WRESTLING vs BJJ...who wins in a MMA fight?

Chael Sonnen discusses who would win in a fight between a wrestler and BJJ fighter on this episode of Beyond the Fight.

[kurtfranklin]

I saw an example where a wrestler won 4 and 3/4 rounds before loosing the fight.

[sakshambansal]

Me: BJJ
Uncle chael: Wrestling
Me: Wrestling
Uncle chael: WWE Wrestling.
Me: Okay great

[Komodokhan]

Wrestling combined with Jiu-Jitsu is the ultimate form of grappling. Differences aside Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling can complement each other quite well. And both wrestlers and BJJ practitioners can benefit by cross training.

[travisbaker]

isolated bjj is better, but i think wrestling dominant with some bjj is better then bjj dominant with some wrestling in mma. starting in a dominant position with 2-3 min left in a round will almost always give you the round.

[baseta.husiny]

If you consider the difficulty in acquiring the skills between the sports it becomes a different conversation. An elite wrestler who train for few months of BJJ can do enough to avoid submissions, but it is nearly impossible for an elite BJJ grappler to have the same success in wrestling. Ultimately someone who can control where the fight goes and get by without being submitted has much higher chance of winning the fight. This is clearly evident when you examine most dominant fighters/champs come from a wrestling background

[bfc]

Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva. The first fight between them shows you the abilities of wrestling vs Jiujitsu in MMA & what happens when the other is unaware or lacks experience of their opponents different grappling art.

[mitchgreve]

Wrestling will for 5 rounds 3 minutes and 9 seconds

[ImagineBeingFat]

Chael: Want to hear a joke?
Us: Yes please!
Chael: So, Rehonna, Ya-Rear and Gats-telum walk into a Mooey Tai gym....

[StSimonMartyr]

Bas Rutten once remarked that the reason the UFC removed Headbutts was because wrestlers were becoming TOO dominate, they solved the bjj ground game, with ground n pound, and headbutts. Take down, headbutt, destroy. Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Randleman et al. Elbows and knees are far more brutal than a headbutt, so it was never about a physical

[koslisted]

The Winner is usually the one that makes the least amount of mistakes.

[afdchocolatemilk]

As a guy who has wrestled for over 30 years school boy and college and coaching, and for the last 2 years BJJ i can say was humbled. Now that said, I do win on my feet even with brown belts, they don't like when I get a wrist with both of my hands. It ends up being a stalemate, but I lose far more than I win. On the upside I am getting better, and my wrestling background has certainly helped.

[RonALampman]

Wrestling has been watered down through time to make the sport it is today. However, in it's inception, It was very much a martial art, had submissions, throws, take downs, and the like. It would be interesting to see how a Roman gladiator in his prime would fair against Royce Gracie in his prime. Kimura or Double Wristlock? Which came first?

[shoto]

A wrestler who understands Jiujitsu wins!

[MS-prtx]

What bjj is missing is the wrestling pace and mindset.

[johnnybatinich]

Bjj may beat wrestling of just pure forms going at it but there's no denying that a ton of the top fighters come from wrestling backgrounds.

[Makai]

Ever since Chael introduced the Applause sign, I find myself clapping before the video starts and then again when it's over.

[cjb]

If we're talking taking the opponent down/neutral position, then wrestling wins. If we're talking top position/submissions, then bjj wins. If we're talking the entire match, then Chael wins

[kalimba]

A wrestler fighter who knows BJJ beat a BJJ fighter who knows wrestling, in most cases in MMA. In the last seven years, almost every champion in the UFC came from wrestling: Usman, Jon Jones, Khabib DC, Stipe Miocic, Tyron Woodley...

[pEMDASist]

Props to chael for keeping things moving.

[enochbrown]

Thank you, Mr. Sonnen. What a great insight you have given us!!!