BJJ icon Craig Jones recently made a provocative take that challenges conventional wisdom about Dagestani wrestling dominance. In a recent YouTube video, he argued that the region’s MMA success stems not from ancient mountain traditions, but from studying Georges St-Pierre’s revolutionary approach to takedowns.
Jones points to a striking statistical shift that supports his controversial thesis. Before GSP’s influence, Russian fighters maintained a modest 35-40% takedown accuracy. However, post-GSP, elite Dagestani fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov achieved 48% accuracy while Islam Makhachev reached 53%.
The catalyst? According to Jones, Dagestan reportedly received its first VHS player in 2007, just in time to study GSP dismantling credentialed wrestler Josh Koscheck.
What made GSP’s approach so revolutionary was its complete rejection of traditional wrestling orthodoxy. Between 2007 and 2013, the Canadian legend attempted 236 takedowns and landed 174, achieving an unprecedented 74% accuracy rate. He accomplished this by breaking every fundamental rule: bending at the hips, using short penetration steps, and shooting off the jab—techniques that would horrify traditional wrestling coaches.
Jones explains the biomechanics behind GSP’s innovation through what he calls the “Canadian deviation coefficient.” Traditional Olympic wrestling maintains a 90-degree hip angle, but GSP discovered the optimal MMA angle was 68 degrees. This ugly, bent-over posture solved a critical problem: the traditional upright, chest-up double leg left fighters vulnerable to uppercuts and knees.
As Jones puts it, “GSP proved the future of wrestling was indeed ugly, and Dagestani looked in the mirror and took notes.”
The evidence appears in Khabib’s evolution. Before 2012, his game relied heavily on upper body throws, trips, and clinches with beautiful, textbook wrestling posture. But in 2013 against Abel Trujillo, something changed. Khabib dropped his head under punches, shortened his penetration step, and bent at the hips—the classic Canadian shot.
Twenty-one successful takedowns later, he had become what Jones calls “the first Dagestani disciple of George St-Pierre.”
Islam Makhachev took this evolution further, achieving a 70-degree hip bend with a 0.45-meter penetration step. Jones compares the technical specifications: GSP’s 63-degree bend with 0.6-meter step produced 74% accuracy; Khabib’s 65-degree bend with 0.5-meter step yielded 48%; Islam’s more extreme angles delivered 53%.
Jones dismisses the romantic narrative of mountain training and ancient traditions as brilliant marketing—cultural appropriation disguised by neck beards and geographical mystique. His conclusion is direct: when Khabib says “send location,” he doesn’t mean the mountains of Dagestan. He means Montreal, where the real wrestling revolution began.
