Become the leader of your pack with judo for MMA.

These days, “he has great judo, Mike,” has become a phrase that slips from UFC color commentator Joe Rogan’s lips almost as regularly as, “he has great wrestling.” Fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Shonie Carter and Roger Gracie have all tried their hand at judo, while the most prominent judoka to grace the Octagon, Yoshihiro Akiyama, has put on a series of exciting fights and rocketed the sport’s profile in the States.

And now we also have Olympic medalist ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey making huge waves in the women’s discipline. But, even as the sport edges its way into the Western psyche, most still know relatively little about it.

So what is judo exactly, how is it different from wrestling and what real impact (if any) has it actually had on MMA?

JUDO: THE LOWDOWN

Judo is a Japanese martial art that focuses on throwing and has no strikes. Matches are five minutes long and extremely physical, especially at Olympic level. Like wrestling, you get points for pinning your opponent. This means that in MMA, judokas (judo fighters) possess similar attributes to wrestlers.

They have good (albeit different) takedowns and takedown defense and often show good positional control on the ground. 

Another similarity is a preference for being in the top position as a result of judo’s pinning rules.

However, judokas come into MMA with one major disadvantage compared to wrestlers: namely their opponents are not wearing a gi, something they are not accustomed to dealing with.

Judo allows some submissions in competitions and judokas can fight off their backs like BJJ fighters (at least to an extent).

Judo-born submissions have proved successful in MMA – one judoka, Yoon Dong Sik from Korea, won three consecutive pro MMA fights in Japan’s Hero’s organization with straight armbars in 2007–08.

But not all have fared so well inside the cage.

A PLACE IN MMA?

The advantages that come with judo’s unusual and subtle angles of attack from the clinch, especially when added to already solid wrestling skills, are a highly desirable commodity for modern MMA professionals. But while adding judo to your repertoire has proven benefits in the cage, world-class judo players ability to consistently transfer their skills to MMA is less certain. 

Very few genuinely world-class judokas have actually made the switch (though this is perhaps a little unfair as the same could be said for boxers). Notable exceptions to this include: Olympic gold medalists Hidehiko Yoshida and Makoto Takimoto, along with Asian Games champions Yoshihiro Akiyama and the aforementioned Yoon Dong Sik. 

Yet their MMA records are mixed. Sik’s record is only 6-7 – though he had a rough start to his MMA career, drawing the veterans Sakuraba, Murilo Bustamante, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and superior judoka Takimoto in his opening fights to set him off on a 0-4 losing streak from which he has only just begun to recover.

Takimoto himself has only fared marginally better with a record of 6-5 including a win over Murilo Bustamante and a loss to Frank Trigg. 

Yoshiro Akiyama is perhaps the most successful top-class judoka in MMA.

His record of 13-4-2 is far more respectable than the others.

However, with three straight losses in the UFC, he is starting to struggle in the world’s premier organization, spurring a move to welterweight.

His decision to trade punches with Michael Bisping for three rounds at UFC 120, rather than employing any of his grappling skills (save for one takedown attempt), was either tactically unwise or an indication he was unable to use his judo against such a formidable striker. 

THE BRUTAL PARADOX

Perhaps one of judo’s most baffling oddities is that some of the most successful judokas in MMA are the ones who have fairly modest international judo records. Karo Parisyan (19-8-1) is the most obvious example. With wins over elite opponents such as Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle and Matt Serra, it’s hard to believe that the Armenian was virtually unknown in the world of judo before his appearance in the UFC.

His main achievements in the sport were medaling in the US national junior championships and competing (but not medaling) in the 2004 US Olympic trials.

Yet Karo can be credited with creating a method of adapting judo to MMA that proved to be highly successful.

Former UFC light heavyweight Sokoudjou is another example of this phenomenon. His greatest achievements on a judo mat were to win the US Open and the Cameroon Junior Championships.

Fair enough results, yet they are nothing in comparison to Sokoudjou reaching a level in MMA that has seen him fighting in both Pride and the UFC so far during his career. 

Fedor Emelianenko also has a background in judo in addition to sambo. Having twice taken bronze in Russia’s national judo championships, Fedor demonstrated a respectable level in the sport; again though his MMA career far outstrips his judo results. 

Though judo has definitely found its niche in MMA and several high-profile judoka have made successful transitions to professional MMA.

It seems that adding some judo to your MMA tactical base has become a highly desirable, if not compulsory, part of MMA skills development. The two most surprising aspects of judo’s influence in MMA are perhaps the relatively small number of pro MMA fighters emerging from a judo background (given judo’s global popularity, proven effectiveness and huge participation figures), and the comparatively poor performance of the majority of world-class judokas in MMA when compared to mere national level judokas.

If you’ve got judo skills, great, yet it’s all about learning how to use them in the cage. So, follow this judo guide for MMA and see if you can inject some Asian sensation into your game.

WRESTLING TAKEDOWN OR JUDO THROW?

• If a judoka takes off the gi and throws someone isn’t he or she just wrestling? Not quite. There are some techniques that inevitably overlap. But throwing is what judo does best and it has a range of techniques that don’t exist in wrestling. To keep it really simple:
• If it’s a foot sweep or trip it’s judo (as these are banned in wrestling competitions).
• If it’s a shoulder throw or rolling throw then it’s most probably judo.
• If it’s a hip throw it could be either, depending on the exact technique and the background of the fighter (just listen to Joe Rogan – he normally calls it right).
• If it’s a pick-up, slam, double or single-leg takedown, then it’s wrestling as these are banned in judo.

The Judo Cage Clinic

While judo throws can look flash, vainly trying to execute the majority of them in MMA would likely see you on the floor getting your face pummeled within seconds.

But there are some that lend themselves to the eight wire walls of the Octagon. We asked one of the world’s leading judoka’s, the 2006 Commonwealth champion Craig Ewers, to show us some judo throwing techniques that can gain you the UFC strap.

Uchi Mata 

1. One of the most commonly seen throws in MMA today, Craig starts with an overhook and solid control of his opponent’s elbow.

2. Craig turns and moves his left leg closer to his opponent.

3. Craig uses his hips and leg to throw. 

Pro Tips

“In MMA, fighters often lose control of the left arm,” says Ewers.

“This is a common mistake and means the opponent can brace, making the throw instead become a battle of flexibility. This will almost always end in a scramble unless the thrower has exceptional timing and technique.”

Roll to leg lock

1. This time the opponent resists by leaning back slightly.

2. Craig releases with his left arm and grabs his opponent’s leg.

3. He then rolls, taking his opponent with him.

4. He retains his opponent’s leg…

5. ...and finishes with a leg lock.

Osoto Gari

1. Craig again takes the overhook but this time has only managed to secure his partner’s wrist.

2. Craig attacks across his opponent’s body in an explosive movement.

3. He blocks his partner’s far leg and then sweeps it away…

4. ...to get the throw.

5. He follows to side control. 

Osoto–Uchi Mata Combination

1. This time, as Craig attacks his opponent moves his leg back to defend.

2. Craig readjusts his balance but continues the attack.

3. He hooks his opponent’s right leg with his own and begins a one-armed uchimata attack.

4. To ensure its success Craig commits completely and rolls all the way over.

5. He lands in half guard but immediately secures his opponent’s far leg...

6. ...and switches to side mount.

Ude Garami – Sumi Gaeshi (Karo Parysian’s favorite)

1. Starting in a neutral position, Craig reaches for his opponent’s wrist.

2. He reaches over his opponent’s arm...

3. ...and secures the figure-four lock on his opponent’s arm (ude garami).

4. From here, Craig bases...

5. ...and rolls backwards inserting his foot onto his opponent’s thigh.

6. He uses his momentum and his foot to flick his opponent over his head with the sumi gaeshi throw.

7. He follows his opponent over...

8. ...and finishes with the kimura.