Ground And Pound From Guard With Jared Gordon
When MMA first came about, at least in North America, it was really all about matching up styles to see which one is the most effective. People then began to realize pretty quickly that the best way to fight was to mix all the styles together.
If a fighter is well prepared and trained a fair amount in multiple styles, the likelihood that they can beat a fighter who only knows one style, even if they mastered that one style, is massive. One of the best examples of this is the invention of the ground and pound. While ground and pound has probably been around since people have been fighting, but MMA is where ground and pound became famous and was systemized.
We now have actual technique behind both the strikes and positions behind making ground and pound as effective as possible.
That’s why in this video we have brought in one fighter who knows how to properly ground and pound so well he named a whole style after it.
In this video Jared “Flash” Gordon goes over how you can deal out some serious damage with ground and pound from inside your opponent’s closed guard.
Who Is Jared “Flash” Gordon?
Jared “Flash” Gordon is an American MMA fighter who knows what it's like to taste gold in the cage. He was the Lightweight champion for the Mexican MMA promotion Duelo De Giagantes. He was also the Featherweight champion in the US based promotion Cage Fury fighting Championships. He now competes in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Ground And Pound From Closed Guard
The video starts off with Jared talking about how the choice in takedown you use to bring your opponent to the ground will also determine what position you end up in on the ground. This means that if you prefer to work out of a specific position, you should try to do takedowns that are likely to put you in them. He uses the example of how if you go for a double leg on your opponent and it lands, you are probably going to end up in your opponent’s closed guard.
Most people do this because they feel it is safe and while that might be in the case in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it’s not the case in MMA. Inside closed guard is actually a good position for you to be in if you're in MMA because your opponent has less escape options because you can punch them.
Add more next level details from Jared Gordon! Click Learn More!
Jared says that in MMA you actually have more escape options from half guard and side control if you’re on the bottom in MMA.
So when you are in full guard in MMA, you need to know what your opponent's options are. Your opponent can sweep, attempt submissions or escapes or even just hold you. You also need to get a feel for what your opponent is going to attempt to do. If your opponent is going to try for a submission, you need to keep your arms close to you.
However your ultimate goal in this position is to control your opponent. In order to do this you are going to need to have 5 or 6 points of contact, at least that’s what Jared says. He likes to use his head and elbows to help pin down his opponent.
He demonstrates this by getting bicep control on both of his opponent’s arms and a good head position under his opponent’s chin. He also makes sure to twist his opponent so that they are curving their spine. If your opponent’s spine is straight they are stronger and will have a better chance of being able to escape, sweep or submit you. This is why you need to break that straight spinal posture because it makes you weaker.
From that position, make sure that you control the chin. From here you can also grab the head with your hand to bend your opponent to the side to bend the spine. Now you can start to rain down strikes and apply damage. Make sure that you don’t just go crazy with the strikes and that you maintain your points of control and mix them up so you don’t give your opponent a chance to breathe and/or think.
Learn More From Jared “Flash” Gordon
If you like this ground and pound breakdown and want to learn more from Jared “Flash” Gordon, then you should check out his complete grappling to ground and pound video series “ Grapple Boxing Fundamentals By Jared Gordon” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking!