Michael Bisping attempts to score a takedown against Wanderlei Silva
With the ever growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts there are more and more British fighters coming up the ranks in larger organisations and making an impact. However, save from Dan Hardy, no one from this side of the pond has been within grasping reach of coveted UFC gold.
Many see this to be down to the UK fighters lacking a solid ground game to be truly well rounded enough to capture, and retain, a title in the “Premier League of MMA”. Whilst it’s true that a staggering majority of British fighters are primarily skilled in a striking art, after all there is no doubting the rich boxing pedigree of our nation and neighbouring Ireland, it is in the wrestling discipline where the posts are widest.
So is wrestling really the be-all and end-all of the grappling aspect of the sport?
Roger Gracie, considered to be amongst the finest grapplers on the planet, has made London his home. His Jiu Jitsu lineage and ability is so widely revered that none other than current UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, has made the transatlantic flight during training camps to sharpen-up his skills with the second degree black belt. A testament to the quality of grappling the UK can offer.
One of the UK's rising stars isn’t a knockout artist, but a Jiu Jitsu practitioner by trade in the form of Liverpool’s own Paul Sass. Sass’ next bout pits him against skilled wrestler Jakob Volkmann on the UFC’s annual Memorial Day weekend card in Las Vegas. It will
be interesting to see how he uses his own ground game to fend off Volkmann
