In a mixed martial arts battle, there is a lot going on at any given time. Transitions between the sport’s component arts—muay thai, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, to mention a few—occur in a fraction of a second. In any given battle, fighters may perform dozens of distinct methods in hundreds of separate actions, yet commentators seldom have time to describe the mechanics or complexity behind each one.
This article looks at ten of the most prevalent methods used in MMA fights. It is not enough to know how to strike, wrestle, or grapple; every fighter who wishes to compete in one of MMA’s main promotions must understand the fundamentals of each discipline.
Consider this a technical primer. This is the essay for you if you’ve ever wanted to know what a decent jab looks like, how a double-leg takedown works, or why we see so many rear-naked chokes. I’ll guide you through each strategy, give images and instructive videos, and frequently link to GIFs to see the ideas at work.
Of fact, combat is much more than individual maneuvers. Offense production and tempo, phase transitions, confidence, rhythm, and a slew of other sophisticated concepts all matter. Each of these things, however, is constructed on the foundation of fundamental technological knowledge.
Let’s learn a few things about MMA.
1. Jab
The jab is the most crucial and helpful tool for every striker. It is a straight punch with the lead hand at its most basic. However, that statement falls well short of defining the broad spectrum of applications for which the jab can be used. It may be taught in a single lesson, but mastering it takes a lifetime.
A jab may be anything from a probing strike with an outstretched arm to a battering hammer that can destroy faces with repeated use. Potential uses include measuring and configuring the user’s chosen distance, creating a rhythm and timing, and setting up the subsequent shots.
Because it is the fastest blow that can be delivered, it is particularly useful as a counter, as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva utilized it against Forrest Griffin and Yushin Okami, or to interrupt the opponent’s flow. It covers the forward movement of aggressive fighters like Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier by giving their opponents something to think about while they drive their opponents back.
No MMA fighter has used the jab more efficiently than Georges St-Pierre throughout the course of his career. He tossed it in several ways, all of which were effective. His signature technique was to leap in from a distance, as shown in this GIF against Josh Koscheck or here against BJ Penn.
Because it is the fastest blow that can be delivered, it is particularly useful as a counter, as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva utilized it against Forrest Griffin and Yushin Okami, or to interrupt the opponent’s flow. It covers the forward movement of aggressive fighters like Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier by giving their opponents something to think about while they drive their opponents back.
No MMA fighter has used the jab more efficiently than Georges St-Pierre throughout the course of his career. He tossed it in several ways, all of which were effective. His signature technique was to leap in from a distance, as shown in this GIF against Josh Koscheck or here against BJ Penn.
2. Overhand
The overhand—a looping punch thrown from the back hand that looks like a baseball pitch—isn’t as popular as the jab, but it’s unique to MMA in comparison to other disciplines that feature foot striking.
Why? For two reasons. First, MMA gloves are smaller, making it more difficult to block with a standard high guard (tight elbows, hands protecting the sides of the face). Second, level adjustments, in which a fighter bends his or her knees and dips down, are ideal for overhands. Level adjustments in MMA, which involves takedowns, are far more often than in boxing.
For a long time, boxing purists ridiculed the MMA overhand. Even when done flawlessly, it’s an unappealing stroke, a windmilling swing that can fall virtually vertically as the user pulls his or her head off line. It contrasts sharply with the boxing fan’s love of a crisp cross or a piercing jab.
This was always a straw man, though: plenty of fighters, particularly those from Cuba or Eastern Europe, throw an overhand, and the punch’s value is evident.
Nonetheless, the overhand is more typical of MMA. It’s the punch that former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell made his own, knocking out Alistair Overeem and Randy Couture with it. Fedor Emelianenko, the former Pride heavyweight champion, threw it to unconsciousness-inducing perfection, putting Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers to sleep convincingly.
Roy Nelson has built his whole UFC career around the overhand, knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cheick Kongo, among others. Junior dos Santos, the former UFC heavyweight champion, won the championship with a punch and felled the iron-chinned Mark Hunt with a brutal overhand. Dan Henderson’s finish of Michael Bisping, the most memorable knockout in MMA history, was a massive overhand.
The overhand is the most recognizable MMA punch. While it represents the undoubtedly cruder aspect of MMA striking, it is common in the sport for good reason: It’s a powerful punch that works well with the smaller gloves and bigger tactical framework.
3. Round Kick
With minor modifications, the round kick is endemic to almost every art that employs kicking. Most MMA fighters learn to throw it in a muay thai-inspired form, and as such, it should be landed with the bottom half of the shin.
Step or pivot on the lead foot so that it is perpendicular to the target, push the hip so that it leads the kicking leg, and swivel the hip over to deliver maximum force into the strike. A careful observer may see a scrunching of the abdominal muscles and a chopping action with the hand on the kicking side, although these motions aren’t necessarily essential.
Unlike a karate-style round kick, which we see in MMA from fighters like Lyoto Machida and many of the Russian fighters currently joining the UFC, the muay thai-style kick has a whipping action rather than a snapping motion. It’s a strong strike that feels like being hit with a baseball bat.
The round kick can be launched to any of the three levels: low, medium, or high. The low kick is the simplest to land since it is launched from the largest distance and has the most leeway. Because the user is quickly countered with blows, the center kick is the most deadly. The high kick is the most difficult to land since it is the slowest and allows the opponent plenty of time to react.
Nobody in MMA delivers lower kicks like UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. He is not just extremely quick, but he also sets them up brilliantly with blows. His timing is impeccable, and he puts his blows just when his opponent rotates his leg. Rafael dos Anjos, the UFC lightweight champion, crushed Nate Diaz’s lead leg with consecutive punches.
Anthony Pettis, a former champion, is a master of the body kick. In their second meeting, he shattered Donald Cerrone’s liver with a spectacular left kick then utilized a succession of them to tenderize Benson Henderson’s body before the armbar finish.
When an MMA kick hits cleanly to the head, it’s usually due to a brilliant setup or egregious neglect. Before hitting one on Joe Lauzon’s dome, Pettis flashed his hands. Dillashaw utilized his straight left threat to build up this head kick on Renan Barao.
Round kicks are a crucial element of every MMA fighter’s arsenal, regardless of where they are delivered.
4. Knee from the Double-Collar Tie
The clinch is a vital aspect in MMA. It is distinctive in that it integrates elements of several combat sports into a diversified whole in ways that range striking, wrestling, and grappling do not. There are elements of boxing’s quick punches, wrestling’s takedowns and control, and judo’s trips and throws, but knees from the double-collar tie—known popularly as the “muay thai clinch”—rule supreme.
The double-collar tie is derived from both wrestling and muay thai. The hands are put on the crown of the opponent’s head, one over the other, and the forearms are forcefully pinned to the sides of the opponent’s jaw. As you read this, you should sense a tightening in your chest.
Knees from the double-collar tie are effective in sequence, but they’re also good transitional strikes. Jake Ellenberger took a fast grip, moved back to allow room for his hips, and then launched two knees to finish Jake Shields.
The double-collar tie has numerous uses, and knees may be employed from various angles, but this is a fundamental aspect of every fighter’s game.
5. Double-Leg Takedown
The double-leg takedown is a common MMA move. It’s simple to teach and learn in its most basic form, and almost every fighter knows how to shoot the double whether they utilize it often or not.
The double has many variations, but it essentially consists of a level change with the knee hitting the floor; a penetration step in which the user steps forward to get close to the opponent’s hips; and then shooting the hands behind the opponent’s legs and either placing a hand behind each knee or clasping them together behind the thighs.
The user can then proceed in a variety of ways. One option, advocated by Olympic gold winner Jordan Burroughs and UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader, is to place the head in the stomach or sternum to immediately off-balance the opponent.
Alternatively, as St-Pierre does here to Dan Hardy, one can situate the head on the outside of the opponent’s chest and apply lateral head pressure to throw the opponent off balance and finish the takedown.
In modern MMA, though, merely dropping down for a double-leg and shooting in open space isn’t enough. Almost every boxer understands how to sprawl well enough to escape. Instead, we see fighters firing double-legs as a counter to their opponents’ movement, like GSP did in the previous GIF, or punching their opponents to distract them. Demetrious Johnson, the UFC bantamweight champion and one of the best double-leg practitioners in the sport, is a master of this.
The most fundamental takedown is the double-leg. It works at every level, from amateur fights in smoke-filled taverns to UFC championship bouts at the MGM Grand. The settings and skill levels alter, but no combatant gets far without understanding the double inside and out.
6. Trip
Trips result in clinch takedowns. They are classified into two types: inside and outside, which refer to whether the user’s foot is outside or inside of the opponent’s. In any scenario, the mechanics are straightforward: The combination of pressing the upper body while removing one of the vital legs for balance throws the opponent to the ground. It’s tough to overestimate the amount of possible variants here.
They can be executed from body locks, with both arms underneath the opponent’s and clasped behind his back; double underhooks, the same position but without the hands clasped; over/under, with one arm under the opponent’s and the other over; or double overhooks, when the opponent has either double underhooks or double overhooks.
This is simpler to demonstrate than to discuss. Olympic gold winner Adam Saitiev lands a vicious inside trip from over/under, and UFC middleweight contender/Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero lands the same takedown on Derek Brunson.
Cormier’s outside excursion is amazing, to be sure, but it’s still an outside journey. In their first meeting, a tired Shogun Rua hits an outside trip from the over/under against an even tired Henderson. Yoshihiro Akiyama converted a fumbled kick into an outside trip on Alan Belcher.
Trips from the clinch, like double-legs, are an essential aspect of every fighter’s arsenal, whether they employ them or not. From folkstyle wrestling to judo to sambo, every style that utilizes takedowns has some variant on the inside and outside trip.
7. Sprawl
We’ve discussed two sorts of takedowns: double-legs and trips, but what about the abilities required to prevent being taken down? That’s where the useful sprawl comes in, the fundamental response to a double-leg and sometimes a single-leg.
A sprawl includes sliding one’s hips back out of range of the opponent’s hands as he reaches forward to complete the takedown. There are other variants, but the basic idea is to drop one’s hips back out of range of the opponent’s hands as he reaches forward to complete the takedown The hips move back out of reach while the opponent seeks to drive forward to reach them, and the sprawler forces his or her weight down to impede the forward drive.
As the opponent shoots in, the extra component of a sprawl is digging for one or two underhooks. The opponent’s hips sink back, and the hands dig under his or her armpits, forcing him or her back. Both hands might go under, or one could go under while the other is on the opponent’s shoulder or head pulling downward.
The sprawl is a useful tool. The style inspired an entire breed of fighters known as “sprawl-and-brawlers.” Its forefathers were Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Mirko Filipovic, and it is still in use today. There is absolutely no way around the sprawl in MMA if one likes to fight on the ground.
Let’s look at some of its top practitioners. Former titleholder Carla Esparza frequently came up empty when she shot in against UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who has a devastating sprawl. Robbie Lawler, the welterweight champion, is even more potent: He sprawls well against Rory MacDonald early in the fight, followed by a knee; later in the fight, he hit the biggest sprawl I’ve ever seen.
The fact that new-school sprawlers like Jedrzejczyk and Lawler damage their opponents when they shoot distinguishes them from Liddell and Silva. They don’t simply stuff takedowns; they stuff takedowns and hit a few elbows or knees to remind the opponent that shooting was never a good idea in the first place.
Pure strikers have a place in MMA, and it’s the modest sprawl that allows them to keep the fight standing.
8. Guard Pass
A guard pass is just a method for the fighter on top to go through the legs of the combatant on the bottom in order to gain control of the ground. The guard pass has hundreds, if not thousands, of variations, the most of which are only genuinely usable in high-level sport grappling in or out of the gi, but it remains a fundamental technique in any fighter’s arsenal.
Guard passing isn’t as important in most fighters’ games as it once was. In MMA, the fundamental sequence of positional advances—full guard to half guard to side control to mount and maybe to the back—is less useful than in grappling.
In MMA, side control gives absolutely nothing to anyone but the most talented grapplers; without the friction provided by a gi, it’s impossible to keep an opponent there, and it’s difficult to posture to generate meaningful force behind ground attacks. To be sure, the mount is essential, but the true reward is either half guard or the back.
In contrast to side control or the mount, it is difficult for the opponent to stand back up or reverse positions in half guard. The fighter on top may maintain control by keeping his or her weight low, but can also posture to execute powerful ground attacks. The danger of surrender is continual from behind, and it’s simple to retain control for minutes at a time.
Having said that, the guard pass is still an important ability, but only the very elite employ them on a regular basis. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is one of the two or three finest grapplers in MMA, and he possesses a variety of inventive passes: Notice how he grinds his feet on the cage to go past Chris Camozzi’s guard here. Demian Maia makes easy passes even against great defenders like Ronald McDonald.
Guard passing is extremely important in the lowest levels of MMA, where fundamental grappling skills is limited. It becomes beneficial again at the higher levels. It loses most of its potency in the middle, where everyone is more or less proficient, but it is still an important aspect of the game.
9. Rear-Naked Choke
As guard passing has become less necessary, going to the back and applying the rear-naked choke has become increasingly vital. Since the increased emphasis on getting up when put down short gives an opportunity for clever fighters to exploit, there are many more possibilities to reach the back in MMA in 2015.
This year, 34 of the 71 submissions in the UFC have been rear-naked chokes, and that figure is unlikely to change.
Sharp fighters have worked heavily on getting straight to the back in transitions, avoiding the full torturous process of transitioning from guard to half guard to side control to mount and then, just maybe, reaching the back. If the opponent tries to get up, why not simply let him or her go instead of trying to hold them down, and then try to transition to the back?
As a result, the MMA ground game has become more frenzied and faster-paced, deviating more from sport grappling. Wrestling and BJJ are both used in MMA-adapted grappling, and the mix of the two has generated unique prospects for adaptation and integration.
The rear-naked choke is easy to apply, with one hand over the opponent’s bicep and the other hand forcing the opponent’s head forward. There are various variants dependent on grip and body posture.
Maia excels at the rear-naked choke. He’s landing one from a body triangle against Neil Magny, delivering a strong punch to shatter Magny’s protection and get his arm under the chin. Instead, Maia used a slick neck-crank against Rick Story.
Even at the top levels of MMA, the rear-naked choke is common: Cormier utilized one to defeat Anthony Johnson earlier this year in a UFC title bout. Glover Teixeira ended Ovince Saint Preux’s night from behind, and Luke Rockhold submitted Machida.
The rear-naked choke is a staple in every fighter’s arsenal, and it’s becoming more so as the sport evolves, even as submissions as a whole grow less prevalent.
10. Ground Striking
Aside from Combat Sambo, MMA is the only combat sport that includes ground hitting. It’s one of the main differences between it and its brethren in the worlds of pure grappling or pure striking.
Generations of fighters have transformed ground-and-pound into a high-level art form, complete with all of the technical intricacy of striking on the feet. The top practitioners use body-head combinations with mechanics that have some similarities to standing striking but differ in others.
MMA is the only combat sport that features ground pounding, aside from Combat Sambo. It’s one of the primary distinctions between it and its counterparts in the domains of pure grappling or pure striking.
Generations of fighters have converted ground-and-pound into a high-level art form, complete with all of the technical complexities of foot striking. The best practitioners employ body-head combinations with mechanics that are comparable to but not identical to standing striking.
Nobody is more ferocious, though, than former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who virtually smashed Brandon Vera’s face with a crunching left elbow from inside the guard.
Knees to the body of a grounded opponent is a rarely seen but very powerful ground-striking technique. St-Pierre employed this to devastating success in his second bout against Matt Serra, and he used it again against Nick Diaz.
Ground strikes are used in MMA at all levels, from amateur to professional. Elite fighters practice it like any other aspect of their game, and in the hands and elbows of the masters, it becomes an art form in its own right.