FloGrappling and Jiu-Jitsu Rule Sets

The popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA) has been growing at an exponential rate since being introduced to an international audience with the first Ultimate Fighting Championships of the early 1990s. MMA fighters are now some of the most well respected and famous athletes in the world, while major MMA fights are given tremendous media attention. Given the fact that there are an estimated 300 million MMA fans worldwide, it’s little wonder why.

What’s strange is that jiu-jitsu events have largely been left in the dust. Even though jiu-jitsu is one of the most commonly utilized styles of martial arts within MMA and a popular means of learning self-defense for average people who have no plans to fight professionally, jiu-jitsu tournaments (or any tournament that focuses solely on grappling) have failed to become popular spectator sports. Why is that?

As John Danaher explains in the above clip from the Joe Rogan Experience, the success and development of any sport is dependent on there being an organization that showcases it. For MMA, it was the UFC. The UFC knew how to promote fights, how to make them entertaining even for people who were unfamiliar with martial arts, and how to build momentum. They were excellent marketers.

Grappling simply hasn’t had a large organization capable of promoting it in a way that will attract people who are not already diehard jiu-jitsu fans. Meanwhile, media outlets that show jiu-jitsu tournaments have typically not invested in production value and the commentary has been too esoteric, leaving people who are on the fence about jiu-jitsu feeling bored. While there are certainly people who will be amped to watch any jiu-jitsu match, mass appeal demands an overall vision when it comes to programming—not just a camera pointed at two people grappling.

Focusing on Submissions

FloGrappling is trying to change that. The organization has set its sights on being the UFC of grappling, which is commendable. To accomplish this, they’ve attracted some top talent from the world of grappling, increased their level of production, and made the experience of watching the fights far more engrossing for the average viewer. Moreover, there is programming that allows you to get to know your favorite fighters personally and see how they train.

However, one of the most important things that distinguishes FloGrappling from other jiu-jitsu and grappling organizations is that their ruleset encourages submissions. As John and Joe agree, submissions are the most desired result and the most impressive result. They are also the most entertaining aspect of jiu-jitsu. A submission hold is the equivalent of a knockout in boxing. Therefore, you want to encourage these holds.

This is easier said than done, as Dubai demonstrated. In an attempt to push more submission holds, they enacted a ruleset where no points would be counted for the first five minutes of the fight. Consequently, most fighters play it extremely safe for those first five minutes, which drains the crowd’s energy. It’s boring to watch two fighters circle each other for five minutes. FloGrappling seems to have gotten around that—for now.

Rule Sets in Combat Sports

As John notes, the problem with Dubai’s rule set is a common problem. Points-based systems will attract points-based people, and they will devise strategies that use those rules in ways that give them an advantage. “Athletes are smart, and they want to win,” John says. “They will, as a general rule, always try to find the less risky way of obtaining victory and doing the minimum amount of work to get to a win.”

Similar to a good attorney, they recognize that the objective is to win. It is not to win beautifully. It may not even be to win honorably. Winning is the objective, and the best strategy is the one that relies on the highest probability of success coupled with the least amount of risk and does not violate any rules.

Consequently, John is a bit skeptical that FloGrappling’s changes to the rule set will successfully result in long-term changes to how jiu-jitsu matches are fought. As long as there are rules and points, there will be fighters who figure out how to win using those rules rather than forcing a submission. Forcing a submission is risky. If you can achieve victory through another means, it is always preferable.

For John, what needs to change is the culture within jiu-jitsu. Athletes need to be encouraged not only to win a match by relying on the point system. There needs to be a return to the origins of jiu-jitsu, which are based on endurance and submissions rather than point accumulation. For John, this will lead to not only better entertainment but more formidable jiu-jitsu, since fighters will push themselves to dominate their opponent rather than run out the clock or win on technicality.