Hit the Mat 04.06.09: The Future of Submissions

Posted by Matt McEwen on 04.06.2009

A lot of fans watch MMA for the punching, kicking and KO's, but for a few fans, the submission skills of these two fighters are the epitome of MMA.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how the "Sprawl and Brawl" style of fighting was taking over high level MMA, and was resulting in a lot of UFC events spitting out bad stand up fights.

First, let me say that I think my description was a bit off, or at least misleading. Maybe using "Sprawl and Braw" as the definition of the style I was talking about was a misnomer. A few people got what I was saying, but others were understandably thrown by it a bit.

I think I should have used the term "Anti-wrestling". The point I was trying to make was that fighters were either developing high level takedown defense or using high end wrestling skills to avoid going to the ground. The results were that fights began taking place almost exclusively on the feet, often by fighters who I would rather not see in a kickboxing match. I labeled Chuck Liddell as the pro generator of the style, but I didn't mean that he was the main example of the style I was complaining about. Aggressive, old school Liddell is actually a fun fighter to watch at times. I like big KO's as much as the next guy. Instead of saying that fighters were aping Liddell's style, I should have perhaps said "trying" to ape his style. Most just don't have the power in their fists to do what Liddell was able to for so long, often turning what can be an exciting style in a mind numbingly boring tactic.

So, now that I've clarified what I was trying to say before, let me say this - there IS another side to the coin. Someone in the comments mentioned it, and I thought it worthy of digging into a bit deeper.

For all of the fighters out there right now who would rather watch BBGMILF films than let a fight get to the ground, there are a select few who are managing to take the fight where they want it, when they want it. This time around, I'll be all positive like and take a look at two fighters who I always look forward to and think of as among the most exciting in the world.

First up, we've got Dustin Hazelett. A student of Jorge Gurgel - who for some reason seems allergic to actually using his black belt level BJJ skills - Hazelett has surpassed all of his teacher's students, save for Rich Franklin, as well as his teacher. He's 5-2 in his UFC career, with only one fight going to decision, a loss to jiu jitsu black belt Tony Desouza in an entertaining fight in his debut, and KO loss to Josh Koscheck in one of the more unexpectedly entertaining fights in quite a while (I know, I'm a hypocrite since that was a stand up fight between two ground fighters, but seriously...that fight was fun.....).

Other than that, it's been a highlight reel of new age submission grappling, itself highlighted by the most ridiculous armbar probably in the history of the Ocatgon in his defining win over Josh Burkman. While the growth Hazelett has shown in the stand up aspect of his game has made it uncomfortable for fighters to plan to just stand with the Cincinatti fighter, it has been his ablity to get fights to the ground - and what he can do once he's got the fight there - that has got him noticed.

At not yet 23 years old, Hazelett is only going to get better, and with the obvious grappling skills he has already developed, should be a threat to those at the top end of the division sooner rather than later. With the development of his stand up skills, Hazelett has been able to leave the ground as an option for himself as opponents are not able to concentrate on just negating his strength there. On top of that, as the armbar on Burkman showed, Hazelett has been developing the skills to use his jiu jitsu from varied positions, which is something that should be giving some UFC welterweights fits. He has managed to rise to #13 in the Bloodyelbow.com Consensus welterweight rankings, which is based more on his estimable skills rather than anything else, as his loss to Koscheck is easily his highest profile fight thus far.

While he has been side lined since his exciting ground war with Tamdan McCrory at UFC 91 last November, the future is bright for Hazelett as he continues to make submissions just as exciting as KO's.

The higher end of this equation is Demian Maia. I termed the fighters who try to use their wrestling skills to keep the fight up as "anti-wrestlers", and if that's the case, then I think it might be fair to call Maia the "anti-striker". He's been quoted as saying he likes to win fights without ever hurting his opponent, and his recent outings have demonstrated that. His very entertaining ground war with Jason MacDonald at UFC 87 last August was one of the best ground fights I've seen in the Octagon probably ever, and his last two victories have been nothing short of astounding.

Taking on Nate Quarry at UFC 91, Maia was able to take Quarry - a strong wrestler - down to the mat in the opening minute of the fight and choke out the previously never submitted Quarry inside of 3 minutes. He rushed in, draped himself all over Quarry and pulled him down to the ground....in spite of the certainty that Quarry's game plan was to stay up.

If that wasn't enough, his most recent victory over Chael Sonnen - himself coming off a good showing and then a win over the previous #2 middleweight in the world in Paulo Filho. Using good head movement and just enough striking to leave Sonnen a bit off guard, Maia got in close, suplexed Sonnen, let him think he was being sweept, then finished off with a beautiful triangle. It was one of the best displays of jiu jitsu the UFC has seen, but like I said, Maia's ability to "anti-stirke" his way into his goal position might be the bigger story.

Guys like Maia and Hazelett are making the ground and submissions "cool" for a lot of the newer fans who tune in to see bloodshed (it's a bad stereotype, I know, but it is true sometimes). While Hazelett may be a tad flashier, it is likely going to be Maia who lays a more lasting claim to being THE submission master in the Octagon. In the future, even though Hazelett might be able to put on an entertaining fight against 170lb champion Georges St. Pierre, it would be an EPIC upset if he were to actually win. Meanwhile, most people see Maia as representing the most legitimate threat to 185lb kingpin Anderson Silva's reign atop the division. Rumor has it Maia will get a title shot at the winner of this months Silva/Leites championship fight (in other words, a shot at Silva), and the potential match up with "The Spider" is interesting enough to make most fans salivate. One's weakness is the other's strength, and if he were able to pull off a submission ANYWHERE near as amazing as the one on Sonnen, Maia would certainly have the success needed to be a truly emulated stylistic impressario in MMA.