Fan Bias

Mixed martial arts can be crudely separated into three phases: the stand-up, the ground game, and the transition between the two. While boxing and Muay Thai are two of the more popular stand-up disciplines and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has cornered the market on ground disciplines, the transition between these two phases may be the most underappreciated facet of the sport. And, wrestling serves as the foundation for the transition game.

While wrestling is certainly not flashy, it, more than the other disciplines, has emerged as a must-have skillset if a MMA fighter wishes to be champion. Simply look at the fact that current UFC champs Brock Lesnar and Georges St. Pierre have built their games around superior wrestling. Former MMA champs such as Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, and many, many others have done the same.

And, it’s no coincidence that collegiate wrestlers seem to make easier transitions to MMA than their BJJ or Muay Thai counterparts. Just look at the influx of wrestlers successfully working their way up the UFC ranks such as light heavyweight Jon Jones, lightweight Gray Maynard, and recent roster addition Phil Davis, who made his UFC debut at UFC 109.

At UFC 109, wrestling re-asserted itself as the preferred tool of victory with a number of fighters relying almost solely upon it to garner wins.

Phil Davis Leads Parade of Wrestlers

There was no more convincing display of wrestling acumen at UFC 109 than what UFC light heavyweight debutant Davis showed fans as he thoroughly broke down former WEC light heavyweight champ Brian Stann. UFC commentator Joe Rogan nailed it when he called Davis a light heavyweight version of St. Pierre. From his tree trunk legs to his forceful takedowns to his mastery once on the ground Davis showed everyone the tools that made him an NCAA wrestling champ at Penn State. Although he’s young both chronologically and in MMA, Davis propels himself on par with the likes of Jon Jones as someone who has to be considered a future star. He was respectable standing up (especially considering that’s Stann’s forte) and even tried an armbar as the fight ended.

Athleticism won’t be an issue as Davis works his way up the ladder. And, I for one am glad that the UFC decided to broadcast Davis’ fight on the PPV telecast. Fans need to become familiar with him now.

Chael Sonnen is a Worthy Title Contender

While Davis was the most powerful wrestler on the night, it was Chael Sonnen’s dominant performance against Nate Marquardt that completely caught me off guard. Sure, Sonnen had bested fellow wrestler Yushin Okami in a previous bout but I believed going into the fight that Marquardt’s stand-up and BJJ prowess would prove too much. Boy was I wrong. Sonnen was the bigger, stronger man and had no difficulty not only taking Marquardt down but then controlling him on the ground. Although Marquardt made a valiant effort in the last couple of minutes, attempting to secure a guillotine choke, Sonnen had done far too much over the first 13 minutes of the fight.

As for Sonnen’s next bout — a title fight against the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort — I believe Sonnen is ready for the challenge. If Silva has a weakness in his game (and, remember this is all relative), it may be against wrestlers (see Henderson.) I’m not saying that Sonnen is going to win because he’s a good wrestler. What I am saying, however, is that Sonnen has a better chance than most because there’s no one at 185 who has the striking or the BJJ to defeat Silva. The jury’s still out as to how Silva will deal with an opponent dedicated to using a strong wrestling base.

Randy Couture Gets the Job Done

Workmanlike. That’s how I would describe Randy Couture’s victory over Mark Coleman. It was clear early on that Couture was the quicker of the two fighting on their feet as the five-time UFC champ peppered the fellow Hall of Famer with fists. Couture then used his trademark clinch against the cage to dirty box his way to further dominance. By the time Couture scored a takedown (apparently only the second time in Coleman’s career that he’s been taken down if you believe the UFC telecast stats) and worked his way to a rear naked choke victory, the fight had been all but over for awhile.

While Couture did most of his damage standing up, it was the threat of his wrestling (Greco-Roman or otherwise) that Coleman had to respect. Any other foe and you have to believe that Coleman would have gone in for a takedown immediately.

While Couture did what he had to do against Coleman, his victory over Brandon Vera still resonates in my mind. I didn’t consider that a very convincing win over a fighter who is not in the UFC light heavyweight top ten. So, it’s difficult for me to put much stock in Couture’s UFC 109 performance. Instead, I would like to see him do it again against one of the UFC’s thoroughbred 205 pounders before giving “Captain America” another title shot.

Wrestling as Defense

Much like the true value of Couture’s wrestling ability may have come from what did not happen rather than what did happen, Joey Beltran and Melvin Guillard used wrestling to keep their respective opponents at bay rather than as offensive weapons.

Beltran, making his UFC debut against Rolles Gracie (also stepping into the Octagon for the first time), suffered an initial takedown early in the fight but turned the tide by eventually sweeping the accomplished BJJ practitioner and bearer of the most famous surname in MMA. From then on, Beltran had Gracie’s number, stuffing takedown attempt after takedown attempt with a very nice sprawl. Beltran eventually went to work standing up, landing a knee that appeared to severly hurt Gracie who face-planted into the mat, before finishing him with strikes on the ground.

Guillard earned a much-needed victory against BJJ specialist Ronys Torres by constantly minimizing the damage done by Torres’ takedowns. The judges ultimately rewarded Guillard for his numerous escapes from the ground, for his ability to sweep or stand up immediately after being taken down, and for not absorbing any damage on the ground (as he seemed to indicate with a mock yawn late in the fight.) Guillard favors the stand-up game but is also a very good wrestler. It appears that under the tutelage of uber-trainer Greg Jackson, the young man from New Orleans has learned to embrace defensive wrestling at least, which makes his stand-up even more dangerous. All in all, I really liked watching Guillard 2.0. He seems to have a new attitude on life and on fighting and I certainly hope he keeps it up because he has the talent to make it far in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Punches Still Work Too

While the fighters above used wrestling to forge victories, Matt Serra and Paulo Thiago used heavy hands to earn their W’s. Although Serra is a very accomplished BJJ practitioner, he has proven over and over again that he packs a wallop with his punches (just ask GSP.) Against Frank Trigg at UFC 109, Serra first worked the body before sending Trigg to the canvas with a right hook. The stocky (using his own word) Serra finished the job on the ground with more fists, never once having to use his BJJ skills.

Thiago used a similar plan to vanquish yet another American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) foe in welterweight Mike Swick. Thiago caught Swick with both a right and a left that put “Quick” on the mat before pouncing on him and finishing with an impressive D’Arce Choke.

For Thiago, the impressive victory moves him to 3-1 in the UFC and 2-1 against AKA foes. Because of his debut victory over contender Josh Koscheck, Thiago has worked mostly against the UFC welterweight division’s elite. The win over Swick keeps him there and now it’ll be interesting to see who UFC matchmaker Joe Silva puts him up against next. I would like to see Thiago fight former number one contender Thiago Alves for a chance at the title. Or, maybe even a shot against the loser of the GSP-Dan Hardy title fight coming soon. Either way, Thiago is already making noise as a potential contender to the title.

As for Serra, the win was a good one but I’m not sure that it does anything for his future prospects in the division. Serra has averaged one UFC fight a year for the last six years. Listening to him talk about his daughter’s upcoming birthday party in the post-fight interview with Rogan, it seems to me he’s content fighting infrequently while focusing on family and his successful gym.

Other Thoughts

The UFC appears to have listened to its fans, delivering more bang for the buck with each pay-per-view broadcast. Fans who tuned their TVs to Spike TV at 9 PM ET and then ordered the pay-per-view at 10 PM ET were treated to nine of the eleven fights on the card. That’s almost double the standard five fights some PPV telecasts offered just a couple of years ago. I have to believe that the Spike TV initiative, especially, was motivated by similar efforts from EliteXC, the now-defunct promotion which used to televise undercard fights on Showtime before showing the main card fights on CBS. Or Affliction, which did the same on HDNet before sending viewers to their PPV telecasts. Hopefully, Scott Coker and Strikeforce pick up this practice as well. My one complaint with Strikeforce broadcasts is that we as fans don’t see enough fights on them.

Regardless, if you want proof that competition in MMA is good, the increased number of fights being shown by the UFC is certainly evidence of that.