Is judo effective in MMA?
There are several martial arts that athletes use in MMA. This includes BJJ, Muay Thai, and Karate. However, if an athlete wants to improve his/her grappling skills, Judo to the go-to martial art.
Judo is a practical martial for MMA. Many of the most famous MMA fighters had strong backgrounds in Judo, which helped them gain a competitive advantage over their opponents.
We can take the example of Rhonda Rousey, who showed everything how effective Judo can be in MMA. She used Judo techniques to become one of the most feared athletes in MMA. She won her first 8 fights with either an armlock or armbar, which are common submission holds in Judo. Rhonda’s strategy was also anchored by her Judo skills, she would take down her opponent and go for a swift submission – a pure Judo style. Later on in her career, she started using strikes. But that was the time when she also started losing fights.
Fedor Emelianenko is another great fighter that comes to mind. Many people consider Fedor the best heavyweight MMA fighter of all time. Though he was not a small guy, the opponents he fought were a lot bigger than him. However, he was an expert Judoka and used grappling techniques to takedown people bigger than him. He was also a sambo expert. But as we know, sambo is also influenced by Judo.
Fedor showed the world how effective Judo can be in MMA. He used Judo against the best wrestlers in the world. This could be seen in his fight against Chael Sonnen.
Karo Parisian is another great example of Judo’s effectiveness in MMA. He started Judo at 9 years old and used Judo techniques to win matches. Though he started his UFC career because he needed money. Nevertheless, he defeated some of the best MMA fighters of that time. This includes fighters like Matt Serra and Nick Diaz.
Hector Lombard was another great example of Judo’s effectiveness in MMA. He was able to show his Judo skills dominantly. Being a 4th dan black belt in Judo, he had a world-class career in Judo and MMA. He is known for being one of the best grapplers of his era and defeating the best fighters of that time. He defeated Jake Shields, who is known to be the top-tier grappler in MMA.
When we talk about takedowns and throws, Judo is the best martial art that is transferable to MMA. To become a good MMA fighter, you will need to cross-train between many skills and martial arts. But, if you want to improve your throws, takedowns, and submissions, Judo is the way to go. It is more effective in MMA when compared with wrestling.
There is a long learning curve in Judo. It is not something that can be learned quickly. There are so many things to learn in Judo, and that is why Judo has a periodic training progression. It takes years to become an expert or even decent in the sport.
Judo is a great martial art and can help you improve your MMA skills. Especially your takedowns and submissions.
