I’m not saying that BJJ is the best martial art (I’m a practitioner and I’m not even arrogant enough to believe that). The fact is that it’s still necessary and still relevant to the sport, while many people have suspected otherwise.

You bring up a laundry list of fighters who you think are irrelevant because of their other skills, but lets actually look at that list:

Anderson Silva may have devastating Muay Thai skills, but without his jiu-jitsu he would be thoroughly dominated against even a substantial wrestling. Knowing how to fight off of his back is one of the key elements of his game, probably right up there with being able to control distance and his clinch.

BJ Penn was not a boxer for “many years” before he started fighting in MMA, he was too busy becoming a world champion in BJJ. The only reason Penn appeared in the sport of mixed martial arts initially was because of his BJJ pedigree. He developed standup under Frank Shamrock and a handful of other good coaches, and he’s is an incredibly well rounded fighter, but jiu-jitsu is still a seriously important element of his game.

As for Serra vs. GSP, I agree that St. Pierre will win that matchup. I agree that St. Pierre is too big and too strong for Serra, but if you don’t think that Serra’s rise to prominance in MMA (or, rather, his rise to respectability, since I’m the only person who apparently thinks he’s a damn good fighter) is due to his jiu-jitsu, you need to check up on your history. He because famous for his combination of BJJ based groundnpound (which is to say his ability to transition between positions) and his submission skills. That’s why he was even on TUF 4 to begin with.

I will not pull a Gracie and say that all you need to know is BJJ, but it is important to realize that if you don’t know BJJ (and, realistically, if you don’t know alot of BJJ) you’re, for lack of a better phrase, up shit’s creek. I don’t think that’s really a disputable point, the way the divisions are shaping up right now.

Not that I think wrestling skills are better than BJJ skills in general. I don’t, I think expertise in both is required today. However I will say that GSP’s wrestling together with his strength advantage will nulify Serra’s masterful BJJ. We saw Karo GnP Serra, Serra’s BJJ skills from his back against Karo were not good enough. Karo obviously has a great sub game but my point is BJJ is not enough and although Serra is a champ, it has little to do with his sub skills. He is champ because he knocked St. Pierre out. Despite Serra’s pedigree of BJJ, he has always been a very good MMA fighter but not an elite one.

You really have to get off the BJJ (as they say on the forums) nuthugging and realize like any intelligent MMA fan already knows that BJJ has always been very important, it still is today and always will be. It is not making a comeback, it together with muay Thai and wrestling form the basis of top MMA’rs.

I say that not only because I respect Serra’s jiu-jitsu (both as a blackbelt and as a man who has a history of destroying much bigger, stronger fighters with his submissions, like in his fight with Gomi at ADCC), but because I respect Luongo’s genius as a kickboxing coach.

As far as that fight goes, I’m giving the edge to GSP, because of his wrestling and Serra’s recent injury. That said, don’t count Serra out. Don’t count anyone with the black belt out, because if you get caught (as Nogueira and Mir showed on that most recent card) it’s done.

Thanks for the props on the article.

As for the comment about Rampage’s jiu-jitsu, I’ve watched footage of him training, and we works with alot of great jiu-jitsu guys, and I believe that Vera has recently gone down to that camp to start training. Saying that Rampage doesn’t have technical skills does him a great disservice. His standup, as he showed in the Liddell fight, is very technical, and so is his jiu-jitsu. While he’s very strong, that’s not his entire game.

Great Article! It is funny, but do you remember what Rampage said… “I got Jui Jitsu!” He may have been saying it to be funny, but it is so true. To be a complete fighter you have to have a ground game as well. BJJ is a must to be at the top of your division.

For a while I was under the impression that today’s MMA fighters had grown out of getting caught in subs, concentrating on submission & takedown defense and power striking. It’s nice to see a good old fashioned tap now and again.

- Caleb