....

Agree.  Once wrestlers learn submission defense, they are hard to beat!

[big L dawg]

Agree.  Once wrestlers learn submission defense, they are hard to beat!

yep...If I could only pick one sport for a kid to get into it would be wrestling...It teaches so much and the discipline it takes is second to none...ha ha I remember in high school a couple football players got kicked off the team and decided to pick up wrestling they lasted 2 practices...I remember talking to one of them and he said it was the most sore and tiered he had ever been in his life after 2 days of wrestling...

[George Whorewell]

The guy who runs my school is a third degree black belt in judo, second degree in jiu jitsu, a blackbelt in kempo and kajukenbo ( and just for kicks he's also a certified Kali instructor). However, the one thing that is most impressive about him is that he wrestled in college and wrestled competitively for 15 years. The past month or so he started a class where its a little bit no gi jiu jitsu and mostly wrestling. I'm telling you, nothing I have ever done martial arts wise or athletically compares to the mentally and physically grueling nature of wrestling.

The jiu jitsu and judo black belts in the class look lost and can't hang with the orange and purple belts who have some wrestling experience. From what little experience I have, it's easy to see why wrestlers are so successful in MMA. If you can master wrestling, the other stuff should be relatively easy to take up.   

[Big-C]

Yeah non rounded Wrestlers = take down after take down withnothing else I hate those fights.

Yeah like Gsp

[americanbulldog]

I know, two time Olympian Dan Henderson had such great mount defense against BJJer Jake Shields.  He also did great against both Rodrigo and Rogerio.  His Team Quest team mate, Matt Lindland did great against Jacare, Murilo.  And Chael's win against Maia sure showed the dominance of wrestling over BJJ......Everyone trains BJJ, wrestling, etc.  Wrestlers have heavy hips and can gain positional dominance.  Better athletes win fights, everyone trains all of the above.  Such a silly assertion. 

[Nathan]

@George Wow great situation to train in! I've done both and the big differance i see is with wrestling every thing is much more forcefull. Wrestlers also know they have to be strong not just use leverage. and its kinda like your pulling the pillars from under a building. BJJ I feel like a chess match with minamal energie and useing leverage and stratagie instead of power.

Both are fun on a artistic level but, I like the straight forwardness of wrestling. Judo the things in that art useable in MMA are limited IMHO.

Judo is highly under rated for street defence however! It's amazing how fast a shoulder throw on a side walk can make 3-4 ppl decide they don't have a problem with you anymore 

[noworries]

yep...If I could only pick one sport for a kid to get into it would be wrestling...It teaches so much and the discipline it takes is second to none...ha ha I remember in high school a couple football players got kicked off the team and decided to pick up wrestling they lasted 2 practices...I remember talking to one of them and he said it was the most sore and tiered he had ever been in his life after 2 days of wrestling...

Yep.  In junior high our high school wrestling team and coach came by to put on an exhibition for the boys to help recruit wrestlers.  Our high school had some state champions and CIF champions and in California that is a big thing.  Well I kick the ass of two of them.  I literally pinned one of them and the other couldn't do shit to me.  When I got to high school though I was a more known for my baseball.  My freshman year I only weighed 130 and was too small for varsity BB.  I wrestling was one season before BB.  I went to a few wrestling practices and loved it.  But, my baseball coach did not want me to wrestle cause he was afraid I would get hurt.  So they pulled me out of wrestling.  For the next 3 years I would sneak in the wrestling room just to practice a little.  i really liked it but I wasn't allowed to actually be on the team or even officially practice.  Wrestling really builds your chracter and discipline.  It is the perfect base for everything.  I wish I could have done it.  After high school me and my best friend who was a CIF champ practiced to do AAU for awhile and I quit that.  I could do the peg board to all day long.

[OneManGang]

Its not only the wrestling in itself, its the wrestlers and the wrestling training. It is way more physical than bjj and the wrestlers simply develop into better athletes. Stronger, more explosive, better cardio, pain tolerance, competitiveness, professional organization around the athletes etc etc. I firmly believe that it is the physical and mental aspects of the wrestling training that makes wrestlers so good.

[doison]

I've always found it really interesting since MMA became "big" that it showed how effective greco-roman wrestling is. 

I remember growing up and watching movies like Bloodsport and getting into arguments with friends about which Martial Arts was the "best." 
Someone would insist on TKD, anyone taking Karate classes would insist on that, someone would swear about "Kickboxing" (I don't think we knew to differentiate between muay thai and American Kickboxing on TV), etc., etc.


Well.....the UFC starts out with the basic "purpose" of finding out which martial art is best....and it turns out that it's fucking wrestling? 
That whole time, a solid high school wrestler would put the millings to the local "TKD champ?"

I don't remember anyone ever choosing their high school wrestling training as the best martial art. lol

[Nathan]

I dont think westling or bjj are the best for street fights tho just cause you never really want to be on the groung when buddys freiends show up. Rules change which moves are effective or not. No rules is a big differance from MMA rules you dont dealwith weapons cheap shots or getting out numberd. So in that respect I'd think ground fighting is not really the best for street, which is why i got started on ground fighting late. That said however you defenitely want to be awear of bjj, and wrestling so you dont get taken down/subed your self.

just MHO from my own personal experiance.

[OneManGang]

I dont think westling or bjj are the best for street fights tho just cause you never really want to be on the groung when buddys freiends show up. Rules change which moves are effective or not. No rules is a big differance from MMA rules you dont dealwith weapons cheap shots or getting out numberd. So in that respect I'd think ground fighting is not really the best for street, which is why i got started on ground fighting late. That said however you defenitely want to be awear of bjj, and wrestling so you dont get taken down/subed your self.

just MHO from my own personal experiance.

Agreed, but wrestling is as much about staying on your feet and avoiding being taken down as it is taking it to the ground. In a situation with several opponents, staying on your feet is vital and TKD or boxing may not be the best for that. A mix of boxing and greco-roman is probably very good for the streets. One-on-one, BJJ is amazing though.