Grappling as Self Defense

I think I've expressed this before; I don't believe in "self-defense". I believe that learning how to fight is the only way you will actually be able to defend yourself. That being said if I had to pick a strategy to fight someone on the street, I would rely on grappling. We have all seen that striking is an innate human skill. Almost anyone can knock someone else out. Two of the most famous MMA examples of this involve Mirko Cro Cop. Mirko is an incredible striker; however, he was knocked out by both Kevin Randleman and Gabriel Gonzaga. Neither of those men were known as elite standup fighters. If Mirko can get knocked out, you can too. Conversely, that does not happen in grappling, if you are a decent grappler, people coming in off the street will not out grapple you. It is a learned skill, and it is a difficult skill. It's really not about the devastation you can cause, I pick grappling because it keeps me the safest and I can exploit a skill gap. I am also probably not going to go to the ground, the safest fighting route for me is standup grappling and should I go to the ground...good luck.