The ongoing discourse surrounding submission grappling witnessed a significant stir recently. This was fueled by the intense showdown between Aljamain Sterling and Kevin Dantzler at Fury Pro Grappling 8 on December 30. While Sterling displayed dominance in strength and wrestling skills, the match’s outcome favored Dantzler due to his strategic submission attempts.
In an interview given after the match, Sterling said that grapplers who lie on their backs and pull guard were ruining the sport of jiu-jitsu. This led to a discussion over whether the former UFC champion was correct.
In a recent episode of ‘The TimboSugarShow,’ Welch brought up Sterling’s defeat in the grappling match. This sparked the following discussion over the earlier debate:
O’Malley said: “Just wrestle. Wrestle you little f*cking fruit loop. Don’t sit on your butt.”
Welch then said: “I definitely think it should be penalized a little bit, but also, that’s the sport. You gotta be able to pass the guard. Instead of blaming them on butt-scooting, blame yourself or I can’t pass this f*cker’s guard.”
O’Malley responds: “If you butt scoot, you’re a fruit loop.”
Welch then continues: “It depends. I agree, and I’m in support of wrestling, and I think it should be a penalty in every rule set…It should just put you down right off the rip like it’s ADCC.”
O’Malley then continues: “I don’t know. I’m just talking sh*t. Jiu-jitsu is a sweet sport. Being able to guard retention and not have someone pass your guard is a sweet skill, but something about wrestling, especially for someone like Aljo who’s going in from fighting, an MMA guy going against [a jiu-jitsu guy] like, ‘Let’s just f*cking wrestle a little bit.”
Another facet of the debate revolves around whether submission grappling should be classified as a ‘fight’. Some suggest that the harm experienced may be greater than in mixed martial arts matches.
Welch shed light on this, emphasizing: “Like Aljo said, if that’s a fight, it’s like come on. Every single position he’s in, he’s in this position to just drop bombs on the guy’s head, but that’s the thing about jiu-jitsu, it’s not a fight. It’s not a fight. It’s a completely different sport.”
“Sweeps, guard passing, it’s just a lot about that, but those guys that can pull guard if you have someone really attacking you, it’s gonna open up back takes and sweeps and stuff. I understand both sides, but it’s cool he’s still just competing in jiu-jitsu just for fun.”
Aljamain Sterling’s recent grappling match helped him stay active without significant injury concerns. Sterling is slated to debut in the featherweight division against Calvin Katter during the preliminary portion of UFC 300 on April 13.
Meanwhile, UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is preparing for a much-anticipated defense of his title at UFC 299’s main event on March 9. O’Malley is set to face off against Marlon Vera. He will be aiming for revenge after Vera secured a first-round knockout win in their previous encounter in August 2020.