The Ground Game: A Beginner's Guide to Grappling & Submissions in MMA

Watch enough MMA and you will notice that the most dangerous fighters are rarely one-dimensional. The pure striker who cannot defend a takedown, and the pure grappler who cannot deal with being hit, both have a ceiling. The ground game is where a huge proportion of fights are won, lost, or quietly controlled, and it is the part of the sport that newcomers tend to understand least. This guide breaks it down into the essentials.

Why does the ground game matter, even for strikers?

Here is the uncomfortable truth for anyone who only wants to box: you do not get to decide where the fight happens. Your opponent gets a vote too. If they can take you down and you have no answer, your striking is irrelevant the moment your back hits the canvas.

That is why even fighters who prefer to stand need ground skills. At a minimum, a striker has to be able to defend takedowns, survive on the floor, and get back to their feet. Grappling is not just an offensive weapon; for many strikers it is the defence that lets them keep doing what they do best. The ground game is one of the five disciplines that make a complete MMA fighter.

What is a takedown, and how does a fight reach the floor?

A takedown is simply any technique that brings your opponent from standing to the ground while you stay in a dominant or neutral position. The two broad families are wrestling-style takedowns, such as the double-leg and single-leg, where you attack the legs, and trips and throws drawn from judo, where you use grips and balance to put your opponent down.

Defending takedowns is its own skill set, built around the sprawl (driving your hips down and legs back so your opponent cannot finish the shot) and good positioning against the cage. The wrestling exchange, who gets the takedown and who stuffs it, often sets the entire tone of a round.

What are the key positions on the ground?

Once a fight hits the floor, position is everything, because position determines who can attack safely and who is just trying to survive. A few terms are worth knowing.

The mount is when you sit on top of your opponent's torso. It is one of the most dominant positions in the sport: you can strike down with force while they have very little offence available. Back control is arguably even better, taking your opponent's back with your chest to their spine, ideally with your legs hooked in. From here, chokes become a serious threat and your opponent cannot see what you are doing.

The guard is the position fought from your back, with your opponent between your legs. It sounds bad, and against strikes it can be, but a skilled fighter uses the guard to defend, to threaten submissions, and to sweep their way back on top. Understanding that being on your back is not the same as losing is one of the first real mental shifts a beginner makes.

What is control, and why do commentators talk about it so much?

Control is the ability to dictate the position and keep your opponent from improving theirs. A fighter with good control can hold a dominant spot, drain their opponent's energy, land ground strikes, and patiently hunt for a finish, all while giving up very little. It is less spectacular than a knockout, but it wins rounds and breaks spirits. Control is also central to how a bout is scored and how it stays safe, which we cover in how UB keeps fighters safe.

What is the difference between a choke and a joint lock?

Submissions fall into two main camps. Chokes work by cutting off blood flow to the brain or air to the lungs, forcing the opponent to tap or go unconscious. The rear-naked choke, applied from back control, is the classic example. Joint locks work by hyperextending or twisting a joint past its safe range, the armbar (attacking the elbow) and the kimura (attacking the shoulder) being the best-known.

The honourable thing every grappler learns early is to respect the tap. A submission is a controlled way of saying "I would have been seriously hurt", and tapping in time is a sign of intelligence, not weakness.

Where should a beginner start?

Start with position before submission. Learn to take someone down, hold a dominant spot, and stay safe on your back long before you go hunting for fancy finishes. The flashy submissions come from the boring fundamentals.

If you want to see how the ground game fits alongside the rest of the sport, read about the five disciplines of a complete fighter. And when you are ready to test it for real, here is how to register to fight on a future Ultimate Beatdown card.