Ground and Pound

A fighting strategy where a fighter takes an opponent to the mat and then strikes them with punches and elbows from a dominant position, rather than looking to finish with a submission. The goal is either a knockout or enough sustained damage that the referee stops the fight, using wrestling or top control as the delivery mechanism for striking rather than as an end in itself. The style became closely associated with wrestling-heavy fighters who lacked elite submission skills but had the top control and strength to keep an opponent pinned while landing damage, and it's proven remarkably effective against fighters who are dangerous standing but less equipped defensively off their back. Ground and pound rewards a specific combination of takedown ability, positional control, and striking power, and defending against it requires either elite takedown defense in the first place or genuinely dangerous submission threats off the back to make an opponent hesitant to simply sit in guard and strike. Sherdog has extensive technical analysis of ground-and-pound specialists across weight classes.