BJJ is one of the most effective martial arts on the planet, but adapting it for use in MMA still requires some changes. Grappling alone was enough to dominate the field of opposition back at UFC 1, but the game has changed dramatically since then. In a world where there are no more real surprises and every fighter has years of grappling under their belt, a different approach is required. Any BJJ competitor who has success in MMA today is only able to do so by learning how to adapt their skills to the new environment, along with developing a whole new range of skills as well.
How Do You Adapt BJJ For MMA?
There are many different styles used in BJJ and some are naturally a lot closer to what would be needed to succeed in MMA. Those who pull guard and rely heavily on lapel systems in the gi or attacking the legs in no gi will have to make quite a few changes, whereas those who wrestle and focus on pinning in top positions are already pretty close to begin with. It’s not that anyone will be incapable of adapting though of course, some just might have more work to do than others. That work can be done with a dedicated coach, or even through the use of instructionals focused on the topic.
Learn Effective Ground And Pound
A lot of people assume that there isn’t anything technical involved in ground and pound, and it’s easy to make that mistake if all you see is wild finishes. What leads up to that finish is often precise movement and grips used to control an opponent and open up the room for strikes. There’s also the knowledge of what strikes to throw from each specific position, and the understanding of when to throw them. All of this combines to turn a good grappler into a fierce fighter on the ground and leads to more finishes, or at least winning rounds more convincingly.
Start Snatching Submissions
One of the biggest differences in BJJ for MMA and BJJ in it’s own ruleset is the amount of time available to work. Most high-level BJJ matches are contested over 10 minutes or more and both competitors are forced to engage in grappling, whereas MMA rounds only last 5 minutes and an opponent might be avoiding the ground at all costs. Because of that, a methodical approach working towards setting up the perfect submission is very difficult to pull off. Some of the best submission-finishers in MMA instead hunt for the submission aggressively and often as soon as the match hits the ground.
Work On Your Wrestling
The lack of wrestling in BJJ is one of the most common criticisms of the sport and even the best wrestlers under BJJ rules might struggle in MMA. Not only is the style of wrestling significantly different with strikes involved, but the standard of opponent is significantly higher too. Without a solid level of wrestling for MMA underneath them, even the most talented BJJ competitor in the world is going to struggle to put their skills to use. It’s a very long road to walk and it can be challenging but becoming even a decent wrestler is going to dramatically improve a BJJ competitor’s chances of winning.
Start Standing Up
One of the easiest traps for any BJJ competitor to fall into is to be happy playing guard. There’s nothing wrong with working for sweeps and submissions from the bottom in Jiu-Jitsu because the opponent has to engage and standing up just resets the battle. The difference in MMA is that an opponent can simply stay heavy and wait for the referee to stand you up, even landing some strikes in the process. As a result, you need to start standing up from the bottom as well. This means that the opponent now has to work to keep you there and will open themselves up to sweeps or submissions when they do so.
Attack The Back
It’s very tough to finish submissions from the bottom in MMA and finishing them from the top requires multiple stages of successful grappling. The absolute king of submissions in MMA is the rear-naked choke, because fighters will often be forced to expose their back in an attempt to stand up. Getting good at taking the back and finishing the choke from there is an easy way to massively increase your chances of finishing the fight in general. Even if you aren’t able to sink in the choke, back control is also a fantastic position to strike from and build up damage.
Conclusion: The Biggest Part Of Adapting BJJ For MMA
All five of these things to focus on when adapting BJJ for MMA are centred around the changes that need to be made to your grappling style. The biggest thing that any grappler needs to do is to actually become a confident and dangerous striker. Even with the perfect approach and gameplan, a good striker always has a clear path to victory against a one-dimensional grappler. Charles Oliveira is one of the best MMA grapplers in the world with more UFC submission wins than anyone else, but it was only when his striking reached the same level as his grappling that he hit the peak of his career.
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