Judo, as a grappling style, isn’t seen in MMA nearly as much as BJJ or wrestling, but it certainly can be just as effective in the right hands. In this video, we see some of the most spectacular judo throws ever in MMA, and we also get to see their official names, both in English and Japanese, so it is informative as well.
Judo in MMA
As previously stated, although you don’t regularly see judo techniques pulled off in MMA, as a martial art for the street/self-defense, it is one of the more effective grappling styles. Experts are able to hit an attacker with the planet Earth.
This is because, in judo, there is a great emphasis on Tachi-waza (standing techniques), as well as Ne waza (ground techniques). This translates better to the street and makes you more versatile with your techniques.
Further, the grips you use in judo (lapel grabs, etc.), translate excellently to the street/self-defense as the vast majority of people are wearing clothes. However, although practicing with these grips with the gi is helpful for self-defense, in MMA it is less useful. One of several issues with judo as a base for MMA is that nearly all of these throws and techniques have to be adapted to work in the cage. For instance, instead of grabbing someone’s gi, in MMA you might have to use an underhook or overhook to execute the same throw, as you can see.
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Judoka in MMA
Despite the imperfect base, there are still some very high-level judokas who have adapted their techniques perfectly to MMA competition. Karo “The Heat” Parisyan had outstanding judo, and pulled off some amazing throws during his UFC career perhaps most spectacularly during his epic fight with Diego Sanchez. Fedor Emelianenko is another monster with a judo background, and we saw a glimpse of this vs. Frank Mir, when “The Last Emperor” hit an excellent hip toss that sent Mir hurling through the air.
Perhaps the greatest expression of judo in MMA was “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. For a time she was unbeatable with her judo; it wasn’t until she started focusing on striking and neglected her judo skills that she started losing, badly.
