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[shenku68]

Some of you hardcore MMA fighters and fans may remember when you had to have some wrestling and grappling skills to be successful in MMA. If you were a good striker and had no ground game you were almost certain to lose a MMA match. To me the role has seem to change that if you have a good ground but is not a good striker you are almost certain to lose.

Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Mark Coleman, Merk Kerr, and few others seemed unbeatable at one time. Strikers who did not have any takedown or submission defense were destined to lose. Today we have Chuck Liddell, Tim Sylvia(not a fan but I have to give him his props), Wanderlei Silva just to name a few are great strikers who very seldom take it to ground and win most of their fights by KO. It seems today that a lot more fighters are going back to becoming better strikers.

I like all aspect of the game, but newer fans who do not follow MMA closely rather see a knockout than a submission. I like to see a guy who thinks in the match, not to say that a striker is not thinking but I like to see a guy do a submission when you think that he is about to lose the match. I like Chuck Liddell but he does the same thing every time. He doesn't change and everyone he fights know this but they all seem to fall for it. He even tells them what he is going to do. Chuck does not try to knock guys out. He is very defensive and counter-punches every strike and create angles. He will probably never take it to he ground.

What do you guys think?

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...2842&zoneid=13

[Greenish]

IMO striking isn't taking over, it just has found a balance with grapling which was so dominating in begining.

[Punk Ass]

You still need a good ground game to be successful. The only thing is, most fighters would rather get a KO than a sub or GNP. Many fighters train in ground defense so they can remain on their feet. But if the opportunity presented itself they would lock on that rear naked in a minute.

[IlDuceMacmanus]

No... Mixed Martial Arts is taking over. Look at Kongo vs noob grappling... Look at Baroni v Nishijima...

[strife]

Originally Posted by IlDuceMacmanus

No... Mixed Martial Arts is taking over. Look at Kongo vs noob grappling... Look at Baroni v Nishijima...

Well said.

[Beatts35]

i agree with the MMA is taking over statement, truly fighters have to have working knowledge of different styles and techniques.

i think alot of guys are stuck in the "muay thia", boxing and bjj combo only. first i "muay thai" because guys will learn to kick box and throw a knee and then is becomes thai to them. i would like to see strikers going in other directions too, you never see guys really going for more traditional strikes, ridge hands, open hands, neck (not throat) but neck strikes. i've seen Bas drop guys with open strikes to the liver. sure guys are trying spinning backfists, but you never see just a backfist. guys really have to mix more into their MMA.

[kaisq11]

Originally Posted by IlDuceMacmanus

No... Mixed Martial Arts is taking over. Look at Kongo vs noob grappling... Look at Baroni v Nishijima...

Exactly

[AJL416AZ]

Originally Posted by Beatts35

you never see guys really going for more traditional strikes, ridge hands, open hands, neck (not throat) but neck strikes. i've seen Bas drop guys with open strikes to the liver. sure guys are trying spinning backfists, but you never see just a backfist. guys really have to mix more into their MMA.

no power in most of those strikes. open hands and chops dont hurt or KO people, and theres no point in throwing a blow that doesnt have the intent or setup for a KO.
spinning backfists work because they have the surprise element, and much more power in momentum. regular backfists wont even daze someone who has a better chin then an infant.
and theres no point in a neck strike, because nobody gets KOd by a neck strike. you can't cut off the carotid artery to black them out unless you can cut through a cinder block, and if you could hit that hard, you might as well hit them in the jaw.

and i'm sure Bas would much rather have used a fist to the liver if he could have, but Pancrase rules changed that.

[kowarrior]

Originally Posted by harlemhustla145

You still need a good ground game to be successful. The only thing is, most fighters would rather get a KO than a sub or GNP. Many fighters train in ground defense so they can remain on their feet. But if the opportunity presented itself they would lock on that rear naked in a minute.

CroCop has no ground game, he's one of the best fighters in the world. He has a sweet takedown defense though which he learned on the job obviously, and he can avoid punishment on the ground too. But he has zero submission skills and he prefers to keep things standing.

[Intellectual]

Originally Posted by AJL416AZ

no power in most of those strikes. open hands and chops dont hurt or KO people, and theres no point in throwing a blow that doesnt have the intent or setup for a KO.
spinning backfists work because they have the surprise element, and much more power in momentum. regular backfists wont even daze someone who has a better chin then an infant.
and theres no point in a neck strike, because nobody gets KOd by a neck strike. you can't cut off the carotid artery to black them out unless you can cut through a cinder block, and if you could hit that hard, you might as well hit them in the jaw.

and i'm sure Bas would much rather have used a fist to the liver if he could have, but Pancrase rules changed that.

well said.