The famed Jiu-jitsu technique employed by the Gracie family was not as well known before 1993 as it is today. What changed was the creation of a new mixed martial arts tournament called the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Essentially, the competition was designed to pit different disciplines against each other in order to determine the most effective martial art. Royce Gracie entered the tournament and won with the use of his style of martial art techniques. After he won two more tournaments the world realized that this was the fighting discipline to master in order to win.
After Gracie proved that a command over the jiu-jitsu technique was essential for success in mixed martial arts competitions, all fighters began receiving some form of personal training in jiu-jitsu, and the UFC became a series of matches on the ground. A standup fighter was almost always doomed, for once the combatant who knew jiu-jitsu got him on the ground, a tap out from the striker was inevitable. Submissions in the form of chokes, arm bars, leg locks and so on became the norm for those early UFC matches.
Because all of this was new to the other fighters, submissions often occurred quite quickly. Yet as more people learned the jiu-jitsu technique, the fights on the ground lasted longer, sometimes with the two combatants seemingly locked in a stalemate, with one on top and the other trapped underneath. The audience began to get bored with this style of fighting and the promoters began to encourage participants to stay on their feet longer to provide more entertainment.
Some people believe the jiu-jitsu technique has disappeared in the recent tournaments of the UFC, but that's not quite accurate. All fighters engaged in mixed martial arts tournaments have to study jiu-jitsu in order to be able to compete effectively. This means that these top fighters can more easily block and counter the different submissions and groundwork that fighters use when grappling. MMA and jiu jitsu still have a strong relationship.
It would be wrong to say that the jiu-jitsu technique is dead in the UFC, just because there are fewer tap outs to submissions than there were before. MMA and jiu jitsu will always go hand in hand; jiu jitsu just won't be the deciding factor in a fight anymore because everyone studies it now. If you are interested in participating in any mixed martial arts tournaments, then you would be well advised to study jiu jitsu in order to be able to compete with everyone else.
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