Why Wrestlers Turn Into Strikers

[@sidsrivastava2371]

Strikers also turn into wrestlers when they get rocked 😂

[@jujuthethird4602]

"Oh so your a wrestler now"

[@markduncanspencerjr.]

all the time

[@CountMeCurious]

@sidsrivastava2371 please let me take you to dinner sometime 💀

[@SpiceBoy7UK23]

Unforgettable interview:)

[@fortunatosamuel2520]

Lol what they suppose to do? Loose?😂 it's mma lol

[@ekayn1606]

I was a wrestler and a boxer in my youth. Wrestling has crazy conditioning. I think it's the back muscles we build up in wrestling that makes our strikes hit hard.

[@connor3284]

Boxing and wrestling flow together so well. The conditioning of wrestling helps out a ton in boxing, especially neck conditioning.

[@Kikibrat2]

Which one did you like more? I am originally a striker and then did BJJ. I was already in horrible condition and thought I had to get better before trying BJJ, but I realized that was just a stalling tactic and BJJ cardio is insane! I love striking more, but bjj cardio really kicked my ass in a good way. ❤

[@kylerBD]

​@@Kikibrat2boxing feels more like a marathon where grappling feels like a sprint. Atleast in my experience

[@mmavlogs2386]

❤

[@bhopirl4552]

It’s probably that wrestling biases fast twitch muscle. It’s very short round but highly explosive. Yes it’s probable the back muscles contribute to rotational power, but I think the hips and legs are very important as well and those get worked a lot during wrestling. Combine this strength with punch technique and it makes sense they would become powerful strikers

[@BatCaveOz]

Alexander Volkanovski won the Australian National Greco-Roman Wrestling title when he was 12 years old. He qualified for the Australian team for the Commonwealth games (but chose not to compete). He has a pretty solid background in wrestling. (Not up to a Russian or American level... but legit).

[@sipofcola69]

not up to russian level but he outwrestled islam in the last fight, volk is a freak the only thing that he struggled with that fight was his standup which is also crazy, islams southpaw gave him some problems in the stand up for the first 2 rounds

[@Brett_Bond]

Outwrestled 😂 that shortie couldn't even get up from the body lock of Islam and even punched himself in frustration lol. Even in striking after 2 rounds he told his coach he lost those rounds 😂

[@sipofcola69]

@@Brett_Bond u need to rewatch it volk lost the stand up which was crazy considering what he did to holloway 3 but he actually won the wrestling, him being stuck in a body triangle not body lock fir the 1st round doesnt mean he lost the rest of the time. he actually took r4 and r5 scrambles

[@Brett_Bond]

@@sipofcola69 You're clearly biased towards Islam. Open your eyes and go back and see R4. And with R5, Volk won the last 2 minutes that too only because Islam went for a lazy takedown which is his weakness (same as Davi Ramos fight). Even the start of R5, Islam was winning until that takedown attempt.

[@sipofcola69]

@@Brett_Bond you mean im biased against islam, you are clearly biased towards islam, islam didnt go for a lazy takedown as you say he was gassed. 1st time in his mma career that he went to r5 and it was against volk volk won r5 hard. r4 islam did a body triangle and did nothing if you get outpunched when you are in such a bad position damage>control time

[@gladimir5158]

I think an important point about Volk is that he was a 2 time Australian Wrestling champion when he was younger and transferred it into footy and then dropped it. He then picked it up again later on which is why his grappling is very good.

[@mpforeverunlimited]

Australian wrestling and Dagestan wrestling different level brother

[@altaydogahan342]

@@mpforeverunlimited Volk vs Islam last round watch again brÖthr

[@GoulagInamte777]

@@mpforeverunlimitedVolk wins the rematch

[@DonDeDon445]

⁠@@mpforeverunlimitedI genuinely think y’all overrate tf outta Dagestani fighters cause they don’t speak English. All of them aren’t Khabib and Islam. I’ve never seen an entire state get so much hype cause of 3 people. That’s like saying Pennsylvania wrestling is different than Oklahoma wrestling. It’s not. The athlete makes the difference

[@Ar1AnX1x]

@@DonDeDon445 in my opinion american wrestlers can wrestle just as well, what sets apart the Islam/Khamzat/Khabib from them is that some of the Dagestanis can Grapple really well with unique top pressure against the cage, its not just wrestling, and its not necessarily a 'dagestani' thing since not all of them do that, top pressure style that eventually gasses out the guy on the bottom, like what Makhachev was doing to Oliveira against the cage at the end of round 1, only guys like Oliveira and Volk can survive against stuff like that

[@alexcoss5965]

Also to add onto this wrestling is very hard on the body, and a lot of wrestlers in the ufc have injuries that prevent them from fully utilizing their wrestling. Examples would be Kamuru usmans knees, DC’s back, and Yoel Romeros fused neck.

[@connor3284]

Anyone who has taken even one wrestling class will understand that just shooting alone will add up in the long run to bad knees, especially if you drop your knee to the mat often.

[@adamheath4599]

@@connor3284shooting isn’t what fucks up your knees. It’s the defensive moves that are meant to pull on the leg and put a lot of strain on the ligaments of the knees.

[@jayceparker8737]

​@@adamheath4599bro getting ankle picked fucks my knees up so bad

[@adamheath4599]

@@jayceparker8737 hmm, maybe you're too stiff? If I ever get ankle picked I'd just give up the single leg and defend from there, but I wouldn't try pulling my extended leg back. I tihnk you can hyperextend ur shit like that

[@MC-bu2uw]

As someone who trains combat sports as a hobby, i have felt that grappilng exchanges in mma are the most draining things. I am mostly familiar with bjj and I still choose to strike while sparring in MMA. The guys who implement an offensive grappling strategy in MMA have by far the best cardio and physical abilities

[@Ar1AnX1x]

I used to think Khabib and GSP had some ungodly cardio(which they do)but when you pay attention their grappling is more draining for the opponent than it is for them usually, at first they're the ones burning the energy but when they get to a dominant position it all becomes worth it, but you have to be really great at it to wanna risk it

[@davidinawe791]

@@Ar1AnX1x bingo

[@creed4671]

Facts!

[@impulse_xs]

@@Ar1AnX1x​​⁠​​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠ You nailed it. They work hard but they’re methodical and efficient. they just keep chain wrestling from position to position until they find their opening. Wears opponents out defending from a new position every 15-30 seconds while defending subs and strikes.

[@thingstodowithgaming]

This was my thought too, many of these guys (not all) can struggle to keep people down as everyone's ability to get back up is so high level in the ufc. So burning all that energy for the guy to just stand back up after a minute with no significant damage done just isn't worth it

[@nonamemma]

As a D3 collegiate wrestler that’s training to make my ameatur debut, the biggest thing we learn when transition to mma is that we’ll get killed if we can only wrestle. My coach is rigorously making me focus on the feet bcs even as a D3 wrestler I’m able to control and maintain the ground game of skilled BJJ guys so they show us some GNP and then focus heavily on striking. I’ve had more striking lessons than grappling lesson since deciding to transition. And for many wrestlers especially early on, we don’t go to our back much even the guys you mention outside of Tony(who is very talented at bjj) not many of those fighters ever went to their back during fights. So basically during training some coach hyperfixate on striking for wrestlers and as the saying goes you play like u practice if ur just practicing striking your gonna end up striking more often than grappling. Plus striking is fun

[@googlegmail9888]

Point on. Same. Except I was a state wrestler

[@lukeinvictus]

Volk isn’t a striker turned wrestler. He’s a wrestler turned striker. He had an background in Greco before even rugby, and he wrestled much more at the start of his ufc career. GSP is a good example though.

[@jdoggydog]

Yeah I'm same way I wrestled my younger grades now at18 I'm working more towards my boxing as I don't fear ground exchanges due to my confidence built from wrestling for years

[@ChatniJay]

I personally think the reason is the fact that they have confidence in not being taken down and controlled on the ground so they can Strike free of mind

[@tillburr6799]

Surprised this wasn’t bought up. Im swinging big at you? What are you gonna do about it? Grapple? Go on, make my day

[@tremainehughes9342]

Kind of like Chuck Liddell

[@Fury851]

I agree 100%

[@fishinforfun3359]

I think this goes to show how effective it is to be a strong counter wrestler with great striking skills. With that combo of skills you can keep the fight standing while hunting for the KO or at least the win by points. As a wrestler you already naturally have counter grappling abilities.

[@tylerm6352]

RIGHT! this is exactly how the Justin Gaethjie Michael Chandler fight went. Both couldnt take eachother down so the fight was a stand up

[@62ZAKA]

And another thing that favors big power punchers is the lacking of a effective guard due to the smaller gloves which enables you to hit your opponent’s with big shots without having to do a crazy setup

[@DivineAtheistWannabe]

@@tylerm6352 But how come Khabib choke Justin out

[@Blobbyo25]

This is how Alex beat Jan. I was honestly shocked at how good Alex's wrestling defence was... Zero threat of takedown, but Jan just couldn't take/keep him down.

[@tylerm6352]

@@DivineAtheistWannabe Khabib knows hes the better wrestler which is why he wasnt afraid to take it to the ground

[@Fury851]

Wrestlers like Justin Gaethje choose to strike because there wrestling background means they are hard to take down. Wrestlers find it hard to take them down. This gives him extreme confidence to strike at will with no fear. It's like when khabib landed punches on McGregor in there fight, cause he was confident not to get taken down. This is the reason Justin Gaethje strikes and don't wrestle

[@teo_marin]

Tyron Woodley is also a great example. He is a NCAA-D1 wrestler but his style is more based on heavy punches (hooks and haymakers) but also low kicks and roundhouse kicks.

[@jdoggydog]

That's because he didn't want to learn the fundamentals and footwork and real techniques so he heavily relied in basic punches 1 2 or haymakers

[@dcrosner15]

Really really great breakdown and my main takeaways are: 1. Wrestling relies on effective hip usage which is transferable to striking and generates power. Wrestling provides a strong base for learning striking fundamentals. Extremely high level strikers will have a deep understanding of range, footwork, angles, setups, and feints, but the power that is generated from wrestling provides a strong enough striking base to win fights. Wrestlers also have physical and monetary incentives to strike. 2. Striking skills are not transferable to wrestling because wrestling depends on achieving control over the opponent through ground positioning. There is no equivalent in striking that will give them a solid starting base in wrestling and the positioning on the feet is not the same as on the ground. Strikers who have poor positioning but good power still have a chance to win fights. There is no puncher’s chance on the ground, or if their is it’s way slimmer than the slimmest puncher’s chance on the feet. 3. Dagestanis learn their wrestling through combat sambo, which complements wrestling with strikes. American (Graeco-Roman, Freestyle, Folkstyle) wrestlers, on the other hand do not use strikes to learn wrestling so they learn striking as a separate substitute to their wrestling. Though it seems counterintuitive, wrestlers who learn wrestling with striking elements wrestle more than those without. I think that this is probably because combat sambo is more similar to mma than other styles of wrestling. All fights start on the feet so takedowns must often be set up with strikes. Combat sambo teaches this.

[@supersaiyansalamence]

Striking is also less demanding in my opinion. As a kickboxer learning BJJ and wrestling, grappling is so much more physically exhausting than striking. I think the wrestlers cardio helps them with their striking volume and let’s them throw more power punches later in the fight.

[@CocaineCowboyJones]

Very True

[@wszczeklypiesz]

Volk isn't a good example of a striker who became good at wrestling because he competed in wrestling as a child, before rugby. He's more of a wrestler who became good at striking later, not the other way around.

[@Todo_fighting]

He said he only train one year of wrestling when he was 11 and started training mma when he was 22, also fought in boxing before ufc.

[@DADRB0B55]

By that logic Jones is a striker not a wrestler because he had 3 months of Taekwondo classes before moving to wrestling.

[@brandonamezquita4501]

​@@DADRB0B55Volk won wrestling national tournaments. Did Jon win Taekwondo national tournaments?

[@gettingoverit3080]

​@@DADRB0B55volk also in his beginning ufc career was using cage wrestling to win fights he started more as a wrestler

[@episode6691]

@@DADRB0B55 lol you really fucking said he's a striker because of taekwondo holy shit lol.... I know your point but holy hell it's taekwondo bro LMFAO.

[@alexandermendez4653]

Striking is definitely more effective as it can end a fight quickly without putting you in a compromised situation. Especially in a real life situation. You dont want to be rolling around on the street with a guy, potentially giving his friends an oppurtunity to jump in.

[@spencergadbois6331]

Great video. I’m a long time grappler (wrestler and BJJ) and have recently taken up boxing and Muay Thai, I can say without a doubt wrestling is by far the hardest sport I’ve ever done. Learning it as a kid is imperative. If you learn it as an adult you will never be as good.

[@novelaego2404]

says who?

[@googlegmail9888]

@@novelaego2404says the people that actually… wrestled? People like u probably gonna be like oh but gsp this and that. Gsp is a world champ. He’s an outlier. You’re not gsp

[@googlegmail9888]

@@novelaego2404but it’s good you challenge thoughts. It will serve u more often than not

[@Figgy636]

They have a superior level of confidence in the stand up because they don’t fear being taken down. They don’t even need to think about it. Years of wrestling defence is engraved in their muscle memory. This gives them the confidence to stand up and throw bombs. Getting better and better at it over their MMA career. Also, a known wrestlers’s opponent will fear being taken down which puts them on the defensive and creates holes in their stand up. A stand and bang strategy against a guy waiting for you to take them down makes your striking far more effective. Just a thought

[@brianm7287]

I think a big part of it is the homogenization of the sport. A great grappler is often enough going to be matched against another great grappler, so they'll stalemate on the ground much easier. Add that to judges becoming wise to lack of activity and you're pretty much compelled to strike.

[@user-bh7pj4fz1w]

You mentioned it briefly but many turn to striker to keep the ufc contract Colby had to play a character to keep because of his wrestling style and turn more into striking

[@gorillaz9694]

I don't remember what fighter (he was a wrestler also) said this but he said "a lot of wrestler transition to MMA they learn striking and immediately fell in love with it". Even those Dagestanis, who love wrestling so much, fell to this also.

[@HornetLarry]

I love this channel. Between the cadence, the voice and presentation of the author, the soft music, interesting topics - just perfect.

[@highestqualitypigiron]

Wrestlers always have the option to shoot if they want to mix it up or if they don't feel comfortable. Where as a striker will never be able to really shoot on a wrestler if he's scared of the power and wants to slow the fight down. The wrestler/ boxer archetype is very popular because it means you can impose your will without risking too much.

[@DADRB0B55]

Actually not true at all especially when Wrestling is almost entirely more based off of your physicality than your actual technique where are striking is more based around your technique as oppose physicality. It’s way easier to pick up wrestling than striking, a lot of the moves are easy, most untrained people can do a bodylock. Examples, GSP, Leon Edwards, DJ, Robbie Lawler etc

[@dangerouslydubiousdoubleda9821]

​@@DADRB0B55that just means you haven't trained with good wrestlers.

[@KingdomOfDimensions]

GSP probably translated his striking into wrestling so well because he came from a very explosive style. That and several other factors like studying kinesiology and working with Danaher.

[@supersoldierx40]

Grappling is very energy consuming especially wrestling there's a reason wrestling rounds are 2 mins and not 5 like mma

[@BPBomber]

Well articulated TJ, whether one agrees with you or not.

[@jbrax425]

I think the threat of takedowns, helps, as people are looking for you to go low and your arms drop.

[@paulbadman8509]

They knees give out and they need to rely on their striking more.

[@gmeister3022]

It's because grappling is much harder to learn than striking. If the body knows how to grapple well, striking can be picked up extremely easily. Striking is also easy to learn for an untrained person, but it's even easier for a seasoned grappler. Regardless, Romero doesnt have an Olympic gold medal, he has a silver medal. Still impressive, but not the same thing

[@RomesPompeii]

No its not grappling is more natural foe humans than striking that's why you will see if kids fight thay wrestle

[@badart3204]

@@RomesPompeiinah most of the time they throw haymakers and the only grappling they do is a headlock.

[@impulse_xs]

@@badart3204 almost every single fight between two untrained people ends up on the ground fairly quickly. Yes, it’s usually from some very sad, awkward grappling that a middle school wrestlers could defend, but that’s what grappling looks like between two people who have zero experience.

[@DADRB0B55]

Every street fight video involving untrained people you see body like takedowns wrestling is literally braindead if you’re talking about jujitsu that’s a different thing. That’s why big ass dudes with 0 wrestling experience never get taken down like Costa, but he loses to high level skinny kickboxers like Izzy. You can literally negate wrestling by just being bigger, stronger & more athletic.

[@DADRB0B55]

You criteria for learning good striking most also be very low if you think that because most mma fighters aren’t good strikers. An untrained person can learn a double leg in 30 minutes, they are not throwing real hooks & jabs in 30 minutes. Especially not doing spin elbows or back kicks, you never wrestled nor kickboxed a day in your life huh ?

[@dylananderson6906]

And Sometimes strikers become great defensive submission artists

[@DrCoreyTuggers]

Because fighting is striking. Striking is more efficient. Grappling is only supplemental to striking. The reason MMA has such an emphasis on grappling is there are rules in place that protect it. MMA groupies love to talk about how grappling > striking but they don't realize in MMA grapplers are safe from head kicks, head butts and even biting. A good experienced fighter will always gravitate towards punches and kicks. Most guys are in love with BJJ because they are afraid of fighting and getting punched.

[@brandonamezquita4501]

Adding those moves will just help the grapples. They'll start throwing headbutts from the top and knees to the head from side control and north-south. Watch UFC 1.

[@DrCoreyTuggers]

@@brandonamezquita4501 they never had time to adjust. BJJ was unheard of and they quickly implemented rules to keep MMA from turning into kick boxing/ MT. BJJ is the most overrated martial art since karate.

[@brandonamezquita4501]

@@DrCoreyTuggers If anything they included rules to keep it from turning into a grappling contest. Remember Royce vs Ken 2? The problem with BJJ is that it's getting watered down and you have these butt scooters who can't shoot a takedown to save their lives. I do hope they bring knees to a grounded opponent back though. Would be fun seeing Aljo not being able to exploit that rule anymore.

[@michaelenns8872]

Another idea that I (as an amateurish grappler, not an mma fighter) have why that is is the reason for five minute rounds. Getting your opponent to the ground and keeping them there is a lot of work and can take a while….potentially the whole round. Next round they then unfortunately have to start all over. At that point being tired, if not even very tired, is inevitable.

[@dhus364]

Wrestlers have the confidence to throw all-in punches as they know, if they overreach or something, they have the ability to scramble. Also, the Dagestanis and Chechens sticking to wrestling could also be a tradition thing, loyalty to a (effective) style, discipline in terms of (again, effective) gameplan.

[@Tech-cy9yo]

Wrestlers are like running backs in football or centers in basketball

[@zombietoclean-rz8jx]

Oh Damm so much for Ben Askren ☠️

[@brandonamezquita4501]

Dude has a nasty spinning back fist.

[@douglasgomesbueno1526]

the older you get the harder it is to use Wrestling in MMA, Khabib was smart to retire early.

[@Keykers1]

just a heads up, Yoel Romero is a silver medalist. great video though!

[@MrRobjs83]

Gaethje and Romero are the 2 best examples of elite wrestlers who became deadly strikers in MMA

[@BadTakeRisan]

I've never understood why fighters like Gaethje don't combine their wrestling and their striking. As you said, I appreciate it because Justin is one of the most electrifying fighters in the UFC for that very reason. I just cant help but wonder how successful he'd be if he used BOTH skill sets.

[@champ1159]

Justin said wrestling makes him tired and he wants to be an exciting fighter first and foremost

[@Ar1AnX1x]

I think in MMA wrestling is only worth the energy when you can actually Grapple, which Justin can't, and mixing it is only scary for the opponent when the opponent doesn't wanna go to the ground with them, I think this case is more true about Chandler because he can actually submit people

[@Umar-gw6fy]

They wanna sell fights thats why

[@theberserker_of_falconia]

​@@Umar-gw6fyi doubt their primary concern is the fans

[@How23497]

For real even just a takedown threat is a massive advantage, just look at Khabib

[@its_hokori]

I think it's simply this. It's a lot harder to wrestle when you have strikes coming at you, and most wrestlers don't practice that, so when they come to MMA they practice wrestling and striking separately, and find it's hard to get into grappling exchanges when strikes are coming they're way. I.e. they're not mixing their martial arts well

[@Showerofjyzz]

Garbage opinion

[@gillymorals9506]

Bruh I love noticing a trend and you right there with a video already discussing it.

[@justified_wrath_21]

Not having usman in the thumbnail is wild.

[@codyconnell6510]

Wrestlers are also often trouble makers, who are comfortable in street fights and throwing hands.

[@liquidketamine8562]

I think one of the biggest factors is the fact that if you don’t fear grappling exchanges you’d be more confident during striking. If you get caught with a takedown you can either defend it or simply get the fight back up.

[@Fury851]

Exactly! Can't believe he didn't mention that in the video

[@noone-zl2di]

Whats most crazy is that tony is an all american and a ncwa national champion,but rarely uses it as his strong weapon,if he would have used it he would have taken way less damage.

[@doesntmatter4477]

So Tony should have come to you to have more success in mma? Interesting how many elite coaches are in the comment sections of mma videos

[@brandonamezquita4501]

Tony is not an all-American.

[@brenner5493]

I'm not sure if you mentioned in this video, but one key factor that I think that you missed is they still use their wrestling. They use it defensively to stay in the pocket to deliver bombs. Their high level grappling lets them shrug off take-down attempts and clinches to keep throwing those bombs in the pocket.

[@xXMaukiorXx]

I think part of the reason is probably the thrill that people get when they see how much they can hurt their opponents and how much the crowd love it.

[@jocoolshow]

I wrestled in high school and now starting in MMA, striking is just so easy to pick up. Not to master but just to learn And with Wrestlers being able to dictate where the fight goes, being able to stand up and strike if you don’t wanna go to the ground or take someone down if you don’t want to strike just makes it so that Wrestlers have a good base and learning striking or Jujitsu just makes you good everywhere

[@drewe51]

It's because really great collegiate and Olympic wrestlers are really great athletes and their coordination and skill acquisition rate is super high. They'd pick up badminton or extreme knitting relatively quickly. Some fighters with different backgrounds are similarly gifted (GSP for example) but that's incredibly rare.

[@bigsmall2842]

Still wouldn’t say chandler is a striker, he still shoots in most of his fights and has way better mma grappling compared to guys like gaethje, Romero, even henry. Henry cejudo is a bigger example of a wrestler turned striker than chandler. These guys barely shoot takedowns because they have no clue how to do damage or work towards a submissions, all they can do is hold people down. Maybe it’s just bad habits they have from all their years wrestling.

[@brandonamezquita4501]

Exactly. Chandler was comfortable in Charle's guard.

[@joe4426]

henry is by far the most technical wrestler the ufc has seen besides maybe cormier. just watch the scrambles between him and mighty mouse. the way he uses his inside trip in mma is something u see very rarely. he is just a very great fighter all around. top 10 fighter OAT

[@Z4NKA1]

⁠@@joe4426 he’s never subbed anyone before yet he’s the best? And the inside trip was his only highlight the whole fight 😂

[@lephtovermeet]

When you are a top level grappler - you negate other grappling, and it becomes a boxing game. And if you're among the select few who have found serious success with this, suddenly this is your game plan. The two paths of failure come when you forget you're a grappler and that's your strength (DC) or you meet a truly elite level grappler who makes you look like a child (everyone vs Khabib).

[@alcoyot]

In order to wrestle in a mma fight you need insanely good cardio. A high level college wrestler probably has that, but it might not be quite enough. You might have just not quite enough cardio, which causes a bit too much fatigue, and that will easily cost the fight. It’s a great skill to have but using it is a gamble. To be like Khabib where you don’t get tired at all no matter what, that is a freak outlier.

[@8301TheJMan]

This is a relatively newer phenomenon. I mean there were plenty of exceptions, but most wrestlers were terrible strikers up until like 10 to 15 years ago. They looked lost on their feet most of the time, Hendo and Rampage were really the first examples of guys who were good, or even great, wrestlers who over their career became strictly, and extremely dangerous, strikers.

[@LiveByChrist0]

Like Daniel Cormier, Chad Mendas

[@adlad3199]

You know this guy is a new MMA fan when he doesn't even mention Dan Henderson and Chuck Liddell who are probably the best example of this.

[@s3bastian289]

The reason he doesn’t mention these fighters is because he is talking about modern UFC. Why would he talk about fighters from years ago?

[@gTuya11]

My brother in Christ, the about of times you, I, as any other long time fan have heard Goldie saying Liddell uses his “wrestling in reverse” has this imprinted into our DNA 😂

[@elcrucius]

Maybe hes just young 🤷‍♀Ive been watching for 10+ years which is half my life so i dont consider myself a new MMA fan but chuck been retired since before i started watching. Theres a whole new generation that aint seen chuck fight so ofc he will be a little bit forgotten.

[@ipzee3748]

MMA fans trying not to call someone a casual:

[@doesntmatter4477]

Years ago? When's the cutoff? But u don't need to talk about them but it's relevant because they are legends of the sport and well known to us long time fans. The Golden age of mma is relevant, it's what led to fighters today...

[@chinquish7717]

I immediately thought of Johnny Hendricks as he loved to strike with his opponents

[@Mockracy]

Love finding all these combat sports YT channels. 👍

[@dylan2na652]

to me hendo is the best example of wrestler known for striking

[@SuperCrazyEstonian]

Power comes from proper technique. Good technique comes from body mechanics. You have to be able to transfer your weight from one side to the other. Wrestlers do this all of the time, thus it´s no wonder they are able to put weight behind their punches.

[@stefanwolf8558]

I believe that striking is just simply easier. Throwing heavy strikes takes a lot less effort vs going for a blast double leg plus the odds of getting sprawled on makes your potential outburst of energy completely worthless. Wrestling is hard man, to be able to be a wrestling machine like Colby, Khabib, DC etc you need a crap load of cardio/endurance and it's just hard to maintain that level of conditioning. You can work your ass off to get great conditioning but take a week or two off of training and your cardio drops significantly.

[@kaliduncanel3356]

A lot of guys coming out of the Blackzillians camp did this. Anthony Johnson, Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson. I think this was to their detriment.

[@Haulinbassracing]

Wrestlers turn to strikers cause they cant wrestle anymore due to bad knees

[@xfishhuntersx2591]

The striking gets better because of the threat of the takedown, when khabib rocked conor in round 2 is a good example of the threat of the take down that strikers have to respect

[@brandonamezquita4501]

Khabib literally just looked down and it was enough for Conor to dropp guard. It was epic.

[@qweasd9153]

i think there are a few reasons for that. From the top of my head I think of how demanding is to take people down and keep them down or finish them in the ground. While when learning striking you just need to land a good shot and you are going to hurt your opponent. So to be a good MMA wrestler you gotta learn how to finish fights by ground and pound or by submission. Way harder than learning how to land strikes. And the grueling wrestling training just makes stronger athletes.

[@venicec3310]

Even wrestlers dont want to wrestle

[@RemyKingKen]

Wrestling produces some of the most insane athletes you’ll ever see. It’s not just striking imo, wrestlers can transition to into any physical demanding sport and I think that’s what makes the difference. (Rugby is also a very physical sport)

[@qupq]

probably because wrestling and boxing go hand and hand wrestling builds a strong strong back and neck making ur punches harder and harder for u to get koed

[@natedavis2944]

Honestly the real reason is cause in wrestling there’s actually a lot of set ups and getting the other guy to give you the openings you want and that’s good striking 101. So they already are familiar with setting it up more and with the mindset.

[@harrywatson2694]

yoel got a silver medal at the olympics

[@lowtierkingamvs3678]

The threat of the takedown opens up strikes too

[@ari123954]

Gaethje uses his wrestling all the time! It’s frustrating to point out, but he was a defensive wrestler and it shows when he has to defend takedowns. That’s why he was able to defend chandler’s shots in their fight

[@brandonamezquita4501]

Sprawl and brawl style.

[@daken5566]

Being able to weave wrestling into your striking is so dangerous because if done well (Khabib or Jones) your opponent spends more time focused on not getting takedown vs watching out for say, a head kick.

[@alohatigers1199]

Wrestling is a safety net. You either use it as a last resort or to switch it up. Something your opponent has to keep in mind.

[@phnxsteve7up]

Will you make another video about inoue. Especially after his huge win against fulton

[@DanPeters182]

Wrestlers who are winning a striking exchange can keep themselves standing through defensive wrestling, and if in trouble can rely on a takedown to turn the tide of a fight. Look at the first Stipe vs Ngannou match, or even the Ngannou vs Gane match, whoever has the superior wrestling can win against a superior striker, and when a striker is fearful of the takedown it leaves them open to more strikes.

[@13bfc]

"You can teach a wrestler to box but you can't teach a boxer to wrestle"

[@62ZAKA]

I think another reason you left out in this video is something you mentioned in another one which is that college and olympic wrestlers dont have any idea how to finish a fight ones it gets to the ground which is something you explained in your analysis of the grappling exchanges between dustin poirier and michael chandler. All of these guys are able to get the fight to the ground but cant really do much from there which is why they rather use their wrestling only defensively

[@VladimirMiyazaki]

TJ Dillashaw is one of the best examples of this. Whenever I saw his fight I thought he was a kickboxer

[@adxrexim1432]

You should do bobby green video next, it's cool to see him implementing boxing into ufc.

[@GrandmasterA.N.T]

Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson are the best examples.

[@jasonbest1]

I think you missed out Ben Askren. Arguably one of the greatest wrestlers turned strikers.

[@themanwiththemic4909]

It all depends on the character of the fighter. Guys like Chandler and Gaethje could try to fight like Usman and Khabib but they've got a wildness to them that makes them want to trade punches.

[@Chris-zz1sl]

I think also they throw different alot of them are really good with the overhand and they tend to dip a lot which looks like a takedown but then a punch is throw look at Justin's way of striking for example

[@gyezerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr]

“You see that kick? Classic wrestling move.”

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

Pankration moment

[@SOULJALOS]

Me watching this video* “Makes sense”

[@harrisongarms2052]

I also think striking causes less wear and tear on the body than wrestling does

[@landoftheninja]

Same thing happened historically with Okinawan wrestling evolving into karate.

[@STEP_BACK_3]

When you have good wrestling defense allows you to become a far better Striker cuz you don't have to worry about take down this much

[@dylanbrown3840]

Wrestling is probably the hardest physically of all the combat sprots so wrestlers can naturally do anything they want physically. They are powerful and determined. Also the UFC wants knockout artists not grapplers.

[@aideningrammma]

TJ dillashaw is the best example of a wrestler turned elite striker.

[@ellennartiff9803]

I love your videos. Please keep making videos

[@ghhhp]

it’s a good think people are afraid of your wrestling and it keeps fights on the feet 🤷‍♂️

[@andorhamori3738]

There is a small error in this video. Yoel “only” came second in the 2004 olympics he has no other medal from olympics, other than that great video!

[@genises200]

I lot of people talk about the Hips AND YES IT IS A HUGE PART. Tho i trult believe its because Wrestlers have great base Lower strength AND BACK MUSCLES!!!! People really undermine the BACK!!!!

[@aviancypress5181]

Boxing and wrestling is all you need

[@brandonamezquita4501]

And some sort of submission grappling.

[@KhaEnix03]

I totally agree with strikers having a hard time wrestling for sure I been training for 4 years and started karate for my first martial art and been doing mma for 3 and I have some skill on the feat but definitely I feel the most uncomfortable wrestling except with jiu jitsu cause it’s my favorite martial art

[@KhaEnix03]

But I learned how to sprawl even before mma so it was a little easier for me

[@adamzandarski8933]

Because striking is fighting and grappling is what you do when your striking fails

[@think7220]

Who is Gaethje fighting at 4:34? That guys physique is insane.

[@Drago90899]

Fiziev

[@jayherbogaming]

Bo Nickal is the epitome of this

[@insidetrip101]

I feel like DI wrestlers are real serious athletes. And I mean that in the highest sense of the word. Muy Thai guys might be impressive fighters and technique, but they're not athletes like DI wrestlers. There's this mentality of training beyond exhaustion, pushing the body and mind further than ever before, after each and every next workout . . . This is because Gable and the Brands's have been so dominant in wrestling coach tradition. Also consider the fact that even today many high school programs have a coach that never wrestled before. This is because its not a super popular sport, but just about every high school in the country has a team because of how easy the program upkeep is. So it makes sense that being stronger, faster, and tougher has always had a bit of a more emphasis than technique . . . Seriously, Sambo guys are tough. And they have their own work ethic. But They have a different work ethic. They don't have this blind motivation to be physically stronger so much as your strength and technique are enough to win the fight. You just don't see athletes anywhere like you see in D1 wrestling. That's not saying that other people aren't tough, they're just a different breed.

[@chomes8048]

The sambo thing is a really good point