WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FORM OF MARTIAL ARTS USED IN MMA?

A Muay Thai specialist can destroy all the others styles.

i agree with karate takeing over at some point.. a sic muay thai guy with great takedown d can make many problems for other fighters

muay thai/ standing
wrestling/ground

Jake O’Brien vs. Heath Herring

The answer is wrestling

 It’s who is using the style and what other attributes do they have to add to that style. But with saying that I do feel wrestling has a little of advantage for those that do have other attributes to mix well with wrestling. From a early age wrestlers have great quality and quantity of competition over the other styles at least here in North America. I don’t know of many arts that have near the competiton wrestling has in high school, and a sport competed around the world. So those that compete and do well in wrestling have competed at high levels compared to other styles. Now JJ is used in Brazil like wreslting is here so the JJ artist in Brazil will be more likely to do well in MMA because the high competition in JJ that they have been through.

 JJ and wrestling are probally the two biggest bases in MMA because the fighters with those styles have had better competition at a earlier age than the other styles and the quantity of wrestlers and JJ artist also are much greater than any other style.

because of the similarities in training intensity and athleticism. Lesnar came from wrestling and became champ ni the blink of an eye. I think it should be pretty obvious that a wrestling base sets the smoothest transition into MMA success

However i think the most important discipline to know is BJJ. As in a fighter with 0 BJJ knowledge can be beaten on the ground by any wrestler or BJJ or Judo OR Sambo guy. See Kimbo and Houston and (sadly) Jens Pulver.

This is why I’ll be interested in Toneys debut. I think hes too confident in his hands and will suffer the consequences.

there are many different aspects that take place as far as the skill set for each fighter down to the different approaches to a fight… i just really believe that a wrestler has the choice of where the fight takes place, on the mat or on the feet.. and with that said how could another martail art be more important when a wrestler has the choice of how it all goes down.???

bjj can end a fight wt a sub in a blink of an eye.. wrestling doesnt finish a fight!!! but it sure does seem to win almost all fights if the fight goes to the judges.

and that is a HUGE advantage, maybe the biggest advantage a fighter can have huh??

even ufc undisputed was made for the wrestlers being able to win every fight!!! ha id always use muay thai and wrestling for my created fighters.. lol

I like your new pic. I’m thinking of changing my name to ManBearPig, half man, half bear……half pig!

from lesnar to gsp to koscheck and velasquez.(wrestlers). penn, silva and mir(bjj).

because it is the ultimate stand up combat sport, the clinch, and an 8 point attack as standard, your not restricted to one technique, but as always i have to bow down to the wrestling guys, because if you can take an opponent down, control someones position, then you control the fight…
even though i don’t like it….

If you’ve watch the sport more than a few months this is an easy answer

Hell Couture still gets wins off his wrestling alone

His body shot combinations are breathtaking. No way Mayweather could keep that relentless pace,no wonder he is making that fight so difficult to happen. War Pac.

Because it allows u to dictate where the fight takes place. If you want a gound battle u are enabled to do so. If u want to strike u can kep it standing. For example if I am fighting a guy with some good BJJ I will use my wrestling to avoid sweeps, guard pulls and TD’s. If i am fighting a striker I can put him on his back. Its a positional game alot of times in MMA and wrestling enables an upperhand.

Shit I didnt see SAMBO on the list. Oh well

It all depends if we are talking olympic or world caliber athletes then I say JUDO. If its regional or someone doing it slightly recreationally than I might go with the wrestler, maybe…

I know I am gonna catch some big comments especially since I see that Sambo was there but I mays well try and justify.

With Judo you can…
defend the takedown
do takedowns.
throw from the clinch.
Pin which enables…
submissions

Its got something for all the 3 ranges (not top in any of the 3 but not where you would say its poor.)
standing – Shooting (although now its illegal in JUDO)
Clinch – Throws or footsweeps
Ground – Subs, pins & escapes.

Examples (1 Standing) (2 Clinch) (3 Ground) out of 10
Boxing (1- 7) (2-6) (3 – 0) = 16
BJJ (1 – 3) (2- 4) (3- 10) = 17
Judo (1 – 5) (2- 7) (3 – 7) = 19
Wrestling (1 – 8) ( 2 – 6) (3 – 5) = 19
Karate ( 1 – 9) ( 2 – 3) (1 – 0) = 12
TKD (1 – 7) ( 2 – 0) (1- 0) = 7
MT (1 – 10) (2 – 8) (1- 0 ) = 18
Sambo (1 – 7) (2- 7) (3 – 8) = 22

Stereo typing the physical ability and durability would be for bonus points…

Boxer (PA – 7) (D – 8)
BJJ (PA – 6) (D – 6)
Judo (PA -7) (D – 7)
Wrestler (PA – 10) (D – 9)
MT (PA – 8) (D – 10)
TKD (PA – 6) ( D-6)
Sambo (PA – 7) (D – 8)
Karate (PA – 6) (D – 6)

So totals are…
Boxer= 31pts
Bjj = 29pts
Judo = 33pts
Wrestler = 38pts
Karate =24pts
MT = 36pts
TKD = 19pts
Sambo = 37pts

By my little figurings its wrestlers, Sambo and then MT.
(I stand by JUDO as a good one to have but think I would go with Sambo if I could vote again)

There might be a +/- 5PT margin for error here as 1 pt per catagory to be judged on.

Which puts pretty much every martial art with the capability to be #1 except for Karate and TKD.

i think the trianing in sambo, esp. combat sambo with striking to takedowns, and submissions….is like amateur mma from the outset. watch combat sambo tournaments, it’s like fast-paced, mma style amateur fighting with more restarts.

It’s clearly wrestling . The poll has spoken…………….

Look to the older UFC matches when people were strickly one martial art focused….

All the awesome arts were GRAPPLING ARTS.

Followed by just tough guys.

Real strikers didnt draw any attention.