Takedown defense is one of the most important aspects of the MMA game, especially with the rising growth in world class wrestlers, grapplers, and judo players making the transition to MMA. If you can defend the takedown, then you are able to dictate were the fight takes place, which in many cases can be the deciding factor in a fight. To accomplish this will take a combination of technique, core strength, and good hips. I’ll go over all three here.
TDD 101 – Wrist Control
If you know absolutely nothing about defending the takedown in a fight then wrist control is a great place to start. From the fence or off a shot in the middle, controlling the wrist allows you to free your hips and keep them away from knee taps or just a blast double. I don’t remember the last person who got a legit takedown with one hand. Making it a point to grab the wrist also gives you a way to circle, where as if I were controlling the elbow, pressure can still be applied to keep me trapped against the fence. So for starters, wrist control, and circling towards the wrist your controlling with your hips back is a good way to start if your green (new) to TDD.
TDD 102 – Head Control
Another basic starting point for stopping the takedown is controlling the head. This is more for defending on the fence but also applies anywhere. I try to use my belly button as a “point of reference” (POR). If my opponents shoulders are below my POR then I stuff the head to the ground and walk out while still controlling the head until I’m completely clear, if they are above my POR then I wizer (over hooking an arm), get wrist control, and circle to the controlled wrist. Every persons point of reference is going to be different because of body types, center of gravity, and height. Find yours and you will know as you will feel centered, harder to takedown, and you will be able to free your hips and stay standing.
Core Strength and Hips
The most important thing to consider when approaching wrestling in MMA is that core strength and good hips are a must. Without them, you better work on your BJJ because you’re going to spend a lot of time on your back. But before you go trying to look like the guys from Jersey Shore in the gym I want to make something very clear: core strength mainly refers to the power of your hips, not how much you can bench press. Having a stable core is important because it keeps you balanced and it lets you control your center of gravity. You’ll be able to extend your body, but still keep powerful so your opponent can’t take you down.
There are a ton of ways to increase your core strength but doing squats and deadlifts seem to be the best. Both of these will increase the strength of your legs, spinal erectors, and abdominals. All of these muscles are important for sprawling and will help ensure that you’re successful in defending the inevitable takedown in every MMA fight.
Technique and Timing
While strength and conditioning is king, technique is just as important if not more. You need both of them to be effective against your relentless wrestlers than have no intentions of standing. But coming from someone who has been under a solid wrestler for 15 min, it is not there job to not wrestle, its everyone else’s job to learn how to wrestle back. Hence the “mixed” in mixed martial arts. Timing your opponents take downs and tendencies are also extremely important. If you can see the shot coming, then it is 100x easier to defend. Just make sure you widen your base, keep your hips low, and control the wrist. This makes it hard for your opponent to finish a shot with a sit-through or blasting through you.
Make Em Pay
Last but not least, after you have defended the shot, make them pay for every time they even think about taking you down. If you are ever at a resting point where the shooter has stopped driving or is up against the fence remember you are in a fight and blast them with every shot that could do progressive damage with during the bout. Against the fence, 9 to 3 elbows are very effective as well hammer fists. I like to throw knuckle punches when I’m defending a single leg, turning your hand over and try to catch and eye brow or cheek bone with the exposed knuckles in hopes of cutting your opponent and finishing the fight.
Practice makes perfect, you probably won’t get this the first time you do it so keep working hard and learn what techniques work best for you and your style. Good luck!
