What is the difference between MMA and street fighting?

Over the years, countless people have chimed in with the same critique when looking at MMA fighting which is “That wouldn’t work on the streets”. Although this comment has become a bit of a meme, there is some logic behind it and in some circumstances, it’s actually a fair statement to make. In this article, we shall be going through the differences between MMA and street fighting. Here, we shall look at the legalities, tactical implications, and realities of the two and whether there actually is much of a difference between MMA and street fighting, or whether the differences are exaggerated.

Street fighting allows weapons

As the saying goes, “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.” Back in 2018, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt named Tiago Guma was actually shot dead as he tried to fight someone during a road rage incident in Brazil. Whilst Guma would surely defeat his opponent in an MMA fight, this serves as a clear example that weapons change everything. From a martial artist’s perspective, there’s something quite sad about someone devoting years of their life to fighting, only to get shot dead in seconds by a crazed gunman.

Nonetheless, it serves as a timely reminder that just because you’re a black belt, it doesn’t mean you can’t get killed by a weapon. Whilst his survival rate would be significantly higher against a knife or baseball bat, it still changes the landscape of the fight and shows that MMA and street fighting is very different due to the street’s lack of rules. Regardless of your skill of fighting, against someone with a weapon, you will struggle.

Street fighting has no rules

MMA is known for having certain rules, such as no weapons. However, its other rules include no eye gouging, biting, strikes to the back of the head, grabbing hair, groin strikes, and other legalities. In short, you’ve got to modify your game whilst cage fighting. At the same time, all of these dirty tactics are legal in street fights and there’s no ref to stop you or jump in. This could mean a good wrestler could get their eye gouged as they shoot a takedown, or bitten in a clinch. Obviously, there are also no gloves in street fights, meaning you’re more likely to get cut too.

It should be noted that generally, these dirty tactics will mostly help out the better fighter. For instance, if you’ve got someone in mount – then you’re mostly the one in control. You can choose to grab the opponent’s head and smash it into the ground. Of course, this means there’s a degree of mercy required for street fights which isn’t the same as in MMA. You may even win a street fight but be left scarred or more hurt after, whereas the rules of MMA will make things safer and less life threatening.

Street fights often take place on concrete

Ex-MMA fighter Andrew Wiltse once said, “In street fights, the only winner is the hard, concrete floor.” Wiltse knows this better than anyone, considering he was also a bouncer who has told multiple tales of self defense and fighting on concrete. According to him, even if you do win a fight, there’s a chance you’ll injure yourself by hitting a hard floor, which can lead to cuts and concussions easier. This is why more people die by street fights as their head falls on hard floors and damages their brain, whereas the same situation in MMA won’t impact the head as harshly.

This means that certain martial arts are more effective when the ground is hard, such as Judo. Whilst a Judo throw may hurt on a mat, it could easily knock you out or break bones on concrete. Therefore, the implication of throws and break falling become much more dangerous during a street fight.

Street fights can have multiple attackers

Again, Andrew Wiltse has also commented on this. Wiltse is a BJJ black belt and is a highly skilled athlete at that. In one situation, he spoke on how he got someones back to choke them as a bouncer. At this point, he looked over to the guy’s friend who was in the process of soccer kicking Wiltse in the head. Thankfully for Wiltse, at this point, his brother stepped in and stopped the soccer kick from taking place.

Nonetheless, there are still countless videos and stories of people getting beaten up badly whilst winning fights. Sadly, it isn’t a 1 vs 1 encounter which is vastly different from MMA. Remember, there are no rules and sometimes it’s best to simply run off, even if you’re winning the fight. As a result, pride isn’t always a good thing in a street fight, whereas MMA it’s more valuable.

Street fights don’t have rounds

If you’ve ever watched bare knuckle boxing or gypsies fight, then you will also note that they don’t have rounds off. This changes the landscape of the fight drastically. In MMA, you will often see people survive a ground and pound or a submission attempt with seconds left on the clock. This is a legit strategy where stalling for the final seconds can turn a losing fight into a winning one.

You then start in a neutral position having had some water and rest which is good for your cardio. In a street fight, this simply isn’t doable and you have to change your strategy as a result. It’s no surprise that with this in mind, street fights generally last a few seconds or minutes, whereas MMA bouts can last over 15 minutes.

There is good news for trained fighters in street fights though

As touched upon earlier, generally the rules in MMA favor the fighter who eventually loses. For instance, they may lose and take a beating, but at least they don’t get elbowed to the back of the neck. Similarly, they may lose but at least they don’t get their arm broken after tapping out. The point is that as a superior fighter, you don’t have to use these laws on the streets and if you’re trained, you can use them to your advantage more. Obviously, this is a moral question though that everyone must ask themselves.

What’s even better, is that if you are trained, thankfully most untrained opponents will not be able to cause you much bother. Remember, MMA fights often take place between two opponents who are very similar in terms of skill. These people will be specifically matched to make sure the fight is a contest. This differs hugely from street fighting, where many people are completely untrained, are out of shape, weak, and lack cardio. Therefore, even without the rules in place, you should be ok the majority of the time as a trained fighter, as long as you’re smart and don’t try fighting multiple attackers or armed enemies.

Conclusion

To sum up, MMA is very different from street fighting. The good news is that if it works in MMA, it will probably work in street fighting, as long as you’re wary of your surroundings. Ideally, you would never end up in a street fight anyway as they can be very problematic and even the law is something to consider especially if you’re victorious.

In conclusion, MMA is a much safer, controlled environment to fight in compared to the streets where there’s more chance of chaos. Having said this, there are no ‘secret’ moves such as a Tai Chi kick or pressure point death touch which are suspiciously ‘banned’ from MMA due to its danger. Generally, these ideas are fantasy and are said by those who are in denial about their martial arts training and their lack of real, applicable skills.

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