MMA or Mixed Martial Arts is, as the name suggests, is a sport in which many martial art forms are combined under a set of unified rules. MMA features a wide variety of combat systems which allows fighters to develop a unique fighting style utilising their strengths and preferred disciplines.
Broadly speaking, there are 3 main fighting styles seen within MMA and the UFC; Strikers, Grapplers and All-Rounders. However, there are many different sub-styles or specialisations found within these categories - let's get into them.
STRIKERS
Strikers are known for their direct attacks utilising parts of their body as a weapon. They most commonly utilise disciplines such as boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai to defeat their opponents via close-hand techniques, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and kicks.
Styles/Types of Strikers
Counter-Strikers: A fighter who typically uses a lot of feints and taunts to goad their opponent into making the first move in order to respond with their own well timed blows, working off their opponents weakness and openings. Examples of this type of fighter include Anderson Silva, Dominic Cruz, and Israel Adesanya.
Brawlers: Brawlers are strikers who utilise their toughness and power over refined technique. They specialise in dealing powerful strikes and dealing lots of damage. Fighters known for this style are Nate Diaz, Robbie Lawler, and Dan Henderson.
Aggressive Strikers: As simple as it sounds, aggressive strikers are fighters who are known to attack first and to dominate the pace of the fight, often working their opponent away from the centre of the cage. Examples of this type of fighter include Nick Diaz, Paulo Costa, and Wanderlei Silva
GRAPPLERS
Grapplers control the fight by grabbing, holding or controlling their opponent to the ground, gaining dominance through control and/or finishing the fight via submission. A grappler will often ground their opponent with a sweep, throw, or takedown often utilising cage and clinching. The most common disciplines used by grapplers are wrestling, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Styles/Types of grapplers
Submission Experts: These are the fighters that you would not want to go to the ground with and who stand out as dangerous submission threats from any position. Examples of these lethal grapplers include Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira, and Brian Ortega.
Wrestlers: Some argue that wrestling is the single best martial art background for MMA because of the wrestlers ability to dictate where the fight takes place. So it’s no surprise that many of the UFC’s top dogs come with tons of wrestling experience and that they choose to refine this skill as their number one skill. Examples of outstanding wrestlers include Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Kamaru Usman, and Alexander Volkanovski.
Clinchers: Clinch fighting is most commonly associated with the martial arts discipline Muay Thai but it is now a vital part of some athletes' mma game. Clinching is a type of grappling that occurs standing up and in close quarters, from which control can be asserted, dirty boxing can be utilized, or a take down can be initiated. Great clinchers include Donald cerrone, Jon Jones, and Valetine Shevchenko.
Lay and Prayers: These fighters typically look for a take down before applying pressure and control on the ground whilst waiting for their opponents to give them openings for strikes and submissions. They may seem overly cautious but their patience often pays off in the end. Examples of these stalkers include George St.Pierre, Jake Shields, and Ben Askren.
ALL-ROUNDERS
Rather than really honing their skills in either grappling or striking, many mixed martial artists dedicate years/decades to strengthening both sets of skills and filling in any gaps in their game i.e strikers who work to become sufficient grapplers and grapplers who sharpen their striking.
These fighters who seek the best of both worlds might utilise fighting styles such as -
Ground and Pounders: A style in which fighters utilize wrestling in an offensive manner to take their opponents down before raining down with explosive punches and elbows from above. Examples include Tito Ortiz, Chael Sonnen, and Cain Velasquez.
Sprawl and Brawlers: Fighters who utilise defensive wrestling to ensure the fight stays on the feet, preventing any takedowns so they can utiliSe their strong striking skills. OG’s of the sprawl and brawl style include Chuck Liddell and Cro Cop.
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