Draft:Ground and Pound

Brian Stann using ground and pound in a fight with Jeremiah Billington at WEC 30 (2007).

Ground and Pound (A neologism that describes techniques already used before the term itself existed.)

A technique employed in combat sports, Ground and Pound is used when a fight can be finished on the ground by knockout rather than submission. It consists of applying a destabilizing strike to the opponent, taking them down, gaining control — usually by assuming the mount position — and delivering traumatic blows with fists, elbows, and other parts of the body.

This technique is particularly common in M.M.A. (Mixed Martial Arts) competition.

History

Pankration

In 648 B.C., the Ancient Greek Olympic Games introduced Pankration, a competition that combined direct strikes (such as punches and kicks) with submission techniques, including chokes and joint locks. This practice strongly resembles modern MMA fights, paving the way for what we now call “Ground and Pound” (strikes delivered with the opponent on the ground).

It was a spectacle with very few rules — the only prohibited actions were biting and eye-gouging. Victory came through an opponent’s submission or inability to continue, often resulting in severe injuries or even death. The fame of these competitors spread beyond Greece, and champions, celebrated as heroes, became legendary figures.

The essence of Pankration, a contest where different techniques were combined to achieve victory, would be revived centuries later in modern tournaments, most notably in what is now known worldwide as MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).

Vale Tudo

Rei Zulu is elbowed by Rickson Gracie while on the ground during their Vale-Tudo match at a Gracie Challenge in Brazil (1980).

Over time, the competitive spirit of testing different fighting styles against one another remained alive. Vale-Tudo emerged in Brazil, with records dating back to the early 20th century. This form of combat developed as an almost unrestricted competition, recalling the spirit of Pankration and again featuring primitive forms of Ground and Pound.

The fighting spectacles known as “Vale-Tudo” initially became popular in Brazilian circuses. In 1909, the capoeira fighter Francisco da Silva Ciríaco defeated the Japanese jiu-jitsu practitioner Sada Miyako in one of the first documented matches of this kind in Brazil. There are also reports from period newspapers, such as the Japanese-American Courier of October 4, 1928.

During the 1920s, the Gracie Challenges emerged, in which various martial arts styles from around the world tested their styles against the Gracie family’s jiu-jitsu. In these bouts, the use of what we now know as Ground and Pound was a constant feature.

These events became key milestones in the global history of combat sports, shaping the foundation of what would eventually become MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).

The UFC

Founded in 1993, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has established itself over time as the world's most successful pioneering MMA organization. Its creation involved the direct participation of the Gracie family, who used the promotion as a platform to showcase their martial art. Thus, the UFC was born as an evolution of Vale-Tudo and the Gracie Challenges, quickly achieving international success.

It was within the UFC that the term “Ground and Pound” took shape and was coined by Mark Coleman, an MMA fighter specializing in this technique. He named the tactic — consisting of powerful ground strikes — after a fight at UFC 10. From then on, the term became widely used in the fighting world, particularly by athletes such as Mark Kerr, Don Frye, Kevin Randleman, Frank Trigg, Frank Shamrock, and Tito Ortiz. Fedor Emelianenko, a sambo and judo specialist, is also regarded as a master of Ground and Pound.

Fedor Emelianenko demonstrates his ground and pound technique.

In the world of MMA, where anything can happen within the limits of the rules, fighters always strive to have the best possible arsenal — and Ground and Pound has become an essential component of their skill set.

References

Mixed martial arts