Well I think we'd all agree you need to be able to strike and grapple. We've all seen the videos of street fights where two guys are throwing wild punches and eventually someone gets clipped. The other scenario is the grappler closes the distance and gains control. Once takedown is achieved, the grappler can control what he wants to do.
You don't necessarily need to grapple if you can strike.
Because, the other other scenario is the person who actually knows how to strike properly controls the distance and strikes properly.
You don't have to grab someone and take them to the ground to have control of the situation.