When we entered the new millennium, the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was dominated by wrestlers. Back then, the UFC was ruled by Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Pat Miletich. In Pride, we saw Mark Coleman winning the first ever Pride Grand Prix, and Kazushi Sakuraba exposing the mystique of the Gracies. During the mid-2000's, Chuck Liddell was successful in showcasing the non-grappling aspect of full contact fighting. Nowadays, the UFC is dominated by fighters such as Cain Velasquez, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Fitch, Brock Lesnar and Frankie Edgar.
All these fighters have one thing in common: Wrestling.
Wrestling is one of the oldest forms of combat in history. Its objective is to always gain and maintain the superior position. Many practitioners think that wrestling is the best base to enter MMA, because wrestling dictates where the fight takes place. Offensively, you can take your opponent down and grinding your way to pound your foe out, or by taking his will. Defensively, you can stop the takedown attempts to either keep it standing, or to avoid a compromising position on the ground. Liddell is one great example of this. The fighter, well-known worldwide as "The Iceman", sprawls to keep the fight in striking range. Despite being known as a tremendous kickboxer, Liddell began his career as a Division I wrestler.
There are 3 types of fighting styles: Lay and Pray, Ground and Pound, and Sprawl and Brawl. All three types involve wrestling, one way or the other. Recently, MMA has been getting flak from fans, particularly wrestlers. Its grinding style has caused stalling during matches and has become a subject of boos from the crowd. Georges St-Pierre (GSP) was once the most exciting prospect in the UFC. Now, he has been criticized for using a conservative approach to defend his title. His game plan usually is to take his opponents down, and find his mark. His welterweight rival Jon Fitch has heard worse. Fitch has received more criticism for providing a lack of action after every takedown. There have been reports in MMA forums that his boring style have caused Fitch a title shot and a rematch with GSP. Other wrestlers like Gray Maynard and Ryan Bader have all received negative feedbacks with their so-called lay and pray style.
Contrary to popular notion, the wrestlers should not be blamed for such scenarios. There are many factors we can consider that makes wrestlers look bad. Mixed Martial Arts is aptly named, because it's simply a mix of different combat disciplines. It is not a wrestler's fault to exploit his opponent's weakness. In turn, the opponent should anticipate the possibility of a takedown. Missing one component of fighting, like takedown defense, should be a big reason for these combatants to learn from it, and evolve to become a more complete fighter. Another reason is the awareness of wrestlers in submission defense. They understand that one wrong move will result in a sudden submission hold. With an ever evolving game in MMA, opponents also have more knowledge on how to maintain their guard, which neutralizes a wrestler's posture and ability to pass that guard. The result is a physical chess match, which explains why bloodlust viewers are longing for more bashing and less laying. The most important aspect of fighting is the mental aspect. Wrestlers' best trait as fighters are its iron will. They are so mentally strong, that part of their game plan is to make their opponents wilt under pressure. Even if a fighter has all the tools, a mentally-weak fighter succumbs to the pressure put on by wrestlers. It takes two to tango, and one's flaw is the result of another one seizing the opportunity to dominate.
We can also say that it's not the wrestler, but it's the fighter and how he wrestles. Superstars such as Cain Velasquez, Tito Ortiz and Brock Lesnar are all wrestlers, but became household names because of how they can attract viewers with their natural charisma and their exciting persona in and out of the cage. Sluggers like Shane Carwin and Dan Henderson, just like Liddell, have used their wrestling abilities to keep the fight standing. Their proficiencies both on their feet and on the ground have left their counterparts unable to find ways of beating them. Chael Sonnen's takedowns of superhuman Anderson Silva drew the loudest cheers in any takedown for a title fight.
Wrestling will always be there, and should not be considered as something that will kill MMA. As I said, wrestling is the best base for fighting, and fight camps will incorporate wrestling in their training, just like how every fighter now trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when Royce Gracie introduced its effectiveness back in UFC 1. If anything, all fighters should learn serious takedown defense to avoid the lay and pray tactic. We should never complain about them going for a takedown to employ their game plan. Maybe we can also ask them not to dodge their punches either. Intelligence is also an element of fighting.
Wrestling does not kill MMA; it is the fighters who refuse to learn takedown defense that actually kills it.
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