Heavy Hands 606 - Wrestling with Ryan feat. Ryan Wagner
Jan 15, 2026
Ryan Wagner, a skilled writer and analyst in mixed martial arts, returns to share his expertise. He dives into the evolving role of wrestling in MMA and reveals why open-space takedowns are fading. The conversation highlights the need for wrestlers to enhance their striking skills, exploring the integrated game of fighters like Islam Makhachev. Ryan discusses grappling trends and the decline of traditional ground-and-pound, offering insights into modern wrestling strategies in the cage and recommending talented wrestlers to watch.
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Wrestling's Old Advantage Is Shrinking
- Wrestling's dominance in MMA has declined because striking has improved and exposed shallow wrestler skill sets.
- Effective wrestlers now must integrate deeper striking, footwork, and range control to create takedown opportunities.
Make Takedowns Emerge From Striking
- Top wrestlers who excel blend striking threats directly into takedown entries rather than relying on single-layer level changes.
- Islam Makachev's striking coherence makes takedowns consistently available from the same effective positions.
Meta Shift: Cage Work Over Open-Space Control
- The grappling meta shifted toward cage riding and back-taking, reducing open-space wrestling and ground-and-pound in full guard.
- Fighters now prioritize fence control, which narrows training emphasis away from open-space top chains.