In part one of this article, I explained the basic errors in the current stand-up training of the vast majority of MMA strikers. In part two I will cover how it is a direct result of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Olympic wrestling. It’s no news to anyone that the first four American MMA events, UFCs 1-4, were basically an advertisement for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Royce Gracie (14-3-3) faced a group of hand picked opponents, many of whom had no business being in the ring at all. The result was Royce winning several fights by submission, fights that couldn’t be stopped by the referee until UFC 3. Starting with Kimo Leopoldo (10-7-1) in UFC 3, “The Giant Killer” Keith Hackney (2-2) and “The Beast” Dan Severn (95-16-7) in UFC 4 and finally “The Worlds Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (27-14-2) in UFC 5, the way to defeat Gracie Jiu-Jitsu became apparent. Either keep it standing as Hackney and Kimo tried (Kimo tried to stand out of the guard the entire bout but Royce kept a death grip on his hair to prevent it) or smother it with solid top game and game and small ground ‘n’ pound as Severn and Shamrock (successfully) tried. It is also important to note that though Royce defeated Kimo, Keith, and Dan, he failed to finish any of them quickly enough to avoid the end of a round in the modern rules. UFC 5 started the reign of the wrestler in full as Dan Severn dominated the entire field and Ken Shamrock shut Gracie down a beat him to a pulp for 36 minutes. Over the next several tournaments, we saw it continue as strong collegiate wrestlers like “The Predator” Don Frye (20-8-1), “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10), and “The Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr (15-11). Successful skilled strikers like “Mo” Maurice Smith (13-13) and “The King of the Streets” Marco Ruas (9-4-1) got lost in the mix, with the only credit for being a dangerous striker being given to one punch brawlers like “Tank” David Abbot (10-14) and “The Polar Bear” Paul Varelans (10-9) neither of whom managed to win a title in any organization or put together winning streaks of more than two fights in their careers. Let’s explore why this happened. Continue reading »
