Which Style of Wrestling is Best For MMA?
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Today we look at Khamzat Chimaev, Ilia Topuria, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Bo Nickal to figure out which style of wrestling is best for MMA. Folkstyle, Freestyle, or Greco Roman
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“The best takedown in the game is a left hook”
Love it
It's how Poatan got his Bjj black belt! Such a good takedown it crosses over to judo, sambo, etc
Poatan, prolly
UFC project alex fraudreira propaganda. Dana white really succeeded in taking a dump into yalls brains. Hes a fraud, never fought a tough fight. Most rigged career. Guys like oliveira fought hard style fights all his life and still got the belt. Pereira fought cherry picked cans before getting a shot and then even lost to a guy he was supposed to win lmao (izzy) got sparked out unconscious aswell then got his own emote used on his dead corpse. What a bum
How often does it work?
My opinion on wrestling has arrived
Honestly, same
Lmao same
Wrestling plus jujitsu = domination. This is why khazmat will continue to dominate.
@@PanzerChopp XD
You're transition to hardcore is almost complete. Now go study some inside sankaku.
To be fair, US wrestlers all start as folkstyle wrestlers and then some of them move to greco or freestyle, especially if they have aspirations to compete internationally.
Dunno anyone who wrestled as a kid and doesn’t know folk.
@@interestedparty7523international wrestlers don’t know much about folk style.
Tew be honest they do all three!!! My kids did @@interestedparty7523
@@interestedparty7523 In the US, Right.
Word on the street is, Che is gonna propose to charles soon.
1:45 you actually can’t “trip” in Greco you can only take your opponent over a planted leg, which is another part of the reason it’s the least useful style. It’s no-gi judo but no foot sweeps or wrapping trips which is like 50% of judo
oh didn't know that, interesting
Yeah Greco is goofy as all hell
It's Muay Thai clinching, and will not be referred to as anything else
Muay thai allows clinches@@AlexCain-ej5ev
So you can do a Tai Otoshi?
Glad you made this video bc during your debate with Kenneth okoye he was 100% oblivious of the differences
Kenny has 0 martial arts/combat sports experience or training. I have no faith in anything he says regarding those two topics.
Imagine Charles with elite freestyle wrestling. It's wraps, literally
Or Pereira
@@rbr8931oliveira would be more dangerous as he has elite striking and elite submissions whereas it’s unclear if pereira has any subs
Damn. They should take these Brazilians to Dagestan and then we would have the new breed of MMA fighters called Megamedov Silvas.
@@rbr8931??? I love pereira but thats so random😭 charles would be elite because of his jiu jitsu Alex doesn’t have jiu jitsu
@@Gfckin9 tdd
As a Mongolian wrestling prodigy I must say that it’s severely underrated in the sport of mma
who has used it
@OLSENMMA me I’m 19-3 professionally in mma
give us something to look up
@@optinoptimist umarmadov muhammadog magomedov 👍
As an American, I kinda agree I feel like a lot of lesser known styles of grappling from various cultures could definitely have their place in MMA. Juan Espino comes to mind with his Canarian wrestling.
Khamzat has a fast shot but his chain wrestling is better than his initial shot,he doesn’t often pull off perfectly timed blast doubles that get you down instantly or complete well timed single legs,even if its not a great entry he normally shoots just to make contact so he can either hike the leg up,climb to a body lock or circle to the back
He has trouble with his takedowns IMO. Khabib and moreover, GSP, exemplify takedowns in an MMA atmosphere.
@@interestedparty7523KHAMZAT is essentially, great chain wrestling, but he's good at shooting
@@interestedparty7523 Huh?? Saying Khamzat has trouble with takedowns is insane 😂😂 Who has he ever "struggled" to take down besides Usman, who he still took down FOUR times. Who prior to that fight got taken down ONCE in his entire career.
If you wanna say Khabib and GSP were more technical and strategic in their takedowns, that's fair. But Khamzat is so fast and overpowering with his takedowns that it doesn't even matter. Once he's got a hold of you, chances are you're going down.
Either way, pretty insane take tbh
@@interestedparty7523nah. Its just a different style. Mot inferior of it gets the job done. Gsp is more likely to get a double leg than khabib for example but thats a matter of strategy, gsp doesn't mind putting you down innthe centre of the cage while khabib wants to put you against the fence then leg trip you or run the pipe and make you carry his weight.
Its not about getting the takedown immediately for them its about making it harder for you to recover
and lessening the effort it takes for them to take you down while making uou less dangerous if you get up cos you back is still against the fence. More importantly it gives them multiple attempts if they fail, they can try to take you down the whole round instead of failing one shot and now they have to spend a lot of energy getting you down or they have to stand and strike which means energy wasted. They can also rest and pace themselves against the cage.
Gsp took down lesser opponents too. He took down nick diaz and he needed a reactive takedown cos his shot wasn't as fast. And nick diaz isn't exactly known for his speed.
gsp had the best blast double in the history of mma
1:45 leg grabs in judo will probably be allowed again in 2025
MMA Che's adjectives and emphasis on how he laces his sentences is what I live for. . . Plus his consistency in releasing videos has be to noted. . . You get to learn so much about the sport and can help one any guy's progress from being a casual to a hardcore fan in terms of understanding the dynamics of fights and the sport at large
Im just here til he fixes the teeth
0:10 MMA che doesn't beat around the bush. Just ten seconds in and we're addressing the elephant in the room
The gay elephant in the room with the best base.
@ranfan1820 STAND YEH BASE
You might not like it but homosexuality is the best base for MMA.
9:43 also escapes, scrambles, & reversals
Like the Granby you mention, & even Brundage's Schuck
Folkstyle is all of them in one. Any Greco things you can use freestyle you can use it’s the best
Khabib practiced free style wrestling for 4 years when he a teen in Russia I watched a interview and he said that
😮😊
He's saying he never had a match which is true. We all know freestyle was what he trained
He was a judo/sambo guy 😂
Greco on its own maybe the worst but when combined with folkstyle or freestyle it’s very useful, khamzats wrestling coach said if khamzat only stuck to freestyle & never tried his hand at greco he probably wouldn’t be as effective in mma as he is
Greco is a great add on, if you fail your shot and get to a body kick you have plenty of choices to get throws, this is why the Europeans are so good, they use judo/greco trips and throws after shooting, the shots just to make contact and after they’ll chain wrestle.
Khabib, Islam, Khamzat all essentially follow a folkstyle/bjj-based mma grappling formula. Everyone mocks folkstyle/collegiate wrestling style on the international wrestling scene, but Chimaev has taken all the best riding concepts and only few have been able to stop it.
They came from judo/sambo.
They picked up wrestling but they came from the jacket.
And people can mock American folk style. The reality is they are jealous because folk style wrestles are the grittier roughest wrestlers with the nastiest grind out there!
And they are better on the ground than the rest of the wrestling styles.
I didn't know everyone mocks collegiate on the international wrestling scene. I have an outsider's perspective but I seem to see mostly in terms of hand wringing by Americans when we have a slightly off year internationally. Oh why oh why do we persist in teaching our boys folkstyle!
The popularity of MMA and success of collegiate wrestling as a base in it could help silence those voices. It would be a good reason in and of itself to preserve our national folk wrestling tradition, as it will make it attractive for boys to get into. Thus improving participation as a goal in and of itself, and improving the elite pipeline. (Potentially even in weak regions like the South and West!) But since MMA fighters require submission training as well, in practice the question of its effectiveness "in a vacuum" as it's being contemplated here is not really the useful one. It's about how it does as an element of a full-skillset training package. We know that folkstyle "in a vacuum" is superior ground game training than freestyle. But since you need submission training to complete the full ground game skillset anyway, is freestyle with its extra emphasis on takedown skill plus bjj a better complete grappling training package than folkstyle with its broader emphasis plus bjj?
@@salvadorromero9712 certainly free style wrestlers have a bigger repertoire in takedowns and throws.
By nature it has a deficit on the ground. Can BJJ fill that gap? To an extent I suppose. Folk style teaches certain attributes that neither free style nor BJJ imparts.
If a person trains with both you notice the differences.
Folk style wrestlers are super tough and scrappy in all positions. And tend to take the most efficient though less flashy way to the ground. the grind of folk style is reminiscent of a game pitbulll.
Folk styles guys tend to take that drive and tenacity standing and ground with them to BJJ and mma.
This type of training character starts at young ages in folks style and develops for the selection of athleticism and heart as kids go up through the age brackets.
Free style by contrast is dynamic in the take down then the nature of it calls for a stop to the fight when you hit the ground.
They stall for a stand up. They aren’t taught the grit of the fight like a folk style guy. Folk style rules don’t allow for much I the way of a rest.
These are just my personal observations and experiences. Maybe I’m wrong on something? It just seems American folk style is a way more scrappy, tougher, grinding style of wrestling.
On a personal level I think I’d enjoy free style or Greco better. Im not that tough of a guy to embrace the aspects of folk style 😂
Ashiwaza aka trips are a fundamental part of judo. Greco-Roman does not allow trips.
1:52: Greco Roman does not allow trips, it's not really like Judo. The majority of points are scored on the ground. In judo the majority of ippons are standing.
Greco is not no gi Judo. There are zero trips or sweeps allowed.
Sadulaev is still young 28 y/o. If he trains Muay Thai and BJJ it's over for everyone
He has actually one problem and that he's to short
His piss would melt the test cup, his thyroid 100% doesn't work anymore because of all the crap he's taking (Khamzat has nothing compared to this walking pharmacy), without synthetic hormones he would get VERY sick in the cage
@@Psalm51-ql2cn Dc,yoel frankie edgar?
Georgian judokas have much more pore potential in mma for example lasha he is 23 and already 2 times olympic champion people don't realize Georgia is far more dominant than Dagestan or whole russia in strength sports judo, weightlifting, rugby, despite fact that freestyle wrestling is not as popular we have lot's of olympic champions
@@SewerClips-r5l that's bcz judo is easier than wrestling and that's why dagestan despite being smaller is way more dominant in mma than Georgia. Judo doesn't work in mma that much
Greco isn’t even close to nogi judo, judo is full of leg and foot techniques . None of Wich are allowed in Greco
Tom Aspinall blast double leg into the RNC against Arlovski is EXACTLY what Khamzat did to Whittaker except it was even quicker & they still calling him “an up & comer”😂😂😂
the double standards is crazy
If his name was Khamzat he would have already got a title shot
Or maybe if his name was Tomov Aspinallov
@@triocha24 Dude has pulled out of tons of fights. He is the main event you're not supposed to pull out. Alex saved UFC ass.
@@natel9019who ? Tom or Khamazat?
It's because tom did that against a 120 year old arlovski. Khamzat did that to one of the best mws ever who was ranked top 5. And the Title shot argument dont make sense because jones is ducking him, if it wasn't for jones he would have gotten his shot long ago.
@@cold485 Khamzat
As a swede I can tell you there is a reason Khamzat changed his whole swedish team except his bjj coach Alan Do Nascimento. An amazing bjj coach who with khamzats wrestling background have made him amazing
Mountain style wrestling is the best for mma
The crazy mountains
I love wrestling and hate it at the same time. I loved the competition but I absolutely hated practice.
Practice is brutal hahah
Fun dynamic drills but feel dead by the end but afterwards you feel great
Wrestling isnt popular where i live, how did you guys train?
@@JohnCena-vo4huI found an mma gym with a wrestling class
As a mma fighter who is primarily a wrestler I found this video a very good watch and Was funny as.
I think the best base for mma is being good at mma
Catch wrestling is underrated.
2:15 Thank you now we can actually have this conversation now
A really good point in this video is at 11:22. He calls it a leg lace by I learned it as a padlock. A very sneaky small thing that can be a big improvement to your top game
Greco guys dominate the clinch. Remember Randy Coulture
Two of the guys featured in the thumbnail come from jacket wrestling sports 😂
In my opinion, folk style is the best for mma. My reasoning is pretty simple, folk style is the best at teaching you how to get up after someone takes you down.
All the wrestling champions in ufc, Greco does the best maybe the upright position transitions better for mma, than a more crouching style.
W video needed this
3:05 I do greco and love the forward pressure ,the physical strength, underhooks and bodylocks , pinch headlocks, arm throws, hip tosses, suplex, duck unders, arm drags etc.
With greco you can really mix it with your striking like knees because of the clinch which you cant with other styles, not to mention greco itslef has a variation of the double leg, but with a bodylock instead.
But i do agree you need leg attack too sometimes.
What is that move called? (Double leg version in greco)
@checksumsha1sum632 high dive, in my country we also call it what can be translated to "bodylock takedown" or "blasting their midsection"
@@ShaporShokri-b1u Interesting, thanks for sharing
wow! which country u are from ? It's so rare to find a greco gym . In my country it's all freestyle wrestling(except for the olympic guys).
@@careerprep711So what's your country? In most European countries you usually find a Greco club amongst the wrestling clubs.
"Those of us in the know... we also think it's gay" this deserves a 2 second reel
Greco is the best base for clinching and control which is the most difficult style and dominant style of wrestling. Greco by itself is not the best for mma with striking but body lock takedowns are extremely high percentage including judo trips and throws. Leg wrestling is much more tiring and difficult especially when they know how to chain wrestle into clinching or other takedowns. All about the hips the strongest point on the body
7:25 Not only does khamzat have good bjj, but he also uses folk style moves to get his leg hooks in such as the penn state ride. And he also is amazing at the cross body ride once he gets his hooks which is a folk style ride.
freestyle with a backtake? seems like it works really well.
on its own folkstyle because the ground game is better, but better than that is bjj, especially with adcc-like rules. combined with the takedowns of freestyle i think it makes for the most dangerous grapplers.
I loved that you compared islam and khamzat because just as bith of them have sinilar strengths both have the same weakness, when they arent able to sub you in the early rounds they can get tired and fade away
We saw it in the dystin fight, islam had 0 issues taking down dustin in the 1st round and he did try to get him out quick with arm bar but the 3rd and 4th round is when he coudlnt even get a single takedown
Before watching let me just say that it's absolutely undeniably a freestyle base with solid ground game from bjj and mma, as much as people want it to be collegiate
yeah I kinda saw this conclusion coming, but it's simply wrong. I get the logic, intuitively, folkstyle seems more complete, so it must be perfect for mma which is even more complete, right? but this simply isn't true, in the modern era, not only are freestylers the best at the shot and throws, they're also the best at ground control. this is the problem with looking at it intuitively instead of looking at the actual state of the sport. I think the conclusion you must take if you know the sport as it is is that ground control is better taught as an ancillary discipline, the best base is freestyle PLUS practicing a more complete ground game. folkstyle ground control is not a complete discipline in mma, but it's good enough, so most modern collegiate wrestlers end up just being "good enough" at the ground game, while the Dagestanis and other folkstyle base fighters like Rei Tsuruya andKhamzat have insane ground and transitionary game.
of course there are modern fighters that emphasize the weakness of freestyle without strong bjj, Gamrot has insane takedown rates but he's not keeping anyone on the ground, yoel is a worse example because the sport has developed since his prime but these are the exception, not the other way around, the freestyler with stronger ground game than the collegiates is the norm, you can just as well point to div 1 wrestlers that gave up on ground game, Gaethje being one.
Che your the only thing keeping me out of mma hybernation
Charles Oliveira also uses the Greco-Roman style, but he obviously mixes it with his BJJ, which is of a high level.
Catch wrestling is the best , Josh Barnett
Henry Cejudo getting completely overlooked 😭
He left a lot of fighters out who use wrestling a lot, Aljo, Cejudo, Merab, Belal, Ankalaev, etc.
@@checksumsha1sum632 ankalaev is not a wrestler. He is a striker.
Henry is always literally overlooked
@@youngornitier😂😂
@@youngornitierthats why he wants people to bend the knee
In addition to the flood of comments corrrecting the Greco is no-gi judo comment, the throws and upper body locks are also completely different due to the gi of course.
I don’t think Jones ever did Greco also.
As for the Khabib camp, they are a mix of MMA adapted sambo/judo/wrestling. Abdulmanap trained them with MMA in mind in addition to their individual style experiences. They also cross trained and picked up folk style from AKA. They are the most complete MMA grappling style.
And in the US, the Greco guys that competed in MMA like Randy and Chael and Lindland all did folk for most of their lives I believe.
For those who want the quick version from a life long wrestler -
Freestyle - the most common style worldwide, score points by pushing opening out of the circle, take opponent down, expose opponents back to the mat past a 45 degree angle. Freestyle does not focus on top and bottom wrestling and the strategy is to stall on the bottom until the ref stands you up and try not to get your back exposed.
Folkstyle - this style is exclusive to America, points are for takedowns, back exposure (for count, 2-4 seconds), reversing position from the bottom, and escaping position from bottom. In college your top control time is added up and if you have 1:00 or more of top control more than your opponent you are given a “riding time” point. This is the only style where escaping bottom position and controlling top position are a part of the sport, which is why most say it translates to mma best of the 3 styles.
Greco Roman - basically very similar to freestyle except there is no leg attacks. All attacks must be above the waist. Greco is probably the second best mma base after folkstyle.
Why is khabib in the thumbnail as a folkstyle wrestler lol? Folkstyle is EXCLUSIVELY an American style. Also Jon Jones was a national champion in folkstyle not Grecco but he was also very good in Grecco and was an all American.
@@giacalonebuilding4443 Folkstyle is an exlusive American style that anyone can learn from any country
@ why would anyone outside of USA train for a sport that is only available in USA and also isn’t available after college age.
@@giacalonebuilding4443 i actually discuss this in the video believe it or not
Senegalese wrestling is actually pretty cool... They do punch each other , but their wrestling technique is pretty similar to folk style wrestling
Thanks for sharing, I learned a lot about wrestling and MMA that I did not know before.
merabs wrestling base isnt turkish oil wrestling bro, HE IS LITERALLY GEORGIAN. his background is in georgian wrestling and judo
Dana White’s Oil Wrestling
Before I even listen, I’ll say folkstyle is the best wrestling (as a wrestler). Folkstyle is the base for Americans and in the off-season, we would compete in freestyle and Greco, but in folkstyle we need to know takedowns AND have the ability to control opponents on the ground and know how to get up,which is HARD. Especially in college
The stance of greco and emphasis on the clinch make it second best for mma.
Come on Che you know this ,the best base of wrestling is Aikido
Personally i prefer folkstyle. Folk focuses way more on control vs freestyle is way more focus points. Control is key in a fight
I’m gonna say this I’ve mixed Greco Roman Wrestling with Judo. I practice folkstyle as well but guys in pride going for a single leg you’d be getting knees on the crown of the head. Randy Couture was the best at it and his take down defense was insane. It’s MMA Greco Roman guys are hard to take down if you mix Greco with judo, good luck trying to get a double or a single.
Ty for answering this question in a way I can understand! Always wondered wut the differences were. Sidenote: Why is Da Bronx giving u head in this upload?
😭😭😭
Che u my favorite but a leg lace is freestyle when u grab the legs and roll head in or out lacing the leg is more accurate frfr🤓
Catch is King 👑
Khamzat’s FNAF jumpscare seems pretty efficient
Folkstyle #1 you have to hold people down which translates really good to MMA
Greco#2 it show you better positioning from a clinch and a Good Greco wrestler will take you down whenever he wants
Freestyle3#Great for quick leg attacks but I think translates the least to MMA out of all of them
All this being said I think they all translate well to mma and are all effective i personally competed in all of them both at the state and national level and I dable in MMA
Earned my sub at the 13 second mark
Did bro just say Merab comes from a Turkish oil wrestling background?
You failed to mention wing chun
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the most dominant , everyone knows his gameplan but no one can stop him .
the answer to this question is simple: professional.
it’s all fun and games until i 450 splash off the top of the octagon and wait for a run in interference spot
Judo? GI wrestling?
In the conversation, not saying it's the best wrestling type...
everyone watch khabib Tibau
trips are forbidden in greco
I think freestyle brother. I love your takes 💪🏾
yeah man, MOVE-SVARE evloev, my favorite 145 prospect
1:07 what am I looking at
Judo is the amazing much better version of greco wrestling. Id pick bjj first imo then judo close second but i could see the argument for wrestling and from a training and intensity and preparation standpoint and just griity mentality and toughness standpoint thats where wrestling just shines but if im talking just techniques wise only im going bjj first judo close second thats just my opinion though i comepletly understand the argument for wrestling ive done all the above except ive never done greco. I really wish i couldve kept doing judo but theres none in my area that im aware of im in northeastern Oklahoma i know of absolutely zero judo gyms… luckily i have a good bjj gym to train at.
Folk style is suffering in regards to its transition to MMA because throwing legs (back take with hooks) is falling out of favor at the collegiate level. Lots of top level college wrestlers just let their opponent back up... Part of this could be due to things like bars, half Nelsons, and cradles are safer at the high school level... This is especially true in places where wrestling isn't as high level. Throwing legs gets kids pulled over the top and pinned in high school quite a lot, so they are discouraged from doing it and don't learn it
I kind of wish the UFC got Ben askren before his knees were shot just to see if it would translate.
You don’t need to watch ben askren since khamzat does similar leg riding to ben askren. He is probably the closest one to it
@vynongaming553 true but I want to see if an American from the folk style tradition can still do it at the highest level... Bo nickal refuses to give it to us. Maybe next time around
@ like bjj and striking. Wrestling also has different styles. Bo nickal definitely needs to learn leg rides. He does ankle rides and cradles. But he does not specialise in leg rides like ben and khamzat does like cross body, parallel, crab, etc. so he still has a lot to learn. And in wrestling collegiate. For some reason leg riding is only a few that does it. I think for the ruleset and how it has a steep learning curve. There are just more efficient moves in folkstyle to pin someone down. However, leg riding is best when strikes are involved, and when putting the hooks in is legal. You can combine strikes with leg riding, or taking the back. Switch between the two.
@vynongaming553 it's tough. When I was wrestling in high school, the only kids that were allowed to leg ride were the ones who were already doing it in middle school... I think it's becoming outdated. I swear it used to be a lot more common of a style to have.
There were a couple of practice partners in high school that would throw legs and break me down easy and my defense never really got good enough to stop it... But it didn't matter cause I never once wrestled a match against someone who threw legs
@ yeah its just inefficient for wrestling. Takes longer to get to the same level of pinning as the spiral, cross wrists, claw rides .However for mma, its the best style to have, you have the cage, strikes, able to get the back and switch to leg riding again.
Once you get to the ground Folk style is the best, control.
Greco guys don't get kneed to the head.
The most important skill wrestling conveys to mix martial arts is the takedown and freestyle is King of the takedown, folk has a couple good reversals and escapes and Greco-Roman is completely worthless because you're not allowed to touch the legs
While I agree that Khabib took aspects and elements from folkstyle. I feel that folkstyle is lacking in terms of locking hands. We see Khabib go for body-lock and knee ride to put the weight on the oppoent's hands to prevent stand ups, locking hands is actually illegal in folkstyle. I never liked that rule, but his riding game definitely borrows from folkstyle concepts.
Catch as catch can anyone? Easily the best style for MMA
A great and underrated style!
every wrestling styles is best
The amount of times Ive seen that DC askren clip in a che video
Leg grabs are just the best takedowns, its a known fact, thats why it's banned in grecoroman, to make it more "diverse".
Georgia is the best base for MMA
No it’s inbreeding
Never leave us che
Catch Wrestling is best, as it has sunmissions
They all do bjj anyways. This is about what's the best wrestling base as in filling the gap between striking and grappling.
Ken and Frank Shamrock Do you remember their wrestling
Che is the best mma analyst
Who is the best ground and pound artist
In my opinion wrestling of any kind dictates where all MMA fights take place
8:09 His physique is insane
Khabib, Chimaev and the others from there all come from a very strong Sambo background.
However comma
MMA perfect base is a wrestler with hands and 2-3 years of bjj
Bo never looked in trouble in that Cody fight, which he shouldn’t have to give Cody credit but yeah that’s the knowledge of a lifelong wrestler
Goat mma channel
Man you are so wrong Greco Roman wrestling is a dying sport only few people in the world do it and from those few they actually have a lot good mma fighters. Just from the ratio how many doing this sport and how many champs it produces it is probably better than every wresting style. What makes Greco wrestlers so strong is the training they doing a lot explosive exercises plus a lot Bodylifts every trainings sessions.
insane intro lmfaoooooooooooooooooooooo
Gsp was the best wrestler in mma. His double leg timing was perfect. Khabib dont have that kind of wrestling.
he was the best, his blast double was better than chimaev's