Islam Makhachev Fighting style breakdown

Islam Makhachev’s wrestling and grappling skills are legendary. He’s been dominating opponents on the ground since his early UFC days.

His win over Charles Oliveira to become Lightweight Champion was impressive, and his recent defense against Alexander Volkanovski showed even more of his talent.

Let’s break down his fighting style and see what makes him so successful!

Islam Makhachev is a master of ground fighting, making opponents hesitant to get too close. He excels at maintaining distance and uses quick footwork with sideways movements to stay mobile. As a southpaw (left-handed stance), he prefers to keep his left foot forward to control the fighting space, but this positioning isn’t always perfect for him.

Grappling is his Strength

However, since his strength lies in grappling rather than striking, precise footwork is less critical. Still, opponents who exploit this weakness can land powerful punches, especially when separating from clinches.

Always maintains distance

Despite his impressive wrestling skills, Makhachev is at his safest when he maintains distance or uses kicks. While he rarely gets hit hard from afar (except for occasional low kicks), he becomes a easier target while grappling, although the punches he receives typically have less power.

Notable Weakness

 A notable weakness is his vulnerability to strikes when breaking away from clinches, particularly against skilled Muay Thai fighters. Overall, Makhachev’s defense is straightforward and effective, but there’s always room for refinement.

Open to Powerful Low kicks

Islam Makhachev stands with his hands high and body angled, like many fighters from his region. However, he fights southpaw, leaving him open to powerful low kicks, especially if he can’t dodge them. While his grappling threat deters some from kicking, skilled kickers like Justin Gaethje could be a problem.

Striking Defense

His defensive fighting style involves blocking punches with his hands, especially against fighters with open stances.

These techniques are basic, and he doesn’t move his head much, which could be risky against fast and accurate opponents. He frequently changes body position, possibly due to his grappling style, which might help him avoid strikes. He’s good at feinting, mixing in wrestling fakes to confuse opponents. However, if they read his feints, they could counter with a knee to the face.

Overall, while his defense isn’t complex, his feints and unpredictability make him challenging to read

KO loss changed Islam Makhachev’s approach

In earlier days, Islam Makhachev used to fight aggressively, trying to get close and land punches. However, he was knocked out by Adriano Martins with a powerful counterpunch. The Martinz fight exposed a weakness in his aggressive style.

He has since adjusted his fighting style, becoming more cautious and using jabs and kicks to keep opponents at bay. This tactic draws out his opponents, making them more likely to attack. When they do, Makhachev takes them down using his wrestling skills or clinches them. He still applies pressure, but in a more controlled and strategic way.

Chin toughness

He has proven his toughness in other fights, taking punches well from strong opponents like Davi Ramos and Drew Dober. Even when hit during grappling, he remains composed.

Prefers Takedown than Knockouts

Islam Makhachev is a fighter who prefers to set up takedowns for grappling rather than knockouts with punches. He excels at using long-range kicks, especially his left front kick and roundhouse kick, to keep opponents away and create space for his grappling entries.

While his kicks may not have been the strongest in his earlier days, his recent title defense against Alexander Volkanovski showcased a significant improvement in his striking power. He knocked Volkanovski out with a head kick in the first round, demonstrating this development.

Against Tall fighters?

However, against  tall fighters with good footwork, these long-range strikes  needs to be tested.

Additionally, as a southpaw, he doesn’t utilize his left cross as much as he could. While he has decent punches in close range, they wouldn’t be a major threat against elite strikers.

Strengths:

• Striking combinations: Makhachev excels at combining various strikes smoothly.
• Effective Kicks: His high kicks and left rear roundhouse kicks, particularly to the body, are noteworthy.
• Punching power: His punches convey confidence and are well-integrated into his striking.
• Grappling setups: He uses wrestling fakes and feints effectively to set up his strikes, like the overhand left after faking a double-leg takedown.

Areas for Improvement:

• Kick setups: Makhachev sometimes throws kicks without properly setting them up with punches, making him vulnerable to counters.
• Jab utilization: While his jab shows promise, it could be used more frequently and effectively.
• Punching accuracy: Although improved, his punching accuracy can still be refined.
• Stand-up against top competition: While Makhachev doesn’t take a lot of damage and has only one knockout loss, his defense against skilled strikers who can counter his grappling is yet to be fully tested.

Takedown defense

Islam Makhachev is known for his exceptional ability to avoid being taken down in fights. He uses a combination of techniques to achieve this:

• Sprawling and maintaining a strong base: This involves extending his legs and keeping his body low to the ground, making it harder for his opponent to get underneath him.
• Securing good arm positioning: This allows him to control his opponent’s body and prevent them from effectively setting up a takedown.
• Using the cage effectively: He uses the cage walls to his advantage, preventing his opponent from maneuvering him freely and creating takedown opportunities.
• Fantastic balance: This helps him stay upright and resist takedowns.

However, what truly sets Makhachev apart is his scrambling ability.

Even when his opponent manages to get him into a bad position, Makhachev often finds a way to escape and avoid being taken down. This was evident in his fight with Arman Tsarukyan, which is considered one of the best wrestling matches in recent UFC history.

Makhachev has a history of being a very strong takedown defender. He rarely gets taken down, and when he does, he usually recovers quickly.

He has continuously improved his takedown defense over time, plugging many weaknesses he might have had in the past.

Ground and pound defense

This section analyzes Islam Makhachev’s ability to defend himself from strikes when he’s on the ground (ground and pound defense).

Strengths:

• Good at escaping bad positions: Makhachev has shown he can escape from being on his back (bottom position) and even use those situations to his advantage. He demonstrates good hip movement and can create space to transition to better positions as evidenced by his fights against Rander Junio at M-1 Challenge 41 and Chris Wade in the UFC.
• Various defense strategies: He uses different techniques depending on the situation, including reducing space to avoid strikes, creating space to escape, and distracting opponents with submission attempts.
• Minimizes damage: Even when he doesn’t fully avoid strikes, he often minimizes the damage he takes.

Weaknesses:

• Limited experience against top ground and pound specialists: Makhachev hasn’t faced many fighters known for their powerful ground and pound or their ability to control him on the ground. This raises questions about how his defense would hold up against such opponents.
• Vulnerable while defending submissions: When defending submissions like armbars from the top position, Makhachev can sometimes take some punches while escaping evidenced by his fight against Mansour Barnaoui.

Submission Defense

• Never lost by submission: Makhachev boasts an impressive undefeated record in professional MMA, showcasing his ability to defend submissions effectively.
• Strong knowledge of submissions: He demonstrates good understanding of various submission techniques, avoiding positions that could lead to them.
• Successful escapes: Makhachev has successfully defended against various submissions, including armbars, triangles, and heel hooks. He utilizes diverse techniques like posture, hand fighting, and guard passing to nullify chokes.

Weaknesses:

• Vulnerable to guillotine chokes: Due to his wrestling style similar to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is susceptible to guillotine chokes. While he has escaped all attempts so far, facing fighters with strong guillotines could pose a threat.
• Close calls: Makhachev has been in precarious submission positions before, such as a near-armbar finish and a tight triangle against Moises and Ramos. These instances highlight potential vulnerabilities against elite grapplers.
• Fortunate referee stoppages: In some cases, Makhachev has benefited from referee interventions that stopped submissions prematurely, raising questions about his ability to escape them independently.

Makhachev possesses strong submission defense, but past close calls and the benefit of referee stoppages raise concerns about his ability to consistently defend against elite submission specialists. He needs to avoid putting himself in compromising positions to solidify his defense in the future.

Takedown Offense

Islam Makhachev boasts a dominant takedown game, similar to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fighting style. He uses a variety of techniques, including single and double legs, throws, and trips. He excels at getting opponents down even when they use the cage to resist, and keeps them there.

Here’s what makes him special:

• High technical diversity: Makhachev has a wide range of takedown techniques at his disposal.
• Great cardio: He maintains his explosiveness throughout the fight, unlike most fighters who tire out.
• Smart setups: He uses his striking and footwork to cleverly lure opponents into takedown opportunities.
• Scrambling ability: Even when grappling gets messy, Makhachev can capitalize on opponent mistakes with trips or off-balancing maneuvers.

Ground and Pound Offense

• Effective for submissions: Makhachev uses ground strikes to weaken opponents and set up submissions, as seen in his fight against Yuri Ivlev.
• Smothering control: He excels at controlling opponents on the ground using strikes and pressure.
• Variety of positions: He can attack from various positions like mount, back, crucifix, and standing handcuff.
• Improved positional control: He rarely gets swept from positions like half guard or side control anymore.

Weaknesses:

• Few TKO wins: Most of his wins come by submission or decision, despite his strong ground striking.
• Limited use of powerful strikes: He mostly uses smothering strikes and doesn’t often posture up for powerful punches.
• Underutilizes elbows: Elbows could be a good addition to his close-quarters striking style.

Makhachev has very good ground and pound skills, but he could improve by using more powerful strikes and elbows to potentially finish fights more often. Despite the lack of TKOs, his striking is effective at controlling opponents and setting up submissions.

Submission Offense

• High Submission Rate: Makhachev has a history of winning by submission, showcasing his expertise in this area.
• Technical Proficiency: He executes armbars and chokes with impressive speed, fluidity, and precision.
• Adaptability: He can threaten submissions from various positions, including his back, and adjusts his strategy based on the situation.
• Strong Pressure: Makhachev uses effective top pressure to wear down opponents and create submission opportunities.
• Dangerous Grappling: His vice grip and ability to combine submissions with ground and pound make him a very real threat.

Weaknesses:

• Technical Errors: Makhachev has shown some occasional mistakes in submission attempts, such as misplaced leg positioning in armbars and inefficient triangle adjustments.

Makhachev is a dominant submission artist with a diverse skillset and impressive success rate. While some minor technical issues exist, his overall submission offense is a major strength.