A Look At Grappling In The Light Heavyweight Division
by surfrock66 on Nov 14, 2009 1:27 PM EST
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Ask almost any MMA fan what the most stacked weight class is in MMA and you will certainly hear that the 205 pound light heavyweight division is king. Particularly in recent years, the UFC light heavyweight title has been one of the most highly contested, with champions defending the title for only a single fight, if at all. Nevertheless, fans may have noticed a significant omission to the division that really challenges the "mixed" aspect of mixed martial arts. Light heavyweight fighters have largely ignored the ground game, and instead have focused primarily on the striking and clinch elements of MMA. At first glance, it may not seem like there is any significant difference between 205 pound fighters and those in other divisions; however, a deeper look at recent results exposes the stand-up bias. So far in 2009, there have been 29 contests in the UFC's light heavyweight division. Of those, only two (7%) have ended in submission*, while 11 have ended in KO/TKO (38%).
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Not only are 205 pound fighters not finishing fights with submissions, but they're infrequently taking fights to the ground at all. According to CompuStrike, in UFC light heavyweight title fights dating back to Griffin vs. Jackson at UFC 86, only one successful takedown has been executed.
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Taking a look at the skill sets of the fighters, there is no reason to believe that lack of skill causes fighters to avoid the ground. The light heavyweight division is home to world-renowned wrestlers including Dan Henderson, Matt Hamill, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Ryan Bader, Mark Coleman and Rashad Evans. Additionally, many fighters that have fought in the division hold Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, including Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Anderson Silva, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Thiago Silva. With such credentials one could speculate that fighters have such strong takedown defense that they neutralize each other, or possibly that they respect each others reputations enough to avoid challenging them where they excel.
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No matter the cause, MMA is a constantly evolving sport and this trend may signal its next evolutionary step. Just as jiu-jitsu revolutionized a sport dominated by wrestlers, light heavyweight strikers have begun to introduce new elements in order to stay competitive and rise above the increasingly homogeneous competition. Lyoto Machida's stand-up, with it's unorthodox style and heavy reliance on Karate, has proven to be an enigma for his competition with fighters only recently finding an answer to his elusiveness. Anderson Silva, with two fights in the division, has thus far proven almost impossible to hit and has introduced angles that have devastated his competition.
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Ask almost any MMA fan what the most stacked weight class is in MMA and you will certainly hear that the 205 pound light heavyweight division is king.
Hmmm. I would have said 155, myself.
I would say 155 is the more stacked division except for at the very top. BJ simply stands head and shoulders above everyone else, where you don’t have that in the 205 division.
So Lightweight is probably more stacked but 205 is more top heavy.
by MMASpotClint on Nov 14, 2009 4:42 PM EST up reply actions
Come to think of it, since i started watching UFC/MMA I haven’t seen a LHW Champion who would focus on sub wins. Clearly Machida has the skills to change this tread but even he doesn’t seem to want to finish fights that way.
When you look at all the past champions only one of them were submission guy, and that would be the first ever LHW Champ in Frank Shamrock.
Oddly enough, In the past 10 years i believe Forrest has the most submission wins out of them all =/.
’’Apparently the the only way to kill a lion is by rear naked choke…personally i’d just kick it in the head.’’ – Bas Rutten
"I am impervious to all pain!" – Pat Smith, UFC 1, right before tapping out to a Shamrock heel hook.
Its not just the LHW division in the UFC where submissions arent frequent. Across the board submissions are falling away whilst decisions are on the rise. Ive got a keen interest in this and have been keeping heaps of stats on the finishing types of fights across various promotions. The following graph shows the UFC submission rates and decision rates using a 10 event sliding window since UFC 50……..a total of 530 fights.
The LHW division is leading the way, but all the divisions are contributing.
by GeeDub on Nov 14, 2009 8:53 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
Oh, and I should have included the (t)KO rates in there as well which have remained pretty consistent but if anything are trending downwards as well.
As skill levels approach a equality the likelihood of a submission goes down, same with KO’s but variance plays more of a factor in that instance.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
by iiowyn on Nov 16, 2009 8:51 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe. But that isnt consistent with the fact that UFN and TUF finale cards have a submission rate that has actually increased, albeit margincally and the WEC submission rate has dropped only 3% from 25% for the first 10 WECs to a rate of 22% for the most recent 10. Only the UFC main events show such a clear, steady decrease.
I wonder if speed and power make a perfect storm at this weight--hence KO artists
a great post, by the way.
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.
I have also noticed this trend and it pisses me off. I blame the casuals and their lust for nothing but standup fights and brutal KO’s. Where did the “mixed” go in MMA? All I see @ 205 is standup and damnit it pisses me off!
for all intents and purposes, just consider all my posts as works of satire.
IMO
it’s because of a few things.
1- striking is evolving in MMA, very rapidly. Guys like Chuck who just have good power, hand speed, and timing can’t dominate anymore. Frank Shammy even said several years ago (at the end of his title reign in the UFC) that striking was the future of the sport.
2- LHW is a division where true KO power exists, but at the same time they are all elite athletes.
and
3) Fighters want to be exciting, and for better or for worse (as Bandaka above states), ‘ultimate kickboxing’ is what appeals to the casual fanbase.
I will say though, there are some very good ground fighters @ Light Heavy- Thiago Silva, Shogun, Lil Nog, Babalu, etc.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
I think the real thing here is not that 205er’s don’t take it to the ground, but how much better the average fighter is now than they were 10 years ago. It’s unthinkable that someone who doesn’t know much about the submissions game, at least enough to defend them, would make much an impact at the top of any division today, and it shows in the lower amount of submissions we’re seeing across the board (nice graph, GeeDub).
Obviously you have outliers like Maia, but I think overall the savviness of fighters today makes them harder to sub. Almost everyone of note is now training Striking/Wrestling/Grappling, and I think most fighters are starting to stalemate more. I think the stage is set for dudes who have a good, solid base of “traditional” MMA and a good solid base in something slightly exotic; look at the success of Machida for one obvious example.
That may all be true—it’s practically conventional wisdom at this point, in fact—but it doesn’t explain why 205 in particular produces such a paucity of submission finishes.
I think what he's trying to get at
is that the depth of the LHW division puts it’s development further than other divisions where submissions happen more often.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Nov 16, 2009 1:35 AM EST up reply actions
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