Thread: Article on best base for MMA

"Inside MMA" poll results: What's the best MMA discipline? | MMAjunkie.com

The article breaks the bases down to just Wrestling, BJJ, Striking. Of course striking could be broken down to sub categories. I think that differing disciplines in striking can make a big difference. I'd rank Muay Thai as the best striking discipline followed by boxing then any traditional MAs like karate/taekwondo. I consider Judo somewhere in between wrestling and BJJ. To me it depends on a prospective fighters talents. I think wrestling has shown the most mass appeal and crossover ability. Alot of this has to do with the conditioning of top wrestlers. Hughes is a phenomenal wrestler and has shown a good ability to both sub and defend subs, but even after years of training his striking is just average at best. All that being said I'm starting to lean towards Von's opinion that wrestling and BJJ can be taught easier then good striking. If a fighter's talents lay in his ability to strike then a back ground in Muay Thai or Kick Boxing is probably the best route. The ability to sub an opponent is much harder to teach then the ability not to get subbed. The other side of the coin is if you are not a natural striker (good power, reflexes, speed, and chin) then I think BJJ is probably still the best bet. Great submission work will get a fighter through the lower and middle ranks, but with todays top fighters haing more versatility it wont be enough. I still hold to my long standing opinion that a strict boxing background will require a substantial transition phase. I know we have rehased this 100 times but the article was interesting considering how generic the style were.

I've always maintained that you choose one of

boxing, kickboxing, muay thai

and one of

wrestling, BJJ, judo.

good read