Among those in the know, it goes without saying that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is simply one of the most effective forms of martial arts used in combat sports today. This can be seen in 1993 with the formation of UFC. This was when Royce Gracie would dominate virtually any competitor that came his way. This was true even though he was just about the smallest person participating in the sport at the time.
UFC has evolved over time to become much more regulated. It is also much more popular. Even so, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has retained its popularity in terms of providing athletes in the sport with a solid grappling base.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Becoming So Popular
More than two decades have passed since UFC first entered the scene, but only recently has the number of submissions been going down. This has caused people to become concerned that grappling may no longer be as effective as it once was.
The UFC is more popular than ever, having just completed a year that had it complete more fights than any other time in is history. Before now, UFC had a historical submission rate of 25 percent. The 24 recent events, however, have seen that be reduced to only 19 percent.
You might be wondering what these numbers are trying to tell us. Perhaps this recent year is just abnormal. After all, taking the average of the last three years does get the submission rate back to almost normal 22 percent.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is predicated on overcoming an opponent by using a submission such as a choke or joint manipulation. The fact that submissions are declining at the highest levels of the sport is giving people the wrong idea about this particular discipline.
This issue may be further compounded by the fact that some world-class martial artists have begun to focus more on their training on improving their own striking ability in order to compete at the highest levels of UFC, meaning that they have pretty much left their submission skills behind. Some more notable examples include Demain Maia and Ronaldo Souza. These two have each won the world championship and impressive five times, so people rise up and take notice when they begin to change their approach to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Going back in time, it should be noted that Maia actually had five straight victories when he started his UFC career by using a submission move. However, he has since gone 4-3 without having any finishes. For his part, Souza had opted to begin striking his opponents. This caused him to lose the middleweight championship in a fight that took place almost entirely from a standing position. Luke Rockhold would win that one.
The subject does not need to be discussed in too much detail, but the information just presented would lead one to believe that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is losing its ability to be a major influence in the UFC. However, believing that would not be doing the sport justice as there is so much more to it than what has presented here and where the statistics in terms of submissions are taking us.
One of the reasons that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is no longer as dominant as it used to be can possibly be that so many people are training in this technique. Because of that, it is becoming harder to gain an advantage over an opponent who may be trying to employ exactly the same strategies to win as you are. In fact, it would be difficult to find a mixed martial artist today who does not devote at least a day or two each week to training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This growth has caused many athletes who may not even be focused on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to at least consider how effective one of its attacks can be. Those who wrestle are no longer left to flounder as they take the fight to the standing position, nor do strikers become fearful when the fight goes to the ground.
This can be seen as the way the sport was meant to progress naturally. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will simply need to continue to evolve. Its techniques have become no less meaningful, but more people have mastered them. As such, it is no unrealistic to imagine a day when Brazilian Jiu Jitsu dominates MMA at some point in the future.
