Islam Makhachev has weighed in on the ongoing debate about which martial art works best in real-world self-defense, responding directly to Gordon Ryan’s recent comments.
Ryan had shared his perspective during a podcast appearance:
I think that if you do it correctly, Jiu-Jitsu is the best martial art for dealing with a single unarmed human being.
At the same time, Ryan acknowledged that the situation changes dramatically when more people are involved.
He explained that grappling on the ground can become dangerous if others intervene, noting that you don’t want to mount someone only for another attacker to kick you.
But Makhachev disagreed with the premise altogether:
I don’t agree with this 100%. How do you just lie down on the street and say: “Let’s go one on one”?
You wouldn’t just lie down and say: “Let’s start from here.”
You have to fight first, start in your stances.
Drawing from his own experience, Makhachev suggested that sambo offers more practical tools outside the gym:
If you compare sambo and Jiu-Jitsu, I think sambo is much stronger.
We’ve used it on the street many times.
Makhachev rejected the idea that any single discipline stands alone as the solution:
Jiu-Jitsu on its own, sambo on its own, none of it works like that.
Everything has to be adjusted for MMA.
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