MMA Disciplines (And Some UFC Fighters Who Use Them)

BOXING

NOTABLE FIGHTERS
Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor, Holly Holm, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort

DESCRIPTION
Probably one of the oldest and most well-known fighting styles, especially by American Standards, is boxing. The sport focuses solely on utilizing the hands for combat, although footwork is very important as well.

Boxing is incorporated into almost every fighter's regimen, mainly because of how applicable it is. Straight, Jabs, Hooks, Overhands and Haymakers are the most basic punches boxers learn. The biggest disadvantage it has is obviously that it doesn't utilize the legs for offense at all.

Because of this, chances are even the most seasoned boxers will almost certainly need to learn some form of kicking or they will be at a HUGE advantage in the cage.

MUY THAI

NOTABLE FIGHTERS
Andersen Silva, George St. Pierre, Jose Aldo, Jon Jones

DESCRIPTION
In my opinion, the most well-rounded stand up discipline in MMA. Muy Thai originates in Thailand (Duh), and utilized both the upper and lower body. Kicks and punches are used, but some of the most important moves in the sport use the elbows and knees, and the "clinch".

The "clinch" is when you grab hold of the back of your opponents neck, and do close range damage (or prevent long-range damage from happening to you).

In boxing this is where a lot of upper cuts and hooks are done, but in Muy Thai, it's all about the knees.

KARATE

NOTABLE FIGHTERS
Lyoto Machida, Uriah Hall, Stephen Thompson

DESCRIPTION
I'm not going to delve too deep into Karate, because honestly I don't know a ton about it. I DO know this & Tae Kwon Do were the first real introduction to "Martial Arts" for many of us, and it Originated in Japan (Tae Kwon Do is Korean)

Karate utilizes both punches and kicks which gives it that advantage over boxing. However, for most US beginning classes, they're geared a bit more toward the aspects of "discipline" and the "philosophy behind martial arts" vs. learning how to fight.

That's not to trivialize the masters of the sport, but if you're interested in learning how to fight quickly, most local Karate classes might not be for you.

JUDO

JUDO (EXPLAINED)

NOTABLE FIGHTERS

Karo Parisysan, Ronda Rousey, Fedor Emelianenko

DESCRIPTION
The most graceful way to kick someone's ass you'll ever see. Originating in Japan, Judo utilizes your opponent's momentum and your own body as a fulcrum to flip your opponents without using much energy. When performed correctly it really can be remarkable.

It also uses "submissions", similar to those found in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The one huge disadvantage Judo has is that the majority of Judo classes practice with the "Gi" on (the uniform above), and many techniques use that Gi. When mixed with MMA where Gi's typically aren't used, this will remove a lot of useful moves that many Judo practitioners use.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)

NOTABLE FIGHTERS
Frank Mir, BJ Penn, Nick+Nate Diaz, Fabricio Werdum, Rafael Dos Anjos, Royce Gracie

DESCRIPTION
These days, there probably isn't a fighter in the ring who hasn't practiced at least SOME form of BJJ. Before Royce Gracie entered UFC in its VERY early days, few people had heard of this discipline. Now it's pretty much universally accepted as the quintessential Martial Art in the real world.

Throwing and grappling are important in BJJ, but what makes it stand out above the other ground arts is the "submissions". A submission is basically anything you can do to an opponent to make them "tap out", i.e., give up.

Whether it's suffocating your opponent, twisting their arm/leg/ankle/knee until it will literally SNAP IN HALF if you don't tap (yes, actually happens in the .gif above), in BJJ you're actually at an ADVANTAGE when you're taken down.

WRESTLING

WRESTLING

NOTABLE FIGHTERS
Matt Hughes, Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Daniel Cormier

DESCRIPTION
Dating back all the way to the first Olympic games, wrestling is a combat sport that relies completely on grapling, clinching, takedowns and holds. Several moves in wrestling (for example, the suplex) rely on a significant amount of sheer strength from the wrestler to perform the technique.

Because of this, wrestlers tend to have remarkable cardio vs. the typical martial artist, because of the sheer stamina needed in a single match of wrestling alone.

Many wrestlers have transitioned well to MMA, but the one distinct disadvantage vs. Judo or BJJ is that wrestlers are not trained to battle on the ground while on their back. In a typical wrestling match, once the opponent has been pinned to their back, that round is over, whereas in many cases the other two disciplines have no issues starting OFF on their backs.