The whole purpose of the UFC, when it began in 1993 was to determine which martial art style was the best. More Mortal Kombat than a run-of-the-mill combat sports tournament, UFC 1 was a way to pit martial artists of different disciplines against each other to see which style is truly best in a real fight. In the end, Royce Gracie and his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu won.

This victory proved that BJJ was the ‘best’ martial art since Gracie was smaller than most of his opponents but still beat them. However, the thing is, there were no real wrestlers or sambo practitioners at UFC 1, who could have given the Brazilian a run for his money. And the ascendance in MMA of a bunch of Dagestani fighters with Sambo backgrounds has led to a fresh debate- Is BJJ better than Sambo? Well, let’s take a look.

BJJ vs. Sambo comparison

Both BJJ and Sambo are primarily grappling-based martial arts. Of course, BJJ does not allow any striking, but that is not the case for Sambo. There are two types of Sambo- combat and sport, with the main difference between them being that combat allows strikes and chokes, but they are not allowed in sport sambo.

The rule set between the two sports is pretty similar except for some notable differences. Chokes, joint locks, and submissions are all allowed in both disciplines. Strikes are barred in BJJ, while they are allowed in one form of sambo, as we have already mentioned. Fighting from the guard is also not a thing in Sambo since fighting off your back is a big no-no in the discipline. The objective in Sambo is to get on top and take the dominant position while fighting off one’s back is perfectly acceptable and sometimes even advantageous in BJJ.

There are some notable differences in how points are scored in both sports, too. In BJJ, one gets points for successful takedowns, passing an opponent’s guard, sweeps, and transitions, with a submission ending the fight. On the other hand, sambo scoring is a bit more complex.

Points are given for a successful throw, pin, or knockdown and a fighter wins a fight when they have a twelve-point lead, or have more points at the end of the fight, can submit their opponent, or successfully execute a perfect throw. Now let us take a look at what perhaps the greatest grappler in the history of MMA thinks of the whole Sambo vs. BJJ debate.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s criticism of BJJ

The best-known combat sambo practitioner, of course, is Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was a multiple-time former world champion before he came to MMA. In fact, the former UFC lightweight champ has credited his dominance in the Octagon partly to his adeptness in combat sambo. In addition, he is clear on which grappling martial art is better, at least so long as both competitors are on their feet.

“Jiu-jitsu has a very big problem, there are no good takedowns. Not good takedowns. But on the ground, it’s perfect. Jiu-Jitsu on the ground is perfect, and if you want to begin jiu-jitsu, you need [to learn] takedowns guys. In Sambo [there] are very good takedowns [and] takedown skills. If you have a mix of Combat Sambo plus wrestling, this is unstoppable. Maybe you [get stopped] if somebody knocks you out, but for a decision [win] this is a perfect mix,” ‘The Eagle’ said in an interview many years ago.

While some people had problems with this statement, it should be noted that ‘The Eagle’ in no way disrespected BJJ. He even acknowledged that BJJ is the best style when the fight goes to the ground, but he just has a problem with the lack of takedown techniques seen in sambo or wrestling. In short, Nurmagomedov doesn’t think that either one is inherently better than the other, just that they have different strengths and weaknesses. Which martial art do you think is better- BJJ or Sambo?