How good is MMA for street fighting? Are there more suitable styles for street fighting than MMA?
Having studies martial arts for a number of years now and spent many many hours on the mats sparring, testing out techniques and refining what works and what does not, this post reflects my own humble opinion on MMA for street fighting.
My own overall opinion is that MMA can be highly effective in a street fight (for reasons discussed below).
And it would be better to have some MMA training than none at all – if a street fight is impossible to run away from or avoid.
I still think running and avoiding a street fight is always the best option.
But, sometimes a street fight situation cannot be avoided.
However, in comparison to MMA there are better styles to train especially if it comes to weapons defense and multiple opponents which MMA does not train.
But before looking at whether or not MMA is good for street fighting, lets first look at what MMA is and what MMA is not.
MMA as a Style
MMA is mixed martial arts and therefore incorporates various other martial arts in its techniques.
The main components of MMA that cage fighters use today come from:
- Boxing
- Muay Thai
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Wrestling
There are also aspects of MMA which are quniue to the style of MMA itself and which are not really practiced in other martial arts.
These include:
fighting against the cage (which is very different from fighting against ropes in a muay thai or boxing ring)
striking on the ground (i.e ground and pound which really only came about due to MMA as most other striking arts prohibit attacking a grounded opponent. And grappling arts that do foucs on ground fighting do not include striking on the ground)
fighting with MMA gloves – MMA gloves are much smaller than stnadard muay thai or boxing gloves. MMA gloves are mostly 4oz while professional boxers and muay thai fighters use mostly 8oz gloves. MMA gloves actually only came about after MMA was developed (of course apart from Bruce Lee using similar style gloves in ‘Enter the Dragon’).
Using MMA gloves allows for a much better application of grappling techniques and are highly suited for the sport.
So overall as a style MMA really is the combination of the best techniques of different styles.
In my opinion this makes MMA very effective for street fighting in a lot of situations.
What is Street fighting?
Street fighting of course is no rules, no weight limites, no holds barred combat with not protective equiment, no timed rounds and rest periods between rounds and no referrees.
Serious injury and death are much much more likley with street fighting in comparison to MMA or any other martial arts contest really.
This makes street fighting extremely dangerous.
It can evolve multiple opponents, weapons, a variety of surfaces (cement, grass, dancefloors with broken glass, sandy beaches, roads and many other options) and fighting either sex – male of female.
It is highly unpredicatble and there is no warm up period as a street fight can kick off at any time.
A street fight an end in a few seconds or last much much longer than any of the fighters expect.
What makes MMA good for street fighting?
Having defined in my own opinion above what MMA and street fighting are – we can therefore discuss what makes MMA good for self defense.
Or more specifically we can look at what I am sure what most people are asking which is, what makes MMA better for self defense than other martial arts?
Again in my own opinion the points below are what make MMA good for street fighting in comparison to many other martial arts practiced in the world today.
i)MMA includes grappling and ground work
A statistic that is quoted by many (especially in Gracie Jiu Jitsu and BJJ) is that 90% of street fights end up on the ground.
Whether true or not – most people can appreciate that being prepared for a street fight to eventually end up on t he ground is a million times better than only considering striking (mostly punching) when it comes to a street fight.
Being able to escape the bottom position should a fight go the ground and staying calm when a fight goes to the ground is a major advantage of MMA.
Being able to take someone to the ground and maintain top control (i.e BJJ, Judo, Wrestling) is a highly desired technical skill for street fighting and can end a street fight effectively without throwing a single punch.
Being able to submit a person by threatening with an armlock or leglock or even disbaling on of their limbs can go a long way to winning a stree fight.
Putting an opponent to sleep with a strangle or chokehold is a highly effective technique to use.
In comparison to arts such as boxing, muay thai, Karate, TaeKwon Do or Hapkido, MMA would be more avantagous in a street fight due to the grappling and groundfighting focus of MMA.
ii) Physical Conditioning is Very Important in MMA
Being in great physical shape is another major advantage that MMA trains a lot and can help a person a lot in a street fight.
Not getting gassed out, maintain calmness and being able to execute a variety of techniques at different ranges and situations through intense physcial training and sparring is aonther distinct advantage of MMA in a street fight.
A street fight can be won by being in better hsape than your opponent and making them gas out and use up their energy while you stay calm and utilize technique to gain an advantage.
iii) Striking and Grappling are both part of MMA
Most people in street ifght situations resort to stroiking techniques and mostly they throw hay makers right off the bat.
This is especially for those who are inexperienced with fighting or who may have won many street fights but going straight for the KO right from the start.
MMA has a major focus on striking equally with grappling.
Therefore in comparison to grappling focused martial arts, an MMA fighter is trained to stay calm under fire as they have seen a lot of striking attacks including sucker punches and haymakers in training and sparring.
iv) MMA uses all 8 limbs
Similar to muay thai, MMA also utilizes all 8 limbs of hands, knees, legs and elbows.
In addition to the grappling aspect, this makes an MMA fighter quite formidable in a street fight.
As most street fights really only focus on boxing and the use of hands. But they do inevuitably end up grappliong and lcinching and regualrly do go to the gorund.
Being able to make full use of all 8 limbs and especially deadly elbows and brutal knees, makes MMA really effective in a street fight situation.
While the reasons above do make MMA quite effective in a street fight situation there are still disadvantages to using MMA in a street fight situation.
Why MMA is not the Best for Street Fighting
As discussed above in what makes a street fight, there are way too many unpredictable factors that make a street fight very dangerous even for an MMA practitioner.
Below we look at why MMA, while highly effective, may still not be the absolute best in a street fight.
1.Use of Weapons
In comparison to martial arts such as Kung Fu, Karate, Krav Maga and others, MMA does not look at weapons defense at all.
The focus is on competition in MMA and unarmed combat.
Therefore facing an armed opponent, MMA is not the best art to train for a street fight and it’s unpredictable nature which could include weapons attacks.
Whether facing a knife, club, stick, broken bottle or any other object, MMA is mostly unprepared for such situations as they are not focused on in MMA training at all.
In this aspect therefore MMA is inferior to other martial arts when it comes to street fighting that involves weapons.
2. Multiple Opponents
The focus of MMA is one on one competition in the same weight class.
A street fight can involve a much larger or even much smaller opponent and could even involve several of your opponents friends developing into a multiple attacker scenario.
Again this is a weakness of MMA when it comes to street fighting as facing multiple opponents at the same time is not ever trained in MMA.
This is where martial arts such as Krav Maga or others used by the military would probably have an advanatge when it comes to a street fight.
In my own opinion it is these two main reasons that make MMA inferior to other martial arts for street fighting.
Other martial arts that have a self defense focus often will include weapons defense and attacks as well as facing multiple opponents and therefore such arts would be more suitable for a street fight’s unpredictable nature rather than MMA.
MMA for Street Fighting – Final thoughts
A street fight is highly unpredictable and extremely dangerous.
Facing potential death and possibly even going to prison or being seriously injured or even disabled make street fighting better to avoid as much as possible.
The best self defense proposed by many martial arts masters is to run and and avoid a street fight as much as possible
This is especially so for MMA fighters and other pro fighters who make their living by competing in the ring or cage.
Injuring your hands, getting cut or battered with weapons and just missing training or an upcoming fight due to a street fight altercation affects your ability to make a living.
Facing prison time also is highly undesirable for someone who competes and fight’s for a living.
Furthermore a true martial artist values staying calm and avoiding confrontation as much as possible and therefore street fighting is really best to avoid whether you train MMA or any other martial art.
That being said sometimes a street fight situation cannot be avoided.
In this case being trained in MMA can be very effective for defending yourself and getting away safely.
Overall being trained in MMA is better than not being trained at all when it comes to a street fight situation that absolutely cannot be avoided.
However there are more suitable martial arts and self defense styles to learn and train over MMA. Especially when it comes to handling situations with weapons and multiple opponents.
So overall MMA can be highly effective in a street fight, and it would be better to have some MMA training than none at all – if a street fight is impossible to run away from or avoid.
But there are better styles to train especially if it comes to weapons and multiple opponents.
