Killer Instinct Fighters vs Grappling Fighters
If you’ve watched enough Pride fights, you may come to notice that there are three general types of fighters in MMA. These are the Killer Instinct fighters, the Grappling fighters, and a combination of both. Any type can lead to great success in MMA, one is not better than the other. It’s just different fighter personalities. We'll talk about all three.
The first type is the Killer Instinct type fighters. These guys are all about striking and have the power to back it up. They usually are head hunters with their punches and kicks. Even when they are on the ground if they see an opportunity for a submission attempt they will pass it up in favor of hitting the guy. This is because they either are not comfortable or skilled enough to attempt a submission, or they just genuinely love hitting the guy instead.
It takes the least technical skill to become a Killer Instinct type fighter, but these guys usually are the most powerful and intimidating fighters. Killer Instinct fighters are trying to knock you out and end the fight. They don’t bother messing around with submissions because they want to rock you.
I have seen some Pride fights where I’m sure the other guy was about to be seriously injured or killed if the ref didn't stop the fight in time. This is because Killer Instinct fighters are fighting using just that, their killer instincts, and it can be difficult for them to let up at the end of the fight when the other guy is clearly in trouble. It is the ref’s job to prevent that, and overall the Pride referees were pretty good about stopping the fight in time (unless it was a Japanese fighter…).
Killer Instinct fighters tend to be fan favorites because they are exciting to watch and they always go for the finish. These guys are not known for stalling or lacking any courage.
Two good examples of Killer Instinct fighters are Wanderlei Silva (an ultimate example) and Mirko Cro Cop (a cold-blooded hit man).
The next type of fighter is the Grappler type fighter. These are the guys who instead of trying to knock you out, they prefer to break your arm or leg, or choke you. It is equally effective in a fight to take this approach, and you can pull off submissions from all sorts of positions. These guys like to take the fight to the ground.
A Grappler’s technical ability and knowledge tends to be better than Killer Instinct fighters, and some of their submission attempts will make the crowd “oo and ah”. It is impressive to see a guy pull off a nice submission to end a fight.
And just the opposite of Killer Instinct fighters, Grappler’s will usually pass up an opportunity to hit a guy on the ground in favor of attempting a submission. It is as if Grappler’s instinctually don’t want to throw punches, like they don’t want to risk hurting their hand or trading shots or getting bloody. This is not to imply that Grapplers are any less manly than a Killer Instinct fighter. Not at all. Sometimes you have to take damage from the other guy in order to pull off a submission, so good Grapplers are tough. And if you have the ability to break someone’s arm, then it can cause more long term damage than knocking a guy out. That’s why Grapplers are dangerous.
Grapplers have achieved a lot of success in MMA, but they are not always fan favorites. This is because their fighting style is not as explosive as a guy throwing shots from the stand up. Grapplers want to take things to the ground so they can work their moves. It’s not always flashy or fast paced enough for the audience. Some Grapplers are notorious at stalling (we can all think of some examples… this is when the yellow card is a good thing).
Still, Grapplers bring the “Mixed” to Mixed Martial Arts with their technical knowledge. It’s always cool to see a good submission, and it shows people the skill involved in fighting.
A good example of a Grappler fighter is Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. He was excellent at submissions from all sorts of positions, and sometimes he had to absorb major damage before securing one. (His fights against Bob Sapp and Mirko Cro Cop are great examples).
My appreciation and enjoyment of MMA is equally attributed to watching both good Killer Instinct fighters and Grapplers.
Lastly, there is one type of fighter who is most rare. These are the type of fighters who have both that killer instinct and grappler ability. This is what all people who seriously train in MMA are trying to achieve; to be awesome at both striking (killer instinct) and submissions (grappling).
Being totally objective, there are only a handful of fighters in MMA history who had that great combination of killer instinct and grappling ability (and they must have at least 20 fights in a major MMA promotion to be judged correctly.)
It doesn’t matter what situation the fight goes into, whether it was stand-up, ground game, or transition, these types of fighters are good in any situation. Note that I said “good” and not “the best”. As long as you are above average in all the different aspects of MMA you have a good chance for success.
Fedor Emelianenko is a good example of this type of fighter. The fact that he never lost a Pride fight attests to the benefits of being a well-rounded fighter.
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In closing, it really is a personality thing if a guy is a Killer Instinct type fighter or a Grappling type fighter. Both types of fighters had champions in Pride and UFC. One type is not better than the other; it depends on the individual fighter.
Seeing a fighter with a genuine combination of that killer instinct and grappling ability is more rare, and it is something that all fighters should train to achieve to improve themselves.
Written June 2013
If you’ve watched enough Pride fights, you may come to notice that there are three general types of fighters in MMA. These are the Killer Instinct fighters, the Grappling fighters, and a combination of both. Any type can lead to great success in MMA, one is not better than the other. It’s just different fighter personalities. We'll talk about all three.
The first type is the Killer Instinct type fighters. These guys are all about striking and have the power to back it up. They usually are head hunters with their punches and kicks. Even when they are on the ground if they see an opportunity for a submission attempt they will pass it up in favor of hitting the guy. This is because they either are not comfortable or skilled enough to attempt a submission, or they just genuinely love hitting the guy instead.
It takes the least technical skill to become a Killer Instinct type fighter, but these guys usually are the most powerful and intimidating fighters. Killer Instinct fighters are trying to knock you out and end the fight. They don’t bother messing around with submissions because they want to rock you.
I have seen some Pride fights where I’m sure the other guy was about to be seriously injured or killed if the ref didn't stop the fight in time. This is because Killer Instinct fighters are fighting using just that, their killer instincts, and it can be difficult for them to let up at the end of the fight when the other guy is clearly in trouble. It is the ref’s job to prevent that, and overall the Pride referees were pretty good about stopping the fight in time (unless it was a Japanese fighter…).
Killer Instinct fighters tend to be fan favorites because they are exciting to watch and they always go for the finish. These guys are not known for stalling or lacking any courage.
Two good examples of Killer Instinct fighters are Wanderlei Silva (an ultimate example) and Mirko Cro Cop (a cold-blooded hit man).
The next type of fighter is the Grappler type fighter. These are the guys who instead of trying to knock you out, they prefer to break your arm or leg, or choke you. It is equally effective in a fight to take this approach, and you can pull off submissions from all sorts of positions. These guys like to take the fight to the ground.
A Grappler’s technical ability and knowledge tends to be better than Killer Instinct fighters, and some of their submission attempts will make the crowd “oo and ah”. It is impressive to see a guy pull off a nice submission to end a fight.
And just the opposite of Killer Instinct fighters, Grappler’s will usually pass up an opportunity to hit a guy on the ground in favor of attempting a submission. It is as if Grappler’s instinctually don’t want to throw punches, like they don’t want to risk hurting their hand or trading shots or getting bloody. This is not to imply that Grapplers are any less manly than a Killer Instinct fighter. Not at all. Sometimes you have to take damage from the other guy in order to pull off a submission, so good Grapplers are tough. And if you have the ability to break someone’s arm, then it can cause more long term damage than knocking a guy out. That’s why Grapplers are dangerous.
Grapplers have achieved a lot of success in MMA, but they are not always fan favorites. This is because their fighting style is not as explosive as a guy throwing shots from the stand up. Grapplers want to take things to the ground so they can work their moves. It’s not always flashy or fast paced enough for the audience. Some Grapplers are notorious at stalling (we can all think of some examples… this is when the yellow card is a good thing).
Still, Grapplers bring the “Mixed” to Mixed Martial Arts with their technical knowledge. It’s always cool to see a good submission, and it shows people the skill involved in fighting.
A good example of a Grappler fighter is Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. He was excellent at submissions from all sorts of positions, and sometimes he had to absorb major damage before securing one. (His fights against Bob Sapp and Mirko Cro Cop are great examples).
My appreciation and enjoyment of MMA is equally attributed to watching both good Killer Instinct fighters and Grapplers.
Lastly, there is one type of fighter who is most rare. These are the type of fighters who have both that killer instinct and grappler ability. This is what all people who seriously train in MMA are trying to achieve; to be awesome at both striking (killer instinct) and submissions (grappling).
Being totally objective, there are only a handful of fighters in MMA history who had that great combination of killer instinct and grappling ability (and they must have at least 20 fights in a major MMA promotion to be judged correctly.)
It doesn’t matter what situation the fight goes into, whether it was stand-up, ground game, or transition, these types of fighters are good in any situation. Note that I said “good” and not “the best”. As long as you are above average in all the different aspects of MMA you have a good chance for success.
Fedor Emelianenko is a good example of this type of fighter. The fact that he never lost a Pride fight attests to the benefits of being a well-rounded fighter.
-----
In closing, it really is a personality thing if a guy is a Killer Instinct type fighter or a Grappling type fighter. Both types of fighters had champions in Pride and UFC. One type is not better than the other; it depends on the individual fighter.
Seeing a fighter with a genuine combination of that killer instinct and grappling ability is more rare, and it is something that all fighters should train to achieve to improve themselves.
Written June 2013
