Knowing the right Judo Techniques to gain superior positioning and dominance on your opponent can be the difference to winning or losing a MMA fight. Judo is great for mixed martial arts because it focuses on closing distance and shooting in for take downs so your able to slam your opponent on his back helplessly.

If you want to increase the level of your MMA game and your not a closed-minded idiot, consider learning some Judo to have even more weapons to use.

Here are the top 5 reasons you should learn Judo if you fight or partake in MMA.

5.) A high percentage of fights end up in a clinch at some point - if you know the right judo techniques you’ll be able to powerfully throw your opponent or sweep his legs out from underneath him to gain valuable position on the ground

4.) Your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will get better with Judo practice because a lot of the major grappling positions are similar. The guard and half guard are well known judo techniques, so learning this and a combination of BJJ will improve your MMA game drastically. Not to mention there are various chokes to make your opponent gasp for air too. (even more so in the Judo Gi/Kimono)

3.) If your having trouble exchanging strikes because you suck at muay thai the shooting/take-down techniques for judo can be of help to close the distance so you don’t have to worry about getting pummeled in the face repeatedly. With shooting you can gain dominant position in the clinch and work your striking from there, or use one of the many judo take downs to slam him on his back.

2.) Practicing Judo (especially in a judo gi/kimono) will improve your foot work, body positioning and stand up game because of the agility, speed and balance you need in order to perform some of the judo throws and techniques. Your hips will drastically improve too, which in turn will help take your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling to the next level.

1.) Wrist locks, foot locks, arm locks and knee locks are all essential techniques of Judo that can help end an MMA fight quickly. Learning all these joint lock techniques can improve your all around submission game and make your opponent think twice before messing with you in the clinch or on the ground.

Judo can be useful and effective for any type of fighter, whether your base is at wrestling, striking or ground fighting - it can help improve all three areas of your game. Although almost all Judo competition is done in a kimono or gi, there are still plenty of techniques to learn.

The growth of judo in mixed martial arts has been apparent, with MMA fighters always looking for new ways to improve their game. Karo Parisyan, Fedor Emelianenko, Dong-Sik Yoon and more have quality Judo backgrounds that have helped them in their MMA career. Although not many MMA fighters have extensive backgrounds in Judo, most do have basic knowledge of the throws, techniques, chokes, holds and locks that are useful in the octagon.

The key is to never stop learning, never be content with what you know now... always be looking for new techniques to improve your overall MMA or mixed martial arts game.