2012 Summer Olympics: Why UFC Fans Must Check out Wrestling, Other Combat Sports

With the 2012 Summer Olympic Games coming up, UFC fans have to take advantage of this rare viewing opportunity.

The Ultimate Fighting Championships occur multiple times per year, whereas the Summer Olympics just once every four. However, the Games offer a variety of UFC-related events that we see quite often in the Octagon.

Some are more comparable than others, but nonetheless, UFC is a universal combat style and the Olympics are sure to be an exciting competition.

For everyone and anyone who follows UFC, let's check out what the 2012 London Games provide as appealing alternatives.

Freestyle Wrestling's High-Low Attack

A quick, fast-paced style of wrestling, freestyle wrestling is the closest type we see to college and high school wrestling.

Wrestlers can shoot toward an opponent's legs, use throws and earn continuous back points before trying for a pin. Relating to UFC, this kind of wrestling provides a fighter with the ability to throw a high punch and then attack low.

Getting the opponent on the ground is crucial to freestyle wrestling as that is where scoring occurs. The only difference in UFC however, is that knee strikes and elbows are being thrown along with the possibility of a submission hold.

The UFC-Like Kinetics of Greco-Roman Wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is one of the most interesting sports around.

Focusing only on upper-body techniques, wrestlers still need to have strong legs and excellent balance to win in this style. Here, we see a number of varying throws and hand maneuverability techniques to gain a positional advantage.

Along the same lines as UFC, Greco-Roman wrestlers need fast hands with the skill to quickly counter an opponent's move. Powerful and explosive hips are most important to this style of wrestling though, because a lot of lifting, driving and pulling will occur when trying to score.

The most comparable aspect of Greco-Roman wrestling to UFC is using kinetic energy. These wrestlers need to utilize every bit of energy from their feet on up to make throws and other techniques. UFC fighters must have similar muscle memory when needing to perform any kind of kick or punch.

Judo: Like UFC, but Faster

Of everything listed here, judo is most like UFC than anything else in the Olympics.

A martial art consisting of throws, hip tosses, arm-locks and holds to score points, judo is faster than UFC or wrestling.

The Olympians you'll see in judo all possess excellent speed, explosiveness and supreme agility. It's a combat of making constant counter-moves to score points, while also using smart defense. For as quick as judo can be, knowing one's opponent is more important than divvying up a strategy.

Having the ability to anticipate moves and think far ahead with combinations is what will gain the upper hand. UFC is similar this way, because throwing multiple attacks will get an opponent off-balance instead of just one single attack at a time.

The Calculated Assaults of Taekwondo

Compared to the previous three events, taekwondo is its own genre.

It's quicker than wrestling and can be faster than judo, but nowhere near as powerful. Most of all, taekwondo athletes have to be careful marksmen when on the offensive.

Any misplaced attack, even by the smallest increment creates vulnerability and a great opportunity for the opponent to counter-move. UFC relates to taekwondo to a T in this matter, because the last thing any fighter wants to do is leave their opponent with an open shot.

Taekwondo builds on that ability to present multiple accurate strikes with great speed. This translates well in UFC since making hard contact is needed to win at a consistent rate.

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