Taking your opponent to the ground is a sound strategy that gives you significant advantages in a fight. Even if the opponent is largely able to nullify your ground offense, simply maintaining the dominant top position looks good in the judges’ eyes.
Unless you’re strictly a striker, look for opportunities to score points by bringing your opponent to the mat with a takedown. Then unleash some devastating ground-and-pound from the top or work at locking in a fight-ending submission!
Shooting and Driving
While standing, hold the Height Modifier trigger and tilt the Clinch/Grapple stick toward the opponent to shoot in for a takedown that can quickly bring the fight to the ground. But beware—shooting in for a takedown exposes you to being countered by powerful strikes!
Set up your takedowns with strikes and time your shots very carefully to finish them with greater success. Don’t shoot too often or you’ll become predictable and easy to counter.
Many times, completing a takedown requires you to dig deep and drive for the finish. After shooting in, rotate the Clinch/Grapple stick as fast as you can to drive your opponent onto his back and secure the top position on the ground.
Short Takedowns
If you shoot for a takedown just as the opponent is unleashing a strong strike, you’ll score a special short takedown that can’t be stuffed or blocked. This is particularly useful against aggressive strikers because it instantly places them on their back, where they can do the least damage.
If you’re getting battered by combos on the feet, turn the tide of the fight with a short takedown!
Advancing Position
The better your top position on the ground, the more powerful your strikes and submission offense will be, and the fewer survival options the opponent will have—that’s why it’s important to improve your position by performing transitions.
Manipulate the Clinch/Grapple stick to perform either quick minor transitions or slower major transitions, which are more beneficial but also easier to block and counter.
Technique Transitions
Hold the Technique Modifier trigger while attempting a ground transition to perform a technique transition, assuming your fighter is able. Technique transitions are more powerful than normal transitions, meaning they have a better chance of succeeding and significantly improving your position on the ground.
Some technique transitions allow you to “sweep” the opponent, moving from the bottom to the top position in one swift, game-changing move.
Technique transitions cost significant Stamina to attempt, however, so use these powerful transitions wisely!
Ground Transition Flow
This list covers the most common ground positions, from most advantageous to least. These positions (and many more) are covered in greater detail in the “Positions and Moves” chapter of this guide.
- 1. Mount, Top or Back Mount, Top
- 2. Mount Clinch, Top
- 3. Back Side Control, Top
- 4. North/South, Top
- 5. Side Control, Top
- 6. Half Guard, Top
- 7. Half Guard Clinch, Top
- 8. Open Guard, Top
- 9. Open Guard Clinch, Top
- 10. Open Guard Clinch, Bottom
- 11. Open Guard, Bottom
- 12. Half Guard Clinch, Bottom
- 13. Half Guard, Bottom
- 14. Side Control, Bottom
- 15. North/South, Bottom
- 16. Back Side Control, Bottom
- 17. Mount Clinch, Bottom
- 18. Mount, Bottom or Back Mount, Bottom
Ground Transition Interupts
As with certain clinch positions, you can interrupt the bottom opponent’s transition attempts by landing a strong strike when the opponent attempts to transition to a better position. Strong strikes are only available to the top fighter when he has transitioned to a dominant top position.
Bottom fighters can’t perform strong strikes, and therefore cannot interrupt the top fighter’s transitions in this fashion.
Sub Positions
Most non-clinch ground positions allow the top fighter to transition into a dangerous sub position. As the top fighter, simply tilt the Movement stick (not the Clinch/Grapple stick) toward the opponent to “posture up” into sub position.
Now your strikes are much stronger than normal, and your submissions will be even easier to apply!
These ground positions allow the top fighter to transition into a threatening sub position—be sure to do so when you’re on top:
- Open Guard, Top
- Half Guard, TopSide Control, Top
- Mount, Top
- North/South, Top
- Sprawl, Top
- Back Side Control, Top
- Back Mount, Top
- Back Mount Face Up, Top
- Back Mount Face Up Body Triangle, Top