There are five major positions and of those, three have minor positions, making for a total of eight basic positions, ignoring the left/right variations available on Side Control and Half Mount.
In addition to the eight basics, we have Rubber Guard (Offense/Defense), Back Mount (One/Both Hooks, Body Triangle), Sprawl Position (Offense/Defense), Back Side Control (L/R, Offense/Defense), and Up/Down (Far/Near).
That makes 13 positions, not including any that could possibly erupt from having Judo and Signatures from the other 78 fighters added in.
We know how to move from position to position by the Transitions, what we can do in each of these positions, and how to end the fight from each one. This is a basic toolbox for the entirety of MMA, and all of the fighters in UFC 09. But, what is the inherent advantage granted to the Offense tagged positions that aren’t available to the Defense positions, and better yet, how do we know when it’s best to get into a brawl from a position?
For this, we can dig into the game’s ground game a little more by talking about what transitions are and how to survive the ground, and get back up, or go offensive if we need to.
One of the first things you’ll notice if you ever turn the Stamina bar on is that Stamina regenerates faster during ground fights because the fighters stop moving more often, but there’s more potential for graying the bar out because the strikes aren’t avoided as easily. For instance, it can actually work to a tired ground fighter’s advantage to go for a last-ditch takedown and end up in a potentially bad spot to rest a little and then continue the fight.
So, how do we work with this? The fighter in the Offensive/Top position has the advantage of being able to completely decimate his opponent’s stamina and give himself a great head start on the knockout. He also can control when the fight stands back up, (LSB/L3 from an Offensive/Top position.
The fighter in the Defensive/Bottom position loses control of the fight (Usually—Rubber Guard is an exception) and will usually get worn out faster from trying to get up, but controls whether or not the Offensive fighter has the opportunity to stand up and get back to standing. They also have some control over the progress of the fight from there through Reversals and their own Transitions. Look at Hua’s available transitions in the Demo, he has a Signature transition to an Offensive position from almost every single position.
The fighter in Defensive also has the advantage of controlling stamina gain through the Grapple Block. Holding RS to Left or Right stops the fight from progressing much further along the pyramid. As long as the fighter holds that down, his stamina will regenerate, though it takes a little stamina (Represented by Yellow on the stamina bar) to hold the block. It does not repair the Grey damage, but it does repair the yellow damage quicker than the offensive fighter.
Note also that any transition attempt stops both fighter’s stamina, and deducts the stamina from the acting fighter, then waits about .5 seconds, then goes again.
What we can use this for is in a fight like Hua v. Liddell is using Liddell’s defenses in an offensive way. It is possible to hold Hua down after getting on top of him, and wearing him down to where Chuck can submit him, or at least win a nice unanimous for using Hua like a mop.
Anyway, back to where we were, using the transitions wisely is NOT spamming them like you would punches. Knowing when and how to act is much more effective on the ground than wildly spinning RS around until something works.
Transitions are, again, performed by cardinal and ordinal turns. A Cardinal (90’) turn (N->E or W, or S->E or W), performs a minor transition, while an Ordinal (135’) turn, NE->W, NW->E, SE ->W, or SW->E, performs a major transition. If you need help with these, you can use a pencil to trace out the compass on your controller around your RS until you learn it. PS3 owners will have to find an alternate solution (Sorry, no Sixaxxis around to mess with!)
What each movement of the stick represents is the motion of the fighter’s lower or upper body to the next position. I.E. if you’re actually going to move from Open Guard Down Offensive to Open Guard Up Offensive, you have to push your shoulders up and back, pulling past their hands and freeing your upper body (Any Minor), or to move to Side Control Right from Open Guard Up Offensive, you have to move your entire lower up and over their legs to Side Control Right, represented by the SW->E OR NE->W Major transitions. (For the NE one, think of starting the motion to break guard as starting in the shoulders and then moving the hips.)
It’s worth noting that most of the Signature transitions (RB+Transition) are usually full body motions, just to keep the analogy up.
Now, knowing that, what’s best when? One of the first rules: NEVER transition when you’re rocked. KO’s are rather prevalent from here. Your best bets is to get out of that situation however possible after you survive the Rocked status first, then QUICKLY get out of the position you’re in. The most common situation for this is Mount (Defense), in which case use a NE->W or NW-> E transition to get to the Back Mount position, or SE->W SW->E to drag him back down to defense.
Second rule: Never talk about fight clu… I mean, don’t bother with fist fighting when you’re on Defense. This is a great way to get yourself rocked. The force from the Offense positions in the game compared to the Defense positions is great because physically, the punches and strikes from Defense are coming at a cost because the fighter can’t use the ground to build force into the strike, while for the most part, the Offensive guy can.
Worry about your transitions. The game, for the most part, prevents the use of a Transition Reversal flick and a punch at the same time. Exceptions abound, but for the most part, you can’t punch and block a transition at the same time, much like you can’t punch and block a takedown at the same time unless you’re really fast.
Now, what you’ll want to do is know your fighter’s move set. One of the dangers of being on the ground in the Liddell/Hua fight is that Hua can take Liddell’s advantage away at any time by any of his signature transitions, most of which are minors. The following applies for most options on the ground, based on assumptions and outside knowledge:
Jiu Jitsu has the most ground options available, end of story. It is purely a ground art, and two jiu jitsu fighters on the ground will lead to some pretty intense jostling for position.
Wrestling is balanced. There are takedowns and options on the ground from certain positions, but for the most part, they’re great at choosing where the fight happens, ala Rampage Jackson.
Judo will probably have the most takedown options, but not as much for being on the ground. This means stopping the fight and resting and then getting back up, essentially making for using the takedown as a tactical choice for preserving stamina, and stopping a beating.
Knowing what your fighter has in his toolbox is great because you know when you can get out of situations using a specific move. Combine this with your stats, and it makes sense as to why Liddell’s Takedown and Ground Grapple defense can be used as an offensive stat by putting Liddell into a situation where he can use his better Striking skills.
For instance, though Hua can drag Liddell anywhere he wants him to be, Liddell can use his defenses to pick when he gets moved, provided the player is fast enough to stop transitions. He can then get on top with a good reversal and land himself in a Mount Up position rather quickly, and end the fight from there.
Going into release, the obvious thing will be to know the limitations of your styles. Where your ground style lacks, what tricks you’ve picked up in Career mode, and how well you can employ your strengths in the best situations possible.
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