What martial art does Islam Makhachev use?

When it comes to Dagestani MMA, the first name on people’s lips is typical Khabib Nurgamedov. However, these days – Islam Makhachev is a close second. The reason for this is his incredible fight record that has brought him to the pinnacle of the UFC. During his career, he has seen off the likes of Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Davi Ramos, and many other Lightweight contenders.

In this article, we shall assess what makes Islam Makhachev so successful when it comes to fighting. We shall also be specifically looking at his fighting style – which is synonymous with Dagestani MMA. Read on for more information.

Islam Makhachev is an International Master of Combat Sambo

Without a doubt, the fighting style closest associated with Islam Makhachev is Sambo. This isn’t surprising either, seeing as he’s from Russia which is where the martial art was birthed. It’s fair to say that Sambo resembles Judo as that was its main inspiration, however it is generally looser on the rules.

Still, what Makhachev trains is Combat Sambo which is different. As the name suggests, this has a combat element that is based on striking, as well as throws and joint locks. Such was the dominance of Makhachev in the global Sambo scene, which is that he won the World Combat Sambo Championship back in 2016. This puts him on a par with the likes of Khabib Nurgamedov and Fedor Emelianenko in terms of achievements.

Some argue that Combat Sambo is the perfect base to move into MMA with. Due to Makhachev’s record, it would be hard to disagree with this. Specifically, Makhachev uses his Sambo base to throw his opponents to the floor before eventually beating them. As a result, Sambo is arguably the closest martial art to his heart.

Islam Makhachev is a Judo black belt

Although there’s a lot of crossover between Sambo and Judo, it seems that Makhachev also trains Judo as well which has a slightly different style. These days, Judo focuses on more upper body grips compared to Sambo. Over the years, Makhachev has been pictured wearing a Judo gi and black belt, so it’s safe to say that he’s technically a black belt in Judo. Despite his talent, some MMA fighters can go their entire careers without ever getting graded in terms of belts. This is not the case for Makhachev.

One of the best Judo moves that Makhachev uses is the Uchi Mata. This is a hip toss that slams the opponents to the ground. Obviously, in Judo this uses grips on the gi, whereas Makhachev’s variation is based without the gi. At UFC 208, Makhachev even hit this on Nik Lentz, who was a former D1 wrestler.

He also uses a variety of foot sweeps too, which may look simplistic and effortless but are incredibly difficult to master and perform against a resisting opponent. Make no doubt about it, Makhachev is one of the greatest Judokas to ever appear in the UFC.

He also trains freestyle wrestling

It goes without saying that Islam Makhachev can wrestle. Being a training partner with Khabib Nurmagomedov, you would expect this. In fact, a lot of the Dagestani style is a general blend of freestyle wrestling with Judo and Sambo thrown in. As we have seen, this translates excellently to MMA.

Over the years, Makhachev has trained at the likes of the AKA gym with Daniel Cormier which would have also helped his takedown game. Most of the time, Makhachev implements an attacking style, as opposed to defensive wrestling. This is because it would be safe to categorize him as a grappler, as opposed to a striking martial artist.

Despite Sambo and Judo looking far cooler and having more stylish compared to wrestling takedowns, the effectiveness of wrestling cannot be denied. In his win against Dan Hooker, Makhachev took down Hooker with a beautiful double leg. This shows that his takedown game is incredibly versatile and he is incredibly well-rounded in stand-up grappling.

What BJJ belt is Islam Makhachev?

Technically, Islam Makhachev is a white belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In reality, he would easily defeat most seasoned black belts on the ground. According to Makhachev, he “Doesn’t do grappling or Jiu Jitsu, I do MMA” which shows his casual attitude to certain styles. Still, the mat hours don’t like and his BJJ technique is certainly world-class. According to his AKA training partner Josh Thompson, he saw Makhachev dominate BJJ black belts.

His submission credentials point towards Thompson’s comments being truthful too. In the UFC, he has scored submission victories including armbars, rear naked chokes, and kimuras to name a few. Perhaps his most iconic was his kimura finish against Dan Hooker. This was incredibly controlled and patient from Makhachev which showed just how good he was as a grappler on the ground.

Put differently, Islam Makhachev may have little or no formal training inside a BJJ gym. However, by the looks of things he’s well worth a BJJ black belt, and few would argue against him. Further proof was seen in his unanimous win against Davi Ramos who has competed in ADCC, which is seen as BJJs Olympic games.

Islam Makhachev knows striking

Even though Makhachev’s strengths lie in grappling, it’s true that he’s a decent striker too. This is where many comparisons with Khabib come into play. The reason for this is that like Khabib, he specializes in grappling but is also comfortable throwing punches and kicks.

For instance, against Gleison Tibau, Makhachev won by knockout and beat Bobby Green with punches as well. As you’d imagine, you can’t get too far in modern MMA without being good at everything. This is certainly the case with Makhachev. Against Davi Ramos, he also dropped the Brazilian with a knee from the Thai clinch. Furthermore, Makhachev has seen been training Taekwondo over the years. This may explain why some of his kicks are good in terms of snap and flexibility.

In other words, Makhachev can certainly mix it up when called upon. This makes him a very unpredictable fighter, which is dangerous if you’re his opponent.

Conclusion

Due to being an elite grappler, many people lazily assume that Islam Makhachev’s fighting style is completely based on grappling. However, this certainly isn’t the case. His striking ability is still high-level, it just happens to be less effective than his takedowns and submissions.

In summary, Islam Makhachev is best described as a Sambo expert who is well worthy of his international, master status. At the same time, it’s also true that his game is far more detailed than just Sambo. Instead, Makhachev is also well versed in practically all areas of fighting – which isn’t a coincidence that he’s a top fighter because of this.

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