Issue 044
December 2008
Every generation has its trials, its tribulations, and its inevitable revelation. The revelation for this generation of fighters may not come in the form of a single realisation, as ground ‘n pound or submissions did for those in the ‘90s. Instead, it will come in a contest to decide the elite-level ground fighters in the full-contact universe.
For a long time the talent pool of ground-fighters in MMA has been relatively weak next to the level of competition in the jiu-jitsu and grappling world championships, but with the continued success of MMA the landscape is changing. Brazilian jiu-jitsu mundial (world) champions are quickly figuring out that their skills are not unilateral. They are becoming converts to the world’s fastest growing sport.
Rickson Gracie was the grappling god of a previous generation, but these times are a little more pantheistic. With the appearance of Roger Gracie, Xande Ribeiro and Marcelo Garcia (the world’s three best grapplers), and the impending arrival of Robert Drysdale, the pace of the game, the power and the precision, are going to be pushed to a different level.
More often than not people wonder what techniques are going to appear in the fights of Roger and Xande – magical miracle finishes they haven’t seen before. Xande and Roger aren’t bringing a new game; they are not going to deliver a form of messianic rubber guard or divinely inspired side control. They are going to do exactly the opposite. They are going to force a return to the fundamentals.
If either of these fighters ends up in a guard that lacks fundamentals, they are going to go through it like a hot knife through butter. Xande’s side control is devastating, and Roger’s ability to take the back is unlike any other heavyweight in the world. Both of these fighters have an unmatched ability to force openings, which opponents foolish enough to take their bait will discover.
In previous years, it has been enough for one Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt to cancel out the game of another and force both grapplers into the stand-up game. We have seen this with fights such as Gabriel Gonzaga vs Fabiano Scherner. This is not something that is going to happen to either Xande or Roger. They have no problem forcing a fight to become a jiu-jitsu match, because they win jiu-jitsu matches.
Many changes in the jiu-jitsu and submission grappling game have gone unnoticed in the MMA community. The reality of these transitions, though, is that every revelation in no-gi grappling - whether it is Marcelo Garcia’s development of the over-under as a way to take the back, or advancements in the half-guard (which has been more or less ignored by MMA fighters) - is going to start to make its way into the sport.
The quality of submission grappling in the Western MMA scene has been retarded by the presence of wrestling and the emphasis on the importance of athleticism. The Japanese scene has not suffered in the same way – the most prominent Japanese fighters have been all-round submission fighters. The American pioneers have been the Mark Colemans and the Dan Severns, fighters nowhere near the technical level of legends such as Kazushi Sakuraba or Masakatsu Funaki.
While the American MMA scene has become home to many Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts and Abu Dhabi competitors, the alpha males have not yet made it their goal to conquer the UFC, and very few of the top jiu-jitsu guys even bother to learn striking. This was a downfall of Marcelo Garcia, who thought it would be fair to show up with just his submission game. While Garcia came close to winning that fight, his opponent knew that he only had to stall until he could get back to his feet.
When Xande Ribeiro debuted in Sengoku and knocked his opponent out, he sent a message. While Ribeiro may be among the world’s greatest grapplers, his game is still improving, and, at the age of 27, his all-around performance promises devastation. Roger Gracie, who celebrated his 27th birthday in September, has the all-round jiu-jitsu ability to outgrapple any fighter. But who knows how his striking will manifest itself? With his lanky physique, he should prove to be a force to be reckoned with.
The kings of the submission grappling circuit are powered by the details of their technique. Their ability to keep their knees and hips tight during armbars and triangles, and their speed with turning over their hips, supersedes that of any fighter that MMA fans see on a regular basis. It is not a matter of giving the fan techniques to look for, or citing new submissions and sweeps – it’s a matter of detail. Fighters like Xande, Roger and mundial champion Andre Galvao know the ins-and-outs of grappling because they live it. They understand the minutiae in the way that a professional boxer understands the head movement his sport requires of him. These are the details that professional MMA fighters are going to have start implementing in their game, or they may find themselves extinct, fossils of an evolving sport.
