The most useful fighting style for UFC.

The UFC is the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a Mixed Martial Arts promotion company. One of the hottest debated topics is which fighting style is the best for Mixed Martial Arts. Many people would suggest that the best fighting style is a well-rounded fighter, using a wide range of disciplines, but some would disagree.

The UFC is extremely popular, as a sport to watch and a sport to bet on, as you can see on Fanduel, and betting is one of the reasons why people want to know which fighting style is the best. We want to know who has the best fighting style so that we can pick the most likely winners when we place our bets.

We have to ask which fighting style is the best, and two of the fighting styles that are adopted in the UFC are Taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu, among many others. Let’s try to figure out which of these unique fighting styles births the most UFC Champions.

UFC Champions.

The debate as to which fighting style is the most dominant in UFC has long been existing. The primary styles that are found are; wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/BJJ, kickboxing, boxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and Karate. Each of these styles has different high effective aspects, and some of the top fighters may even blend multiple styles, but still, which primary fighting background has the most success in UFC fighting lacks a highlighted answer.

UFC Champions by their primary fighting style.

UFC started awarding titles in the late 90s and back then wrestling was the top dog, with the most champions next to kickboxing and then boxing. However, later then, in 2006 there was an increase in the diversity of backgrounds. Wrestling was still on top, but at this time BJJ had the second-highest number of champions, followed by boxing and kickboxing. In 2006 there were no champions with a background in karate or Taekwondo.

By 2012, wrestling was still on top, with BJJ following close behind. Boxing and kickboxing were still close behind, followed by Muay Thai, and now Taekwondo had given birth to a UFC champion. Then by 2019, wrestling was still on top, with BJJ still in second. Boxing produced the third-highest number of champions, then followed by kickboxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and Karate.

Here we can see wrestling is the most beneficial background and karate is the least beneficial. There are some theories being the comparative dominance of wrestling, and this is that wrestlers have an advantage in close combat. Fighters with striking backgrounds may find it harder to defend themselves from wrestling-style takedowns, and while wrestling may lend itself to dramatic knockouts as much as any other discipline, it is less exciting but more effective. Wrestlers often outlast opponents and thus gain an advantage over their opponents.

However, wrestling may not always be the leader, and taekwondo and BJJ may end up taking over the scene, but how can we wager which it will be that will perhaps be the leading MMA background in years to come? We need to look at which of these martial arts is the most effective in UFC fighting. What benefits does each bring, and what are the areas in which they falter?

Taekwondo in UFC.

Taekwondo represents a solid base in MMA fighting, and its techniques work very well when it is applied to an MMA base, however, although it is very useful, it cannot be used as a single style when you are fighting in UFC.

This is because the mixed martial arts used in UFC fighting include all three elements of fighting; stand-up, clinch, and ground. Not a single martial art covers all three elements, so MMA fighters need to cover all these places, with various styles.

Taekwondo is great for UFC fights, but it is not the best, as past decades have shown, the footwork and kicking power of this martial art are very useful features, however, they are also easy to get around for many of today’s prominent martial arts. This does not mean it is not good or effective, as some of the best fighters hold Taekwondo black belts. However, as a whole, there are some Taekwondo moves that are not allowed in UFC fighting- we would say about half.

It is also worth considering the range of Taekwondo moves, which involves a lot of kicking. When facing a boxer, or wrestler, this is not productive, and can easily result in getting smashed by a boxer or wrestler in close combat. It’s useful to know, but you cannot only know Taekwondo.

Jiu-Jitsu in UFC.

Jiu-Jitsu and BJJ is a ground-based grappling technique that involves the use of joint locks and chokeholds. This martial art promotes the idea that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves against a bigger, stronger, and heavier opponent by using the correct techniques and leverages.

A fighter doesn’t need to be a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu to be successful in MMA and UFC, however, a high level is almost required these days to be successful. There are many BJJ experts in the UFC today, and so it is near impossible to get by with no training in this martial art.

Which is better?

There is no solid way to say which is better. While Taekwondo has brought about plenty of champions, it has a smaller success rate than some other martial arts, and its kicking moves, although strong, do not come in so handy when in close combat against an opponent with a wrestling or boxing background. However, Jiu-Jitsu does have more credibility in the area, with a great deal of UFC fighters and champions at least having a high level of experience or knowledge in the area. We cannot say for certain that Jiu-Jitsu is a better background, but having sufficient knowledge of this martial art is necessary.

Rather than focusing on the background of the fighter, we would recommend looking into their martial art skillset and looking for Jiu-Jitsu.

Previous articleErrol Spence Jr is OUT, Pacquiao will face Ugas instead
Next articlePICTURE: Errol Spence Jr post eye surgery