Good evening. Have any questions regarding MMA?

Welcome to MMA. Hopefully you can be a fan of both. I am. :yep

There are a few rules in Unified Rules of MMA (As is regulated roughly throughout the U.S. and Europe) when it comes to the striking of a grounded opponent. The key feature in all of them is the focus on the safety of the fighters. No punching directly to the back of the head. Or the spinal area, as that can result in immediate to long term damage. Also, no knees to the head of a grounded opponent, as this can also cause considerable damage. (This was, however, legal in Pride FC in Japan)

Well, in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu there are many types of guards and positions. Some of which have been recently developed. BJJ is, by far, the most evolved sport, or at least has the potential to do so. There are many philosophies and such on how one should fight/defend oneself from the ground. The most common of which will be (positions):

Full Guard - With the legs of the fighter on his back wrapped around the waist of his opponent aimed at limiting his opponents movement and limiting the distance he can create thus limiting the damage he can do, and also to set up submission attacks.

(There is also "Closed" guard which simply means that your legs are open rather then locked" And, obviously, "Open" guard. Open Guard is more offensive as it's used to set up more offensive positions)

Half Guard - When you have a single leg of an attacker trapped between both of your legs. Your attacker will have one leg to the outside of your body and is not the greatest of positions to be in, but one that an experienced grappler can easily overcome with technique.

Side Mount (Side Control) - When a fighter is past your legs and your lower body provides no defense against an attack (provided you don't/can't swing your legs up). This is a very dangerous position to be in as your options are very limited as to what you can do to attack/defend/improve your position, but still managable.

Full Mount - When a fighter is sitting on your chest, above your waist. He has the greatest opportunity for attack and nullifies your defenses with your legs and you're essentially left defending his whole body with just your upper body (he can also use the force of gravity while you're working against it). A very bad position to be in. Against an experienced grappler this is almost always the end of a fight (provided you're not experienced yourself).

Things such as the "Rubber Guard", "Anaconda Guard" and others are a bit more esoteric and are, quite simply, invented by certain BJJ practicioners. Each usually comes with it's own philosophies on how to execute certain techniques from within these positions.

The "Rubber Guard" was developed by American Jiu Jitsu stylist Eddie Bravo.

The "Anaconda Guard" was developed by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stylist and MMA Fighter Demian Maia.

For more information on BJJ I'd suggest going to a local BJJ school or looking up free videos online.

 

Oh, sorry. I neglected to answer your last two questions.

Well, the top 5 MMA fighters ever are somewhat up in the air. Depends on your personal criteria and what's important to you as an individual.

Personally, I'd have to have the following:

Georges St. Pierre
Randy Couture
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Fedor Emelianenko
(5th one is hard, because there are actually quite a few that could fit)
Miguel Torres

And as far as deaths in MMA

No, there has never been a death in regulated MMA. From what I understand, there was one but I believe it was in a non-regulated match and in very poorly held circumstances that I wouldn't ever consider fighting in myself, nor would I have anyone else.

 

I can guarantee you, if you were to attempt to take MMA seriously and make a living from it, from being a fighter, you'll never do anything (sports related) that is more physically and mentally demanding.

That is my opinion, of course. But I believe I have a solid basis for my reasoning.

 

There are two keys in grappling, as it's really a blanket term. Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Brock Lesnar is an exceptional wrestler and that involves control and appropriate body positioning and core strength. Clearly he's very good at those.

He outweight Randy Couture at the time of the fight by 51 pounds. (Couture was 222 and Lesnar was 276 (He rehydrated from 265 to 276))
Despite being outweight and physically weaker, Randy was nearly able to take Brock down (and would have, had Brock not grabbed the cage) and was able to get up from his back twice. He did so using superior skill and technique (as clearly he was at a disadvantage in size and physical strength). And that fight was very close. Lesnar did not, in any way, "make Couture his *****".

I think I understand what you're asking here, but if I miss something, please tell me.

In Boxing you have to worry about a singular type of attack. Punching based. You know where punches are going to come from and you can, to a reasonable degree, predict when and where a punch is coming from based on body positioning, shoulder positioning/rotation, fighter tendencies, etc...

However, in MMA you have far more to concern yourself with. You not only have to worry about punches (jabs, crosses, straights, hooks, body shots, whathaveyou), but also kicks, and someone closing distance for either a takedown or a clinch. So, your position and your hand positioning has to be greatly varied so it's impossible to block every single strike. There simply isn't enough arms on a human body.

And it's more difficult for Boxers to make the transition to MMA then most because of the stiking based skill set. Grapplers tend to have greater success because on the ground it's 100% decided by skill. However, on the feet, everyone has the proverbial "punchers chance". Also, boxers/Thai fighters, in general, don't particularly care for the ground game and thus tend to severely lack sufficient skill to compete at the elite levels in the sport.

(Not saying that an elite boxer can't become an MMA champion in a top tier organization, but it won't be just his boxing that gets him there.)

 

I wonder if anything here changed anyone's mind...