With the rise of MMA and BJJ, odd statistics about ground fighting started to appear...not sure where these numbers came from (most likely ground fighting arts themselves) but I don't buy it.

It usually comes in the form of this statement "85% of all fights end up on the ground". They usually don't clarify if it's street or MMA fights that do but I'm willing to bet that this statement is false in either case. I've seen or been in a few 'street' fights over the years and usually the only one who ends up on the ground is the guy getting knocked out or the one turtling to protect himself against pummeling.

If it's a street fight going to ground is a mistake in my mind, it limits your options of escape and makes you more susceptible to attack from other unseen opponents potentially getting blindsided. If ground fighting is what you've trained in, I suppose it's your best option, most of the street fights I've seen usually involve multiple attackers, blunt weapons or bar type weapons...bottles and pool cues, etc. Do you think that 85% of all street fights end up on the ground?

Even if we use the MMA model, I'd say that the statement is also false, it seems to me that more fighters are choosing to keep the fights on their feet even if they both have BJJ blackbelts. The percentage would closer to 50-60% of all MMA fights end up on the ground? Again I have no empirical evidence, just a rough estimate of the fights I watch. Do you think that the 85% rule applies to MMA?