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- Muhammad Mokaev's Grappling Dominates Tim Elliott at UFC 294
Muhammad Mokaev's Grappling Dominates Tim Elliott at UFC 294
How Muhammad Mokaev submitted the crafty veteran Tim Elliott
William
October 24th, 2023
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Muhammad Mokaev’s Grappling Continues To Improve
UFC 294 was legitimately one of the weirdest night of fights I have ever seen. There was hair pulling, illegal knees, and several staph infections. Weirdness does not mean not entertaining, and there were some flashes of technical brilliance amidst all of the craziness we saw.
Islam Makhachev knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Ikram Aliskerov took Warley Alves out with a few punches and a bicycle knee, and Muhammad Mokaev controlled and submitted former title challenger Tim Elliott in the third round. I thought this fight carried serious upset risk. Elliott is one of the craftier grapplers in the sport, and, while Mokaev is an interesting prospect, he’s on the less experienced side in the UFC.
Mokaev has been the next big thing in MMA for years. Going into his fight with Elliott, the Russian prospect had one no contest and no losses across more than 30 professional and amateur fights. More than half of Mokaev’s professional wins had ended in submission but, he’s still only 23, and facing one of the more seasoned fighters in the division will always be a major step up.
In Mokaev’s last fight he ate a brutal knee bar that left him on crutches. He did end up taking the fight by neck crank in the third round, but only after missing several submission opportunities earlier in that fight.
The combination of Mokaev’s relative submission vulnerability combined with Elliott’s skillset and experience made me believe Mokaev could be in serious danger. At UFC 294 Mokaev showed newfound elements of control and got back one of submission opportunities he missed early in his previous fight.
Let’s take a look at some of Mokaev’s best moments on the floor at UFC 294.
Mokaev’s Arm Triangle Finish
If you want a good top game in no gi grappling and MMA, a good arm triangle is a non-negotiable. Not only can you get the submission from several positions, but you can use the threat of the submission to pass the guard all the way to the back. You don’t eve have to relinquish the grip!
Earlier this year I wrote an article about arm triangles, their effectiveness, and why I still think they’re underutilized in MMA. In the article, I cited Mokaev missing the opportunity to hit one against Paulo Filho. Mokaev more than answered that criticism at UFC 294.
Muhammad Mokaev vs Tim Elliott Arm Triangle  | Mokaev is pressuring in to take Elliott’s space after hitting him. As Elliott tries to sit up and defend, his arm crosses his center. Mokaev connects his forehead to the floor as he grabs a strong cross face to set up the arm triangle. Mokaev would finish from here. |
Now let’s take a look at some of the other interesting moments from earlier in the fight.
Mokaev’s Counter Grappling
Tim Elliot is a slick grappler. He shoots from weird angles, dances around between exchanges, and often grabs head locks and guillotine chokes as a counter to his opponents’ offense. Elliot can be as frustrating and confusing as he is effective.
There were several moments when Mokaev found himself stuck between Tim Elliott’s hands. Elliot was using the position to threaten chokes, knees to the head, and combinations of the two. On one occasion Mokaev showed a brilliant counter that completely reversed the position.
Muhammad Mokaev vs Tim Elliott Peak Out  | Elliott is looking to knee Mokaev from the front head lock. Mokaev’s outside hand is holding Elliott’s choking arm to keep him safe. Elliot raises a knee to strike and Mokaev shoots through to the choking arm side to peak out. |
Because Elliott was up on one leg, Mokaev lifted him up and slammed him on his head into the fence instead of getting an angle on his back.
Interestingly enough it looked like Elliot’s attempted knee made Mokaev’s peak out easier. Perhaps more interesting, or cosmically ironic, is that Elliot has famously claimed that fighters are incentivized to cheat because the refs don’t take points. While I don’t necessarily think his logic is far off, I can’t ignore the irony of Elliott flirting with the controversial knee to the downed opponent actually costing him the position, and ultimately the fight.
For the record, I think knees to a downed opponent should be legal.
The fight wasn’t one way traffic for Mokaev. Elliott was able to mount some counter offense and he nearly secured a fight ending triangle submission.
Muhammad Mokaev vs Tim Elliott Triangle Choke Escape  | Mokaev tries to hit Elliott, but Elliott uses the space to lock a triangle choke. Elliott doubles up on gripping Mokaev’s arm so he stands. If Elliott had scooped Mokaev’s leg he could have prevented the slam being this bad. Mokaev spikes Elliott on his head, Elliott’s legs open, and Mokaev secures a dominant position. |
Before the finish Mokaev kept getting to one strong position, but didn’t advance. This position could provide an immediate opportunity for Mokaev to make his grappling that much better.
What Else Could Mokaev Do?
Every time I watch Mokaev fight his grappling gets better. During Mokaev’s last fight he missed the submission that he used to win at UFC 294. This latest contest left room for Mokaev to implement one technique that could massively improve his success on the ground.
While Tim Elliott did throw up a deep triangle, Mokaev was basically unsweepable on top. His base was wide, his hips were high, and his head was driving straight into Elliot’s chin. This orientation put Mokaev in the perfect position to step or float over Elliott’s hooks with tripod passing.
Demian Maia used to melt people with pressure from his tripods. Recently Jozef Chen used tripod passing to get around world class black belt Tommy Langaker’s guard en route to winning the ADCC European Trials.
Jozef Chen vs Tommy Langaker Tripod Passing  | Chen’s left leg is wide as he moves his right hand from the hip to an under hook on Langaker. Chen’s wide base, under hook, and forehead pressure allow his right leg to be light and mobile so he can step over Langaker’s hook. As soon as Chen lands in mount his hips go low, he gets a cross face and covers Langaker’s head to hold the position. |
Mokaev often worked into a high tripod position but didn’t pass. If Mokaeev added punching into passes from this position he could melt people underneath his pressure.
I’m not ending with what else Mokaev could do to imply his grappling is lacking. Far from it.
Mokaev’s grappling can be efficient, slick, and dominant. At 23 years old, Mokaev gets better every time he walks into the cage and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new wrinkle added to his game when he next fights in the UFC.
What was your favorite moment from Mokaev’s win?
