Opinion: The Value of Wrestling in Modern MMA

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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The discussion about Bo Nickal has led to a lot of speculation about the effectiveness of wrestling in modern mixed martial arts. For those who haven’t been following, Nickal was a three-time NCAA champion and only missed qualifying for the Olympics because he lost to eventual gold medalist and teammate David Taylor in the finals of the trials. He then decided to go into MMA, easily winning two amateur fights before scoring his first pro win in June in about 30 seconds. Nickal then won twice on Dana White’s Contender Series in August and September, each victory achieved in about a minute. He is now set to debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in December against Jamie Pickett, certainly an example of favorable matchmaking. Yet people have their doubts about Nickal and how far his exceptional wrestling ability can take him. After all, looking around at many of the champions and top fighters nowadays, most did not come from a wrestling background, nor do they use it to win their fights. Champions like Leon Edwards and Israel Adesanya come from kickboxing backgrounds, Francis Ngannou originally tried to be a boxer, Jiri Prochazka is a striker, etc. In fact, the only current UFC champion with a pure wrestling background is Aljamain Sterling.

No one denies that all the champions with striking backgrounds had to learn wrestling. However, they did so mainly to nullify the grappling of their foes. Wrestling thus acts like a kind of gatekeeper in modern MMA. If you’re not good enough at wrestling, you’ll end up losing on the way to the title. Derek Brunson has knocked off a few potential challengers in Darren Till and Edmen Shahbazyan whose wrestling was insufficient. If your wrestling is good enough, it essentially nullifies the opponent’s grappling, and matches are decided almost solely by the striking. Look at Adesanya’s title fights at 185 pounds. Of course, there are exceptions like Alex Pereira. The UFC desperately him to face Adesanya and thus avoided matching him with any remotely threatening grapplers across his mere three wins in the organization. Still, not everyone is so beloved and fast-tracked.

Is wrestling not as valuable anymore in the top levels of MMA? This is a common question we hear time and again. However, it’s incorrectly asked. It’s not that wrestling is less valuable, but that one needs an entire suite of other skills in order for it to work at the highest levels. For instance, merely having one nice takedown isn’t enough. Ideally, one has a slew of different takedowns, whether a shot from distance, single-legs, double-legs or shots from the clinch. Better yet if some are wrestling-based and others are judo-based. Chain wrestling is also a huge benefit, as well as understanding how the cage is used. Once an opponent is grounded is where the true test lies. Fighters nowadays have a variety of methods for getting up, so having good top control is key—a related but separate skill from wrestling itself. Having good mat returns helps here, too. Once on top, of course one has to have excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu, not only to threaten with one’s own submissions but to avoid submissions from the opponent and to keep from being swept. A martial artist also needs good ground-and-pound, yet another separate skill. To make all of this possible, a fighter needs excellent cardio, since the energy requirements for this strategy are far greater than striking on the feet.

What happens when you have all of these skills. Well, you’re Khabib Nurmagomedov. Notably, though, there are few fighters in MMA history who are comparable to him at grappling, and no one should be surprised by that. It can take a lifetime to merely become a good wrestler. Mastering at least four other elements of fighting—top control, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, ground-and-pound and conditioning—on top of wrestling is something of which only the greatest geniuses can dream. It’s easier instead to master striking, takedown defense and getting back to your feet. Thus, it’s not that wrestling is less valuable but that it requires more surrounding skills to make it as potent as ever. When building skills to become a world champion, the grappling route is now more demanding than striking, though the rewards can be even greater.

So what about Nickal? Time will tell. He already has good Brazilian jiu-jitsu and appears to have at least some ground-and-pound, not to mention some solid striking skills, like a nice overhand left. He still lacks proven top control and his cardio remains a mystery, as he has destroyed every opponent at a lightning-quick pace thus far. He also turns 27 in January, meaning he has less time to accrue these skills than, say, Nurmagomedov or Islam Makhachev. While I’m rooting for him, as I love to see talented prospects reach their potential, the path to the top is ruthless, more so than it would be for a striker with a good sprawl and hip escapes.