Watching UFC and thinking about what happens when fights go to the ground? Here is why BJJ and submission grappling have become the defining skill set for MMA fighters - and what that means for anyone training or considering starting.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-07-27
BJJ proficiency is now a minimum requirement for competitive MMA. No-gi training is the most direct path to understanding what happens when a fight goes to the ground.
Modern MMA is a striking sport and a grappling sport simultaneously, and the fighters who have dominated the sport over the past decade have almost universally been excellent on the ground. The reason is structural: a fighter who cannot grapple is vulnerable to takedowns from wrestlers and takedown threats that compromise their striking. A fighter who cannot defend submissions is vulnerable from any position where a skilled BJJ practitioner can attach their body. A fighter who cannot control position on the ground cannot prevent ground and pound from dominant positions.
The ground game matters most in the moments after a fight changes location - when a striker gets taken down, when a grappler gets dropped by a punch and the fight hits the mat, when two fighters clinch and neither is willing to disengage. These moments happen in virtually every MMA fight, and what happens in them is determined by the relative BJJ and wrestling competency of the fighters. This is why every serious MMA gym now has BJJ and wrestling as core curriculum components rather than specializations.
The specific technical development that has most changed MMA ground games in the past five years is the integration of leg locks from no-gi competition into MMA. Heel hooks, knee bars, and toe hold variations have entered MMA grappling because the generation of fighters trained in 10th Planet, B-Team, and other no-gi BJJ systems with heavy leg entanglement curricula have brought those techniques into the cage. Fighters who lack leg lock defense now face systematic danger in scrambles that previous generations of fighters did not have to navigate.
Gi BJJ and no-gi BJJ are different in important technical ways. In gi grappling, the uniform creates friction and grip opportunities that significantly shape the technique - collar chokes, lapel guards, and sleeve grips are all gi-specific tools. In no-gi grappling, there are no fabric grips. Control comes from body positioning, underhooks, overhooks, and head control. The techniques, pacing, and positional hierarchy of no-gi grappling map directly onto MMA ground game scenarios, where fighters wear shorts and a rash guard.
No-gi BJJ systems - particularly 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, which was founded specifically as a no-gi and MMA-applicable system - have been particularly influential on the development of modern MMA ground games. 10th Planet's rubber guard, meathook, and lockdown positions were designed for MMA contexts, and many of the leg entanglement entries that are now standard no-gi technique first developed in 10th Planet or emerged from its influence on the broader no-gi community.
For someone who watches MMA and wants to understand what is happening when a fight goes to the ground, training no-gi BJJ is the most direct path. Within a few months of training, the positions, transitions, and submission attempts that look chaotic on screen begin to make sense as a coherent technical system. You start to see what a fighter is trying to do before they do it, and why certain scrambles resolve the way they do.
When an MMA fight hits the mat, there are several distinct positional scenarios that most ground exchanges pass through. Understanding these positions is the foundation for understanding the ground game.
Guard - where one fighter is on their back with legs active - is not a weak position in BJJ. An active guard player can sweep an opponent to a dominant position, submit from underneath, or control the pace of the exchange. Guard passing is the technical challenge for the fighter on top - they are trying to establish a more dominant position (side control, mount, back control) while the guard player is trying to prevent this and attack.
Once the top fighter passes guard and establishes side control or mount, the dynamics shift. From these positions, the top fighter can apply ground and pound, attempt chokes (rear naked choke from back mount, arm triangle from side control), or pursue arm locks (armbar from mount). The bottom fighter's priority is survival and recovery - using frames, bridges, and hip escapes to create space and recover a defensive position. Back control - where one fighter is behind the other - is typically the highest-value position in MMA grappling. The rear naked choke is available immediately and is extremely difficult to defend while also managing ground and pound threats to the sides of the head. Most fights that reach back control end with a finish.
One of the most consistent patterns in martial arts is that watching MMA makes people want to start training. The ground game - because it is simultaneously the most confusing part of MMA to watch without experience and the most immediately teachable - is often the catalyst. When you start BJJ, the live grappling (sparring, or rolling) starts early, and within the first few weeks of consistent training, you will already be developing the physical intuition for position and control that makes the MMA ground game comprehensible.
No-gi classes are typically structured as technique instruction followed by positional drilling followed by live rolling, with the rolling component being where the actual learning integrates. Most BJJ gyms welcome beginners in no-gi classes, and many offer beginner programs specifically. The experience of being a white belt is universal in BJJ - everyone starts from zero, and the culture in well-run gyms actively supports beginners.
For anyone who has been watching MMA and thinking about starting BJJ, the current competitive calendar provides a useful on-ramp. UFC 329 is July 11, and ADCC 2026 is September 12-13 in Krakow - two major grappling events separated by two months. Starting training now means that by the time ADCC happens, you will have the basic vocabulary to watch elite submission grappling as someone with some skin in the game.
Once you understand these five concepts, watching MMA ground game goes from confusing to comprehensible.
BJJ Gyms is an independent directory, not a gym. We feature 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu as our recommended no-gi system. Always take a free trial and vet any academy yourself before committing.
No-gi BJJ is more directly applicable to MMA because the grips and controls match what is available in the cage (no fabric to grip). That said, gi BJJ builds excellent positional fundamentals and many elite MMA fighters train both. If your primary interest is MMA ground game understanding, start with no-gi. If you want to develop general grappling fundamentals over time, training both is valuable.
Most beginners who train regularly (2-3 times per week) begin to recognize positions and understand what fighters are attempting within 3-6 months. You develop positional intuition through live rolling - the experience of being in these positions yourself is what makes them recognizable when you watch elite fighters. Reading about them alone is slower.
10th Planet is a no-gi BJJ system founded specifically for MMA and no-gi competition, with a curriculum that emphasizes rubber guard, lockdown, and leg entanglements rather than traditional gi-dependent positions. 10th Planet gyms are among the most MMA-relevant training environments available. The BJJ Gyms directory includes 10th Planet affiliate locations.