When the bandwagon of UFC-style MMA started to roll back in 1993, it quickly became apparent that to succeed, the fighter needed Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) only.
In fact, Royce Gracie trained exclusively BJJ in the run up to his tournament triumphs at UFC 1, 2 and 4.
Eventually however, other fighters caught on to this and athletic wrestlers absorbed just enough BJJ to stop getting submitted and learned to pound out their opponents with strikes on the ground.
From there, the sport evolved further with fighters mixing standing strikes and wrestling into their repertoire. Now, the modern UFC fighter is one who understands the game at all ranges.
Recently however, there has been something of a throwback to the fighters of yesteryear, where the modern competitors have realised they can exploit the well rounded skill set of their opponents by applying their own own more specialised variations.
Two recent fights have occurred in the UFC which showcase this are Jon Fitch versus Damian Miai at UFC156 and Anthony Perosh versus Carlos Filho at the recent UFC Fight Night in Sydney.
In both these fights, Miai and Perosh controlled the range between themselves and the opponent, eventually closing the distance to secure the takedown. Following this they were able to apply their vastly superior ground skills and dominate the action for three rounds (in the case of Miai) or to a first round submission in the case of Perosh.
This is nothing new. Occasionally other exceptional grapplers have been able to perform this style of game-plan with considerable success, a classic example of this would be Shinya Aoki. Aoki is a Japanese BJJ (and judo) black belt who was well known in his early career for pulling guard on his opponents and then – seemingly effortlessly – submitting them.
The importance of the Perosh and Miai victories however show that jiu-jitsu and only jiu-jitsu is alive and well, and can continue to win fights in the modern UFC setting.
James Bakker
Roar Rookie
I'd have to agree, jiu jitsu is important, but being well rounded is even more so. I love seeing how grappling is evolving in the mma and generally as it's own sport. Fighters are training everything and we're seeing dudes with dynamic wrestling and bjj games, not to mention judo. Look at how ronda rousey blends her bjj and judo together. metamoris is a good example too, guys like Garry tonnon are killers at both wrestling and bjj
Adam Cummings
Roar Rookie
Good read Dave, and while I agree that JJ is one of - if not THE - most valuable assets that a fighter has, I can't totally agree with your summation that "jiu-jitsu and only jiu-jitsu is alive and well". JJ is undoubtedly one of the most devastating aspects of MMA and is a must for all fighters. BUT, you need to be incredibly well rounded to succeed at the top level, those who are specialists in one particular discipline only generally get found out at some stage. Sure they can have some success, but it's the Jon Jones of the world that are pushing MMA to new levels. As you stated earlier, fighters and the fight game are evolving rapidly - this means that when one style is popular, someone comes up with a counter. That being said, there doesn't seem to be too many ladies who have worked out a counter for a Rousey armbar......... :)