Are strikers gaining some ground in the UFC?

[Stoo]

Well Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddel, Mirko Cro Cop, BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, Quinton Jackson, Shogun Rua, GSP, Eddie Alvarez, Jens Pulver, Forrest Griffin all won belts with a mix of grappling, TDD and striking ''back in the day''...not exactly a new phenomenon

Bendo's rematch with Frankie was the only one I can recall where he didnt try to get it to the mat and Machida and Anderson started their careers years ago. Plus only Gonzaga and Carwin have even attempted to take down JDS

If you'd made this thread when Tito was Champ and Lindland was still fighting you may have a point

[Haggis McJackass]

Originally Posted by Stoo

Well Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddel, Mirko Cro Cop, BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, Quinton Jackson, Shogun Rua, GSP, Eddie Alvarez, Jens Pulver, Forrest Griffin all won belts with a mix of grappling, TDD and striking ''back in the day''...not exactly a new phenomenon

A common criticism of modern MMA is that the rule set takes away from strikers. No soccer kicks, no knees to a grounded opponent's head etc. The cage and the rule set are generally better suited to wrestlers. Of course there will be many exceptions, but as a general theme the perception is that in the cage, wrestlers are at an advantage over strikers.

Originally Posted by Stoo

Bendo's rematch with Frankie was the only one I can recall where he didnt try to get it to the mat and Machida and Anderson started their careers years ago. Plus only Gonzaga and Carwin have even attempted to take down JDS

Henderson's wrestling is one of his strengths, but he doesn't use it as the only aspect he's comfortable with. And almost everyone tries to take JDS down, come on man. Mir, Cain, Roy, all of them went for the takedown at one stage or another and got denied.

Originally Posted by Stoo

If you'd made this thread when Tito was Champ and Lindland was still fighting you may have a point

Why so hostile? I didn't make up the general opinion that strikers are disadvantaged in the modern game. I only pointed out that there are a lot of them at the championship level right now, and asked for some discussion about the state of striking in MMA in the unified-rules era of the sport. No need to get pissy about that, surely.

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by Haggis McJackass

A common criticism of modern MMA is that the rule set takes away from strikers. No soccer kicks, no knees to a grounded opponent's head etc. The cage and the rule set are generally better suited to wrestlers. Of course there will be many exceptions, but as a general theme the perception is that in the cage, wrestlers are at an advantage over strikers.

That's why I listed a bunch of guys who can grapple and strike and not guys like Daley or Thompson... You are listing Bader as an example when Chuck did the similar thing to Randleman years ago

Originally Posted by Haggis McJackass

Henderson's wrestling is one of his strengths, but he doesn't use it as the only aspect he's comfortable with.

Yes, and when he left it entirely to his striking, all he really had was a couple of leg kicks. That dont make anyone a striker imo, echoing Muchmores point of sticking to what you are good at

Originally Posted by Haggis McJackass

And almost everyone tries to take JDS down, come on man. Mir, Cain, Roy, all of them went for the takedown at one stage or another and got denied.

No they didnt, they couldnt even get past the punches to make contact, and Mir doing a superman dive towards JDS' ankle was desperation not really a valid TDA

Originally Posted by Haggis McJackass

Why so hostile? I didn't make up the general opinion that strikers are disadvantaged in the modern game. I only pointed out that there are a lot of them at the championship level right now, and asked for some discussion about the state of striking in MMA in the unified-rules era of the sport. No need to get pissy about that, surely.

[/quote] That wasnt hostile . The boxing fans in the general probably havent watch more than a few MMA fights and when they go to the ground they find it boring, which is fair enough. Doesnt make it lay and pray though does it.

[scurlaruntings]

[thewinfella]

Yes i believe they are

This is becoming the time for the boxer/grappler IMHO

Edit; just looking through the thread its only fair i elaborate , boxer / grappling style isnt a new style by any means , but when this style came in , boxer / grapplers didnt have wrestling , nor did they have muay thai , plus the sport was relatively new , so if you could box a little and had a JJ game of some note , you were labelled a boxer grappler ..................... yes ??

Well now that particular style is being honed , and it seems to be the dominant style of the moment in MMA , its the finer aspects of that style that are now documented and are being drilled daily thats refining it , and when you have a fighter who can really box , and im talking sharp , crisp combination punching (Belfort , Barao) , not just working off a jab looking to score , who can actually wrestle and grapple a bit , who also trains Muay Thai (mainly for defensive purposes) , you have a pretty effective animal for MMA

[EDDIE FUTCH]

Someone already mentioned Maia...

This is completely different (different organisation, gender) but I think Ronda Rousey is showing how it should be done - "If it ain't broken, don't fix it"