If you can only throw one strike to save you from getting taken down by a national level wrestler, which would it be?

My vote is the spinning back kick, And fairly low so it’s likely to hit him even if he swiches levels.

Even if it hits his guard, I can possibly fracture hus hands.

i don’t think any punch matter since the wrestler ducks under it.

Knees - very overrated. Requires a lot of timing and precision and you may need to grab to do it. A knee to the stomach generally doesn’t do anything (Bob Sapp tried it against a Gracie).

You obviously knee if the clinch happens but I wouldn’t wait for it. I’m taking him out as soon as he gets in My range. Strikers are too often passive.

Knees have proved efficacious if a wrestler takes a leg shot from too far away.
Which a good wrestler might never do in wrestling, but sometimes do as a result of getting goosey in the striking rulesets, or because they get tired as the fight rolls on.
Other than than, a jab and right cross in combination, with footwork, can frustrate and knock out a thrower.
A11 mentioned a spinning back kick, and spinning fists, elbows, and kicks can be effective against an angle cutter, hungry for the bait of a back being exposed, especially if they sugar towards cutting the angle predictably to one side as a habit.

@Dr.Gonzo A high level spinning back kick to the stomach leads to loss of air supply to the lungs. And when that happens, your body will stop moving. If a wrestler freezes and can’t move, he’s cannon fodder for a striker.

Or this happens… (he breaks 5 ribs) https://youtube.com/shorts/Q0yD1JKOqfY?si=RDSt487HXMj5mcn9

I followed Benny the Jet’s career with some interest and admiration.

@Dr.Gonzo Yeah Benny was brutal with that one.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw him throw it in actual fights.

They introduced him in a documentary as a guy with nasty back kicks.