MMA or Mixed Martial Arts is a combination or hybrid of the most effective martial arts techniques for one on one fighting in a cage under a particular rule set.
Over time from the very first UFC where Gracie Jiu Jitsu dominated and introduced the world to the effectiveness of ground fighting to be able to submit and defeat a larger stronger opponent, MMA has become more exceptionally developed into a style all of its own.
However as a mixed or hybrid style of modern martial arts, MMA is still a composite of the most effective martial arts techniques for one on one fighting in a cage.
And as such MMA through its own development, has incorporated different martial arts to become the highest level of fighting in combat sports as seen in the UFC on a weekly basis.
But just what are the best martial arts for MMA?
The best martial arts for MMA in terms of striking, stand up grappling, takedowns and submissions are discussed in this post.
But it should be noted that MMA is now a distinct and unique style of it’s own.
And while it takes the most effective techniques (for cage fighting under rules) from different styles, there is no one style that is the best for MMA.
Instead cross-training in different styles and taking the best techniques of each in terms of the main areas of MMA below is what makes a successful mixed martial artist:
- Striking – Karate, Muay thai and Boxing are the best MMA applicable striking martial arts
- Stand up grappling (clinch) – Muay thai is hands the best MMA applicable martial art for stand up grappling i.e the clinch
- Takedowns – Wrestling would probably the best style for MMA takedowns
- Submissions – Judo and BJJ/submisison grappling are the best styles for MMA submissions
So let’s look at the best styles and their techniques for each of the different areas of MMA listed above.
Best Striking Martial Arts for MMA
Striking is a major, major part of MMA today.
Early UFC’s proved that when inexperienced with groupd fighting a striker could be neutralixed, taken down and submitted, as shown by Royce Gracie in the early UFCs against striking styles such as Boxing and Karate.
MMA fighters today are more well rounded and have developed ‘anti-jiu jitsu’ to be able to keep the fight standing and utilize their strengths in striking.
And the best striking styles for MMA that have proven themselves in the cage and that make up any MMA fighters training include:
- Karate
- Boxing
- Muay thai/Kickboxing
Karate in MMA
Karate is one of the most effective striking martial arts in MMA.
With a variety of punches and kicks designed to cause damage and KO an opponent, the different styles of Karate that have shown to be effective in MMA utilizes speed, evasiveness and unpredictability.
MMA and UFC champions who have successfully used Karate in the cage and who come from a KArate background include:
George St Pierre – Kyokushin 3rd Dan black belt and one of the most dominant UFC champions in history.
Stephen Thompson – fifth-degree black belt in Tetsushin-ryū karate and one of the most exciting strikers in the UFC today
Lyoto Machida – 3rd degree shotokan black belt and probably the most recognisable Karate specialist in MMA as well as a former UFC champion
Boxing in MMA
Boxing is an incredibly useful style to have as an MMA fighter.
And boxing is a part of most MMA fighters training with dedicated boxing sessions included as part of overall MMA training for most fighters.
Boxing techniques are very effective in MMA striking when adapted for the MMA cage.
And some of the most successful MMA fighters that come from a boxing background include:
Holly Holm – before MMA, Holly was a pro boxer and a WBF, WBA, WBC, and IBA world title holder. All this before she became a UFC champion.
Cody Garbrandt – former UFC champion known for his fast and heavy hands, Garbrandt was a great amateur boxer with a record of 32-0 before taking up MMA
Conor Macgregor – another UFC champion who utilised their boxing skills to great effective in the MMA cage. Macgregor was an amateur competitive boxer and his high level boxing, especially timing and accuracy of his punches are what made him a great MMA fighter and UFC champion.
Best Grappling Styles for MMA
Grappling is an incredibly important part of MMA and without knowledge of grappling, an MMA fighter will not go very far in competition.
That being said, there are a wide variety of grappling styles that are used in MMA today and knowledge of each is highly important for any MMA fighter.
For example, wrestling is recognised as a major part of MMA training in terms of takedowns and scrambles, but wrestling does not include submissions or the ‘BJJ guard’ which are integral aspects of MMA.
And again both BJJ and Wrestling (which are trained by almost all MMA fighters) do not include the important aspect of stand up grappling and especially striking in the stand up grapple, which is an area that Muay thai is well known for excelling at.
Best Stand Up Grappling
Stand up grappling is basically clinch fighting. And the most effective clinch art for MMA and fighting in general would have to be muay thai – hands down.
The ability to tie up an opponent in the clinch to neutralize their punching, kicking and movement while also being able to strike them with knees and elbows is incredibly useful and applicable in MMA and fighting in general.
Clinching in muay thai also includes throws, dumps, trips and sweeps as ways to take your opponent down, but muay thai does not include ground work or any submissions.
Best Martial Arts for MMA Takedowns
According to the website MMA Fight DB which looked at looked at over 2,072 trips and throws in 799 MMA fights, the top takedowns were as follows:
- Double leg
- Single leg
- Outside trip
- Bodylock
- Suplex
- Duckunder
- Hip throw
- Inside trip
As you can see the main takedowns used commonly as per the study above can be trained and learned from Wrestling, Judo, Sambo and BJJ.
But, the most effective style to train in order to be able to execute the most used takedowns in MMA would have to be wrestling.
While Judo has a major focus on takedowns, the double and single legs are not allowed in Judo competition and are not really taught or trained in competitive Judo today.
BJJ also is not as effective in MMA takedowns with an emphasis on submissions and pulling guard over utilising effective takedowns.
Wrestling in MMA
Wrestling is highly effective in the MMA, with the most UFC champions coming from a Wrestling background.
Wrestling has highly effective and MMA applicable takedowns and ground grappling and scrambles to gain a dominant position.
And the most notable MMA fighters with a wrestling background include:
Yoel Romero – highly successful UFC and Bellator fighter, Romero has a highly decorated background background in freestyle wrestling as a former World Champion and Olympic silver medalist and Pan-American Champion.
Henry Cejudo – with an MMA record of 18-2 and two division Champion at flyweight and bantamweight, Cejudo has a strong foundation in freestyle wrestling where he won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 summer games.
there are many notable MMA and UFC champions who have a strong background in wrestling which include former champions such as Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Tyrone Woodley and TJ Dillashaw.
Best Styles for MMA Submissions
Submissions including armlocks, leg locks, heel hooks and of course chokes and strangles are major aspects of MMA.
The submission game is highly developed in BJJ and more notably no-gi BJJ and submission grappling.
And these submissions are quite effective and applicable in MMA.
In terms of the most successful MMA fighters the main styles of martial arts for MMA submissions would have to include Judo and BJJ.
Judo in MMA
One of the most successful and highest paid UFC fighters is Olympic Judo medalist, Ronda Rousey.
Rousey took the UFC by storm with her takedown to armlock combination and dominated virtually every opponent she encountered until she was KO’d by Holly Holm.
This KO loss effectively ended her UFC and MMA career to a large extent.
But Rousey showed on the world MMA stage how effective Judo is in MMA.
BJJ
BJJ is a well known part of MMA and has been since the very first UFC competitions that introduced Gracie Jiu Jitsu to the world.
BJJ makes up a substantial chunk of MMA training with weekly sessions dedicated to BJJ in an MMA fighters training schedule.
BJJ submissions are some of the most MMA applicable submissions an MMA fighter could train. And in addition to submissions ground fighting such as defending from strikes with the guard as well as wrestling for a dominant position are highly MMA-applicable.
Notable Submission Experts in MMA
MMA and UFC fighters with high level jiu jitsu and notable submission expertise include the following:
Demian Maia – third-degree BJJ black belt, Maia is a world-class submission expert with 8 of his 15 career wins coming by submission.
Shinya Aoki – one of the best submission experts in MA. Aoki is a BJJ black belt with 19 of his career 35 wins coming by way of submission.
Submissions are a key aspect of MMA and the best martial arts for MMA submissions are BJJ and Judo.
