That is the mission.

Longtime Jiu-Jitsu and MMA coach Malachy Friedman is now working with a group of fighters who could help define the next generation of Dutch MMA. The team includes four-time GLORY champion Endy Semeleer, ONE Championship Muay Thai champion Ilias Ennahachi, two-time GLORY champion Donegi Abena, and rising female fighters Noor Oosterhoff and Thayara Magalhaes.

Managed by Only For Champions (OFC), the group is being prepared for the highest level of mixed martial arts. The UFC is the first major target, but the ultimate goal goes much further than simply reaching the promotion.

They want championship belts.

Friedman’s role within that process is a very specific one. He is not trying to turn elite Dutch strikers into traditional grapplers. His focus is on something closer to anti-grappling.

The idea is simple: help world-class strikers stay where they are most dangerous.

Stop the takedown. Defend the cage. Get back to the feet. Prevent the grappler from settling into control.

Of course, Friedman’s understanding of those defensive systems comes directly from his knowledge of grappling offense.

“Of course offense is my thing,” Friedman says. “I think I have many things that were missing in MMA for control and freeing the hands for ground-and-pound.”

“But at the same time, if I understand the offense, then I understand the defense.”

That philosophy comes from years spent studying how fights are controlled. Earlier this year, Friedman worked with legendary MMA coach Greg Jackson on systems involving leg rides and Dagestani handcuffs, positions designed to control opponents, isolate their hands and create opportunities for ground-and-pound.

Now Friedman is teaching the other side of that equation.

How do you stop somebody from doing it to you?

The Dutch Connection

For newer combat sports fans, Thailand may be the first country that comes to mind when discussing elite striking. Friedman, however, sees the Netherlands as possessing one of the deepest and most influential striking cultures in the world.

Ramon Dekkers. Rico Verhoeven. Bas Rutten.

Dutch kickboxing has influenced generations of fighters, and Friedman believes its combination of boxing, powerful kicking and aggressive combinations provides an excellent foundation for mixed martial arts.

“If you’re fighting MMA, your stand-up is likely closer to Dutch-Thai than Muay Thai.”

The striking culture is already there.

Friedman’s goal is not to replace it. He wants to add the layer that allows those fighters to keep using it.

Grappling awareness, takedown defense, cage work and the ability to escape when the fight reaches the floor.

Jiu-Jitsu in Reverse

Friedman did not originally arrive in the Netherlands with plans to build an anti-grappling system for Dutch MMA fighters.

After connecting with coaches Erick van der Wal and Joey Berkenbosch, he began working with them privately. The relationship developed naturally, and eventually his role expanded to include their fighters.

It was not the first time Friedman had used Jiu-Jitsu in this way.

During his time at American Top Team, he worked with Division I All-American wrestlers on defending submissions from the ground. These were athletes who already possessed elite wrestling skills, so the objective was not to rebuild their entire game. It was to give them specific answers to the problems that could neutralize their strongest weapons.

The athletes may be different, but the principle remains the same.

Understand exactly what the attacker is trying to accomplish, then remove the conditions that allow him to accomplish it.

In the Netherlands, that means the objective is not always to win a prolonged grappling battle.

Sometimes the best grappling exchange is the one that never happens.

If the opponent attempts a takedown, stop it. If he forces you onto the cage, understand how to defend the position. If the takedown succeeds, escape before control becomes damage.

For an elite striker, every second spent underneath an opponent is a second spent away from the area where he is most dangerous.

Why the Netherlands?

For Friedman, the Netherlands makes perfect sense.

“The Netherlands was a perfect place for me because the fight culture and history is huge, but it hasn’t been as big for MMA.”

That is beginning to change.

Promotions such as Levels Fight League (LFL) have helped develop the Dutch MMA scene by bringing high-level competition and professional production to the country. At the same time, more Dutch athletes with elite backgrounds in kickboxing and Muay Thai are beginning to see MMA as the next challenge.

For Friedman, the opportunity is obvious. The raw material already exists. These fighters do not need to be taught how to fight.

They need to be prepared for the specific problems that elite MMA will present.

Friedman had already seen how quickly European fighters could absorb his grappling systems while working with Eastern European athletes at All Stars Training Center. His experience with Dutch fighters has produced a similar reaction.

“When I first arrived in Europe, working with Eastern European fighters out of All Stars Training Center was a dream as they clicked with my grappling controls immediately,” Friedman says.

“But the same is true for Dutch fighters. They’ve really left me speechless with how quickly they acquire information and build skill.”

At the Highest Level, It Is About Recognizing the Problem Earlier

One of the biggest misconceptions in combat sports is that reaching the highest level simply requires learning more and more techniques.

At a certain point, Friedman believes the opposite can be true.

Elite fighters already possess enormous technical arsenals. The difference increasingly comes down to recognition, timing and decision making.

Can you recognize the takedown before your opponent gets deep on your hips?

Can you recognize the cage position before your back is completely trapped?

Can you recognize the leg ride before your opponent has settled his weight?

Can you recognize the hand control before the ground-and-pound begins?

The earlier the fighter identifies the problem, the easier it is to solve.

That is particularly important when dealing with world-class strikers. Friedman is not interested in taking away the qualities that made these athletes successful in the first place.

He wants to protect those qualities.

The Netherlands already knows how to produce elite strikers. Its combat sports history proves that.

Friedman is not trying to turn Dutch kickboxers into grapplers.

He is trying to make them extremely difficult to grapple.

Because if fighters such as Semeleer, Ennahachi and Abena can dictate where the fight takes place, their opponents are suddenly faced with a serious problem.

They have to stand with them.

And that is exactly where Friedman wants them.

Keep the striking.
Add the grappling.
Bring the belts home.

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