Wrestling
Why Wrestling Wins Fights
Wrestling doesn’t just teach you how to take someone down—it teaches you how to break them. It’s the art of imposing your will, round after round, until the other guy has nothing left. Wrestling builds grit like nothing else. It teaches you how to grind, how to control chaos, and how to keep pushing when the body says stop.
In MMA, wrestling is the ultimate equaliser. If you can dictate where the fight goes, you control the pace, the position, and the pressure. Want to strike? Wrestling keeps the fight on the feet. Want to maul someone on the ground? Wrestling puts them there—hard, and on your terms.
It’s not always pretty, but it’s brutally effective. You don’t need to land the cleanest punch if you can put someone on their back and drain them round after round. You don’t need to be a submission artist if you can ride top control and break posture. Wrestling is control. Wrestling is dominance.
The best MMA fighters don’t use wrestling as a backup—they use it as the foundation. It’s the glue that holds everything together. Striking, submissions, clinch work—they all shine when built on a wrestling base. It’s what lets you choose the battlefield and keep the pressure exactly where you want it.
You don’t have to be flashy. You have to be relentless. That’s the wrestling mindset. You drag them down, wear them out, and take their will. Control the fight, and you control the outcome. Simple. Ruthless. Effective. That’s wrestling.
Core Wrestling Skills for MMA
Takedowns
Master the fundamentals—single leg, double leg, and body lock entries. These aren’t just ways to get your opponent down—they’re statements of control. Set them up with strikes or level changes, finish with commitment, and drive through with full-body power.
Takedown Defence
Sprawl hard, control the underhooks, and use the whizzer when they shoot in. Defence is just as critical as offence. If you can shut down a takedown without losing balance or position, you keep your weapons live and your opponent frustrated.
Top Control
Once you’re on top, make it count. Use heavy hips, good posture, and pressure that doesn’t give them an inch. Stay active, adjust your base, and make every second on top a drain on their gas tank. This is where you break their will.
Wall Work
Use the cage like a weapon. Learn to pin opponents, peel their hands, and finish takedowns against the wall. Offensively, it’s where control starts. Defensively, it’s where escape begins. The cage rewards fighters who know how to fight smart in a tight space.
Mat Returns
When they scramble up, don’t let them go easy. Mat returns keep you in control and drain their energy. Lift, trip, drag—whatever it takes to put them back on the mat. Reassert your dominance and make them pay for trying to stand.
How to Train Wrestling for MMA
Drill takedowns with full follow-through—don’t just hit the entry and stop. Control the finish, establish top position, and make sure you’re not giving up scrambles. Anyone can shoot; the difference is who finishes and dominates once they’re on top.
Practice against resistance. Cooperative drilling builds technique, but reactive partners prepare you for reality. Fight-speed reactions, sprawls, counters—simulate the pressure of an opponent who doesn’t want to go down. That’s where real progress happens.
Blend striking into your entries. A naked shot is easy to see coming. Mix in jabs, feints, and level changes to disguise your intent. Make your opponent guess. When they don’t know what’s coming, they can’t stop it.
Start rounds from bad positions. Don’t just train from the top. Put yourself in bottom half guard, flattened out against the cage, or stuck in a tight clinch. Learn to fight your way out. Those moments build composure, grit, and skill under fire.
Use the cage. It’s not just a backdrop—it’s a weapon. Learn to pin, peel hands, drag opponents down, and stuff shots using the wall. Cage wrestling is its own battlefield. The fighters who train there win there.
The goal isn’t just takedowns. It’s control. It’s pressure. It’s breaking the rhythm and dictating where the fight goes. Drill with intensity. Train with purpose. And build a wrestling game that doesn’t just survive—but dominates.
“Wrestling is a grind sport. It builds grinders.” — Henry Cejudo
Building a Wrestling Grind Mindset
Embrace Fatigue—It’s Where Control Is Forged
Wrestling will exhaust you—and that’s the point. Fatigue exposes flaws, tests grit, and forges control. Learn to operate when you’re tired. That’s where real composure and pressure are built.
Push Pace Until the Other Guy Breaks First
Wrestling isn’t just about technique—it’s about who can keep going. Drive the pace. Make every exchange uncomfortable. Force reactions. When he slows down and you don’t, the fight becomes yours.
Use Pressure Like a Weapon—Never Give Space for Free
Control isn’t just holding someone—it’s suffocating them. Use your weight, your positioning, your intensity. Make them work for every inch. No free movement. No easy outs.
Focus on Transitions, Not Static Positions
The best wrestlers don’t stall—they flow. Transition from shot to finish, from control to submission threat, from cage pin to mat return. Static positions stall fights. Transitions win them.
Don’t Hunt Highlight Takedowns—Hunt Dominance
Forget flashy throws and big slams if they cost control. Go for what works. Secure the position. Break their posture. Grind them out. Dominance isn’t in the moment—it’s in the accumulation.
Final Word
Wrestling is a mindset. It’s pressure, pace, and relentless control. Build that mindset, and you become the one who dictates—not the one who reacts. That’s how fights are won.
Common Wrestling Mistakes in MMA
Shooting Without Setup
Charging in for a takedown without disguising it is a rookie move. Strikes create openings—use jabs, feints, and level changes to hide your shot. If they see it coming, they’ll sprawl or punish you with counters. Never shoot naked.
Neglecting Defence
Offence means nothing if you can’t stop a takedown yourself. A sharp sprawl, strong underhooks, and solid whizzer control can shut down even elite shots. Wrestling isn’t just about putting someone down—it’s about staying off your back, too.
Laying and Praying
If you’re just holding position without damage or advancement, refs will stand you up—and judges won’t be impressed. Pressure must have purpose. Pass guard, land strikes, threaten submissions. Stay active or lose control.
Overreliance on Strength
Raw power might get you a takedown or two, but it won’t win long-term. Strength fades. Technique doesn’t. Focus on leverage, angles, and timing. The wrestler who moves smarter lasts longer—and dominates deeper into the fight.
Ignoring the Wall
Most MMA wrestling happens against the cage, not in open space. If you’re not training wall wrestling, you’re missing a major part of the game. Learn to pin, peel, drag, and defend against the fence. The wall can be your greatest weapon—or your biggest weakness.
Key Takeaways
Wrestling gives you the power to dictate the fight.
Build pressure, pacing, and top control.
Use the wall, control transitions, and break your opponent’s will.
Wrestlers dominate because they train to suffer—and still keep going.
Control Is a Weapon
In MMA, the one who controls wins. Striking might get the highlight, submissions might get the finish—but wrestling is what decides who dictates the fight. It’s not just about takedowns. It’s about pace. It’s about pressure. It’s about making your opponent fight your fight, not theirs.
A solid wrestling base gives you freedom. If you want to keep it standing, you stuff the shot and break it with your hands. If you want to take it to the ground, you shoot, finish, and grind them into the mat. It’s not reactive—it’s assertive. Wrestling turns uncertainty into control. While others hope for opportunities, wrestlers create them.
But here’s the truth: wrestling is hard. It tests your lungs, your legs, and your mindset. It demands conditioning, repetition, and the kind of mental toughness that only shows up when your body is begging to quit. That’s why so many avoid it. They’d rather look good than break someone’s will. Wrestlers don’t care about looking good—they care about taking over.
Every round starts on the feet, but every real fight is a test of control. Who dictates the range? Who sets the tempo? Who forces the other guy to react? The one who wrestles with intent does all three. Takedown, mat return, cage pressure—it’s not about scoring points. It’s about sending a message: you don’t get to move unless I let you.
So if you want to dominate, stop hoping. Don’t wait for the perfect punch or the ideal opening. Wrestle. Train the grind. Build the pressure. Make the cage your world, and force them to live in it.
Be the pressure. Be the pace. Be the one who controls. Own the fight. Every second. Every round. Every time. There isn't quite a more lethal and devastating form of MMA than Muay Thai.
“Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” — Dan Gable
