Going Down.
In a MMA fight or in training your mind is doing constant calculations on what to do and what to avoid. With takedowns it is a hard decision as they can take a lot of energy to complete but can be even worse if you miss the take down and end up in a bad position.
In training the most efficient takedowns come from the clinch or up against the cage. When sparring someone who is heavier it makes sense to avoid going for double legs unless it is wide open. The double leg take down uses a lot of energy and the risk of missing the takedown is big as you can be stuck underneath your opponent, especially if they are heavier. Of course you can get a reasonably easy double leg by reading an attack and shooting in when they go to punch or kick or setting them up with movement so their weight is on their front leg. The single leg can be safe as well, you can set it up with a jab cross then level change to grab that front leg and get the single leg. Both these set ups usually happen against people who are either below your level in terms of wrestling or MMA knowledge. Therefore if all things are equal then the double leg is really quite hard to get. Closing the distance and getting to the clinch where the takedowns are using your bodyweight to unbalance your opponent take less energy and you can move your opponent around the cage to your advantage. If you get their back up against the cage then you can work your offence and really push for the takedown as they can’t get their hips away.
When you are working against the cage the high percentage, low energy takedown is the single leg. With the single leg you more or less pull their leg out from underneath them and they have no choice but to fall over. This puts you in a great position to work top position. To make the takedown easier you can work your striking or ‘dirty boxing’ to set up the takedown. There are many options for takedowns when working against the cage, you can even work a low energy double leg take down. Once you drop levels the opponent can’t get their hips back so once you lock your hands together behind their legs you can get them down by pulling their legs out – much like the single leg. There are momentum takedowns using the cage where you can drive people in to the fence then use the ‘bounce’ off the fence to use momentum against them to control their weight for a double or single leg takedown or a clinch take down.
Being a heavyweight the low energy takedowns are what I go for as if I miss them I haven’t used a massive amount of energy and if I end up on the bottom I can start the scramble while still having energy. There are people I have trained with who are stronger / more power full and they go for the big take downs where they actually lift opponents of their feet and slam them to the mat. They set up the double leg with their striking and bulldoze their opponent across the mat and end up on top or sprawled. They also go for the single leg in the open mat but usually transition it to the double leg then bulldoze them in to the ground. Up against the cage the first instinct is to lift, they grab a leg for the single and transition the hands to high on the thigh to get a lift using the high crotch takedown. Then with the double leg they lock the hands up behind the legs and go for the lift rather than pulling the legs out. These takedowns are very effective and look great but come at a risk, if you miss them the energy expenditure is massive. Then if the opponent scrambles out and gets back up it becomes rather demoralizing.
Overall for me in competition or in training I will always go for the high percentage lower energy takedown over the big pick up and slam. I do this as a safety thing, I don’t want to get caught underneath someone big or be on my back. However the people that go for and get the big slams, even though they might risk big energy loss if they fail, get a massive boost if they get the takedown and their opponent gets demoralised and becomes very weary of the big take down, as it just plain sucks to get picked up and slammed, which opens up other opportunities. Therefore if it is your style the big takedowns can be worth it.
Gareth Lewis
Head MMA Instructor