If I was to rank martial arts that would help most in the sport of MMA what would the list look like?

The way I see it the sports that would be most useful in the sport of MMA would be as follows:





1) Jujitsu


2) Muay Thai (this could be also be #1)


3) Boxing (Alot of MMA fights end with good old fashioned


boxing)


4) Judo (this is not as high as the other 3 but some good use)


5) Regular high school wreslting (for takedowns and ground


control)





What other martial arts would I add and how would you adjust the ranking? I know Liddell has a black belt in some form of karate for example.

If I was to rank martial arts that would help most in the sport of MMA what would the list look like?
Looks like you pretty much answered your own question. My list would be:


1) Muay Tai (you start out standing after all)


2) Ju-Jitsu or Sambo (you will end up on the ground and need to at least no how to escape and counter submissions)


3) Judo (good transition from standing to the ground, more powerfull and dominating take downs/slams than freestyle wrestling)


4) Western Boxing (this is how you can develop good footwork and punching power)


5) I would tie it all together with trainig from a coach who knows MMA.
Reply:freestyle wrestling is above judo my good friend.. how many fighters use judo other then perysian, yoshida and his mate and nastula?





now think of the guys that use wrestling and there are tonnes





liddell is a blackbelt in kempo i think, also gsp and bonner blackbelts in tkd then karitanov, AA and brothers emelienenko are sambo guys. u also never listed kickboxing which is above boxing me thinks!





my list would be





bjj


freestyle wrestling


muay thai


greco roman wrestling


sambo


kickboxing


judo
Reply:1) BJJ -- without a doubt. The majority of fights are won on the ground now. Be it submissions or ground and pound.


2) MT or KB -- Helps with the knees, elbows, and strikes which are obviously a great asset


3) Freestyle wrestling -- A lot of the great guys out there have a huge back ground in this. M. Hughes amongst others. The only reason it's not #1 on my list is because 4/5 of Hughes' losses are from submitions.


4+ anything else just falls into a good background to have to be well rounded.
Reply:your focus should be on what you want to "specialize" in. What you are best at. and the rest should "fill in the gaps".





you certainly need some form of striking AND grappling game. you do not have to be an expert striker AND and expert grappler.





you just need to develop the skills to get your opponent into your advantage zone and get yourself out of his.





If this means striking- you don't have to be a submission master, just know how to defend yourself and escape (and know a few yourself- which you will naturally learn in the process) to get to your feet.





If this means grappling you want to know how to take your opponent down and keep him there.





these skills can be found in a large number of different arts. boxing san-da (san shou), muai thai, or any striking art can work for that.





Judo, bjj, sambo, pankration, folk, free or greco roman wrestling can all be bases for grappling.
Reply:!!!


#1 would be CSW or catchascatchcan (ground control submissions of all kinds with reversals and counters "without hesitaion" unlike jujistu the gentile art with limited locks.


#2 muay thai for its explosiveness and quick reaction utilizing All parts of the body good for both close and far distances unlike boxing


#3 judo because even the mma guys know its takedowns and counter to take downs is good for controlling your opponent.


#4 good conditioning and plyometrics. although this is not a martial art its just as important to have.


wresting is not bad to know but the rules are different. CSW covers whats needed from that sport.
Reply:A lot depends on your body type, fighting style and prior experience.





Most of your best MMA'rs have some sort of expertise in Style X (wrestling, muy thai, kenpo, judo, boxing etc etc).





They then augment that with either takedown defense or submission training or (pick the skill).





There is no ranking, there is a ranking that is right for you.





The fight usually goes to the person who is in best shape and is best at imposing their will/style on the opponent. Put another way, there is always a faster gunfighter somewhere.
Reply:Boxing????? You are tripping - The only reason you see a lot of boxing is when you have to real good ground fighters - but if all you know is boxing - you will get beat down. I know I am biased since I wrestled all my life but the fact is that most of the toughest fighters have regular old high school wrestling in their background - Couture, Lidell, Ortiz, St Pier, Hughs, Sanchez, Rampage, Severen, ....it goes on and on - so I thin wrestling should be further up on the list - especially above some damn boxing! You tell me one Professional boxer that has done good in MMA?????





I feel you - Here in Tulsa - we have been getting wrestlers and showing them some stand up and they have been smashing people. Got to have some stand up as well.





I would go with:


1. Grappeling (jujitzu, wrestling, sambo, pancrase, judo, etc...)


2. Muy ti


3. Kick Boxing


4. I am not sure what it is called but there is a style that mixes karate and wrestling - it is raw!!!!!





But seems like now a days you need a little of all of them!
Reply:Punching people. then kneeing and kicking them, or choking them or getting them in some fancy hold.
Reply:1. Jui jitsu: For submissions


2. Freestyle wrestling: For control of your opponent, balance and takedowns


3. Muay Thai





Anything else is icing on the cake. Furthermore, regular boxing is basically useless since it only trains some footwork and how to use your upper body. Most other striking styles are more useful. It's also not high school wrestling since that would be folk. Folk outlaws slams and a lot more holds than freestyle.