There's definitely a certain culture of elitism in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu- the idea that if it's not BJJ, it's not real grappling. It's been that way for about 20 years thanks to the early UFC's/Gracie Jiu-Jitsu infomercials. But look at all the top grappling coaches in MMA who don't have a BJJ pedigree: like Neil Melanson, head grappling coach at Xtreme Couture who got his black belt (not in BJJ) from Karo Parisyan (Hayastan grappling system). Last I checked, Greg Jackson has no BJJ rank whatsoever, in fact before MMA was a thing, Jackson was one of those guys who made up his own style with a goofy Japanese name, "Gaidojutsu", and he's one of the best grappling coaches in the business of MMA. The whole CSW camp (Eric Paulson, Josh Barnett, etc) their grappling is catch-wrestling, not BJJ, and they are world class.- In fact, I'd go as far as saying that the importance of BJJ in MMA is grossly overestimated by most people- especially if you're learning it from a camp that focuses on BJJ for IBJJF competition. Yes, it's good stuff to know. Yes I personally practice BJJ, I hold a rank in it, I've even won some shiny gold medals in IBJJF competition. But I've been playing the MMA game long enough to know the limits of BJJ in a cage fight.
- No, BJJ is not the end-all-be-all style of grappling. In fact, if I had to pick a single grappling style, I'd rank freestyle wrestling much higher in terms of practicality for modern mixed martial arts competition. Judo (good judo) would be pretty high on my list too, and here's why: those are sports that train you specifically to be a top player (dictate position, takedown, and control) You want to win a fight? Be the guy on top.
- Recently undefeated judo phenom Ronda Rousey defeated BJJ black belt Alexis Davis in a one sided 17 second beatdown. Prior to the match, the promoters tried to milk the "first BJJ black belt Ronda's fought" thing for all it was worth- painting a picture of a compelling fight where Ronda stood a significant chance of being submitted by the jiu-jitsu prowess of her rival. That sales pitch was a fantasy. Not only did Ronda prove herself the superior fighter, but she demonstrated something much more important: MMA is not BJJ.
- Not even close.
- There is a whole pantheon of fighters with either no BJJ rank or a low BJJ rank who have dominated their black belt counterparts. UFC champ Jon Jones is technically a white belt. Matt Hughes set the record for UFC championship titles before beating the living crap out legends Royce and Renzo Gracie with no BJJ training to his name. Cung Le is only a BJJ blue belt after a lengthy and successful combat sports career spanning decades. *But wait Ramsey, that's not a fair comparison, those guys all have a wrestling background!* Yep, exactly my point.
- Transversely, look at one of my personal BJJ heroes, Marcelo Garcia. He is hands down one of the best BJJ black belts in the world. He's won virtually every important submission grappling competition on Earth. Seeing him on and off the mat is truly inspiring and educational. I wish I had a fraction of the grappling talent that Marcelo Garcia possesses. That being said, when Marcelo tried his hand at a short lived MMA career, it wasn't nearly as impressive. He fought Korean fighter Dae Won Kim, who while an experienced MMA fighter, could not even begin to compare to Marcelo's grappling resume. It was far from the one sided quick submission that everyone was expecting. Instead, we saw Kim hold his ground and fight off every one of Marcelo's attacks. Ultimately, Kim was awarded the win via doctor's stoppage after cutting Marcelo over the eye.
- For me, this was like reading one of those old Action Comics where Superman was forced to fight the bad guy on a planet with a red sun (one of Superman's weaknesses) Instead of the Man of Steel using his incredible powers to quickly overcome all obstacles, we see an ordinary guy struggling tooth and nail to survive.
- Nobody in their right mind would think that the world's best soccer players would be able to match the skill of the best American football players under American football rules. They would get killed... like literally killed. Everyone readily acknowledges that those are are two completely different sports with different objectives, strategies, rules, and skill sets. And yet, basically the same comparison is often drawn between MMA and BJJ.
- Yes, some things can cross over from one sport to another, like athleticism, performing under pressure, and even some techniques. But that's where the similarities end.
- BJJ black belt and MMA fighter Roger Gracie famously said "80% of BJJ doesn't work in MMA" Bear in mind, Roger Gracie is very GOOD fighter. I'd argue that his talent in the sport of MMA stems from the fact that he understand the difference between what he does in the cage and what rolling in a gi for points actually is.
- On a side note, it seems like everybody and their dog is trying to make a name for themselves in BJJ by "inventing" fancy (and in my opinion, impractical) new open guard systems like "the worm guard" or some other nonsense that requires you to use your uniform to tie your opponent in knots. Stuff like that makes me feel like saying "80% of BJJ doesn't work in BJJ".
- Just as MMA is it's own unique sport and should be respected such, grappling for MMA is it's own unique skill set that should be be equally respected.