Most of grappling arts are parlor tricks at worst and insurance policies at best (the lone exception seems to be purist judo). All things being equal most approaches to grappling in mma have rightfully become the liability they actually are, and are rarely much more than a way to survive. If dealing with multiple opponent 8even something as deadly as back mount body triangle is a liability, and the tendency to allow a tap instead of breaking something is a bad habit. Shout out to natan schulte my favorite grappler in all of mma right now. Sorry to my favorite parlor trick the imanari roll. You look cool but i can't rely on you in live combat. In real life things like Schaub vs cyborg happen because i don't have to agree to grapple with you. That being said the ability to grapple in open space off of overhooks becomes that much more important. And the ability to use the ground as a fight ending element should be the focus of any true martial artist or combat teacher imo.
At the same time most striking arts are very similar to dance choreography, and those who simply imitate techniques tend to do so poorly. Again i do not have to choose to engage you. This means if i can't kick you at range or throw you off an overhook when we clash, my mid range game is going to be severely limited based on what my opponent agrees to. Again with all the love of technique i have, i hate to say this but it's no wonder why people mock kung fu, karate, taekwondo, where points are more important than damage, or all varieties of boxing and kickboxing where gloves and ten counts skew results.
Shout out to jorge masvidal for becoming a supremely interesting example of what boxing and muay thai can be in real combat given the chance to properly grow.
Thats not to say there isn't anything good in there. Lord knows its in the technique waiting to be rediscovered and in the fighter waiting to blossom. Right now mma is headed in that direction, the right direction and as such martial arts continue to grow.
On a side note i used to be a fan of shoes and all forms of leg attacks to the head of a downed opponent. I've come to accept that for the longevity of the sport some elements are limited on purpose. Mainly finishing someone off of a knockdown. But I've come to realize a part of it is redundant like of course you would get stomped out on concrete, and a part of it is very noble and honorable, just because I can hurt someone that bad sometimes there is just more skill involved in stopping them without endangering their lives.
Good grappling or striking makes someone give up. In the absence of that, it takes a higher level of understanding of technique and preparing the body every day to overcome someone else's will. Things like 25 minute fights, or crazier like 100 man kumite in kyokushin, or 300+ match record in muay thai or really old school grappling matches, they can be difficult to watch but i suppose it's important to remember some people don't have a will you can break. I hope the ufc continues to progress towards highly skilled bareknuckle boxing, lethwei, kyokushin and judo oriented flash grappling because for my money, time and fanaticism I'm only interested in seeing exactly how real it can get at its peak without sacrificing fighter longevity because it's only because of them we get to see the true beauty of the technique anyways.
Just my two cents for the day.