In the world of combat sports, there is a rich variety of different disciplines that each demand their own skillset and techniques. Whether a fighter enters an Octagon, a ring, or a gymnasium, athletes that take to these arenas need to hone their sport-specific skills to the maximum to inflict as much damage as possible, limit the blows received to ultimately emerge from the battle victorious.
Over the course of history in combat sports, there have been a number of athletes that have expanded their repertoire of combat skills by trying their hand at other combat disciplines. Despite seemingly possessing the ability to suppress fear and anxiety before entering a bout, switching codes to learn a completely different skillset with a new range of ways to attack and defend against an opponent is not an easy feat.
However, with a base set of skills in jiu jitsu, mixed martial arts, boxing, Muay Thai, or wrestling, the transition into another combat sport can be made slightly easier. There have been many successful stories of fighters who have switched code. Here are just a few of them.
Anderson Silva
The Brazilian is known as one of the most successful MMA fighters of all time. After beginning with Taekwondo, Silva added Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing and boxing to his combat arsenal, making him one of the most rounded fighters in history. The ability to deliver deadly kicks was taken from Taekwondo, the striking from Muay Thai, and technical ability on the ground and submissions from Jiu-Jitsu, which allowed Silva to go on and make a name for himself in the UFC.
Silva’s greatest victory possibly came against Vitor Belfort with his kick to Belfort’s face still regarded as one of the greatest strikes in UFC history. Following Silva’s retirement from MMA in 2020, the path was cleared for up-and-coming MMA fighters to etch their names into history. The current odds are available to see who can become the next dominant force in the UFC, and we will surely see traces of Silva’s style displayed by many on the roster.
Brock Lesnar & Ronda Rousey
These two fighters might now be known for their work in the WWE, but both enjoyed extremely successful careers in the MMA before switching to wrestling. In MMA, it took Lesnar just five fights to claim the heavyweight championship in 2008, which to this day is still an outstanding achievement. Lesnar, who could also have had a career in American Football, also added the WWE heavyweight title to his awards collection.
Rousey’s success also dropped her onto the radar of the WWE. Previous to her wrestling career, the UFC Hall of Famer won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight title on the way to a six-fight winning streak, a record in women’s UFC, and also claimed a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in judo. For both athletes, the switch to wrestling has been a successful venture, with the hard-hitting skills learned in MMA fighting translating easily to wrestling for the pair.
Holly Holm
Perhaps a name not recognised by everyone, Holm, like Anderson Silva, made the successful switch to Mixed Martial Arts. It was Holm’s love for MMA that resulted in the switch from boxing, despite enjoying an incredibly successful boxing career. However, the success of eighteen world titles collected in the boxing ring translated directly to MMA, where Holm is remembered for putting an end to the Ronda Rousey reign, while also making the transition from boxing to MMA look easy.
With a wider range of strikes allowed in MMA, Holm had to essentially learn the art of kicking, different movements, along with other grappling and submission techniques similar to those seen in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. However, Holm, like the other fighters mentioned in this piece have proved that combat athletes are able to add new fighting skills to their already well-equipped fighting ability and more importantly, be successful doing it.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.
