The Most Effective Martial Arts For Modern MMA

What I learned this past weekend after betting against Raul Rosas Jr, foolishly believing I was about to cash in on another Sean Strickland-level 6X windfall:

1. The hot-hand fallacy is very real.

2. Sometimes the odds are the odds for a reason.

3. The MMA gods are as cruel as they are fickle.

In retrospect, I should’ve known much better considering all the marketing love the UFC’s youngest-ever signee (currently 18 years old) has been receiving.

Because why would they ever wilfully derail their own hype train by throwing the kid to the lions (again)?

No… instead, they’d do the smart thing and feed him another tomato can with a resume that only looks good on paper (and Terrence Mitchell’s 14-3 record accrued via lower competition did look good on paper).

We live and learn. We learn and live.

Now, onto the meat of this week’s first info sandwich.

— GL

The Most Effective Martial Arts For Modern MMA (In Numbers)

The advent of mixed martial arts in the 90s accelerated the development of quality martial arts as a whole.

Now that disciplines were being tested against one another in regular competitions, we learned what worked, what was straight-up bullshido, as well as the techniques actually worth keeping around. Real. Bloody. Quick.

Hence why you’ll never see any Aikido (despite the assertions of Steven f***ing Seagal) or Kung Fu being used in the Octagon; with the exception of the latter’s Sanda/Sanshou (Chinese kickboxing) from the once-in-a-generation likes of Zabit Magomedsharipov (farewell, sweet Russian prince).

While a system’s efficacy will invariably depend on the practitioner themselves, if we examine mixed martial arts being executed at its highest form — i.e. champions produced within the UFC — the numbers paint a pretty clear picture.

Here are the core disciplines of UFC champions past and present (undisputed only):

1. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) — 40 UFC Champions*

2. Wrestling — 37 UFC Champions

3. Boxing — 25 UFC Champions

4. Kickboxing — 15 UFC Champions

5. Muay Thai — 13 UFC Champions

6. Karate — 6 UFC Champions

7. Taekwondo — 5 UFC Champions

8. Judo — 4 UFC Champions

9. Sambo — 3 UFC Champions

*Note: slight inflation as this includes anyone who retains a coloured or black belt included, even if they do not utilise it as heavily as someone like Charles Oliveira.

While BJJ is essential to the sport of mixed martial arts, and almost single-handedly kickstarted the entire MMA movement when Royce Gracie shocked the world at UFC 1, there is a caveat to the above (in addition to the note).

Submission and submission defence skills are as integral as, say, breathing inside the cage. Meaning it’s prevalence isn’t as indicative of its vaunted efficacy as it is just a requisite of the occupation.

For example: despite having a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, newly-crowned middleweight champ Sean Strickland only strikes these days — and won the title from Israel Adesanya on his feet across all five rounds.

Adesanya himself, a purple belt promoted by the legendary Andre Galvao, has also notably avoided grappling at all costs throughout his eight successful title fights.

Point of fact, the BJJ purists like Claudio Puelles, Ryan Hall, and even ONE FC’s Garry Tonon are beginning to be exposed as one-dimensional in recent years. Because this ain’t the 90s anymore.

BJJ is no longer some “mysterious” lesser-known art form obscured from the world by a lack of both internet connectivity and regional presence. There are practically as many academies as there are McDonald’s locations these days. If you don’t mix the MA in MMA, you’ll find yourself drowning in deep waters sooner or later.

It’s like that Bruce Lee quote about someone who’s wrestled and boxed for a year being able to beat a lifelong “martial artist” or a single discipline.

ICYMI: The Monday Round-Up

Upcoming Events

• September 24th [1 AM AEST]
  Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs Fabian Edwards
  3Arena, Dublin | Ireland

• September 24th [6 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night: Rafael Fiziev vs Matteusz Gamrot
  UFC APEX, Las Vegas | US

• September 30th [10 AM AEST]
  ONE Fight Night: Stamp Fairtex vs Ham Seo Hee
  Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang | Singapore

• October 8th [7 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night: Grant Dawson vs Bobby Greeh
  UFC APEX, Las Vegas | US

• October 8th [10 AM AEST]
  Bellator 300: Ryan Bader vs Linton Vassell II
  Pechanga Arena, San Diego | US

• October 15th [7 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night: Sodiq Yusuff vs Edson Barboza
  UFC APEX, Las Vegas | US

• October 22nd [1 AM AEST]
  UFC 294: Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira II
  Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates

• November 5th [7 AM AEST]
  UFC Fight Night: Curtis Blaydes vs Jailton Almeida
  Ginasio Do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo | Brazil

• November 12th [10 AM AEST]
  UFC 295: Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic
  Madison Square Garden, New York | US