First Things First

UFC 298 is over and done with. This time the fights really delivered. There was a lot of creative action from the rear body lock and we’re going to review it today.

If you want to see the best grappling action from UFC 298 and learn some new ways to use the rear body lock, this one is for you.

UFC 298

UFC 298 was the UFC’s second pay per view of the year and it blew the first out of the water. Just about half of the fights ended by stoppage, the decisions were tense and action packed, and it looks like the main event might have started a new era in the featherweight division. Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski.

Going into the fight, Volkanovski was undefeated at featherweight and Topuria was unbeaten across his entire career. Volkanovski was coming off a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev at lightweight, but Topuria just had one of the best performances of his career.

The fight looked like a match-up of intangibles. Had age caught up with Volk? And had Topuria improved enough to be in a position to exploit Volk’s age with his speed and power? Ultimately Topuria used his footwork to force Volk into a compromise position and capitalize on Volk’s unguarded chin.

We generally just cover grappling and how it’s used in MMA here, but this finish was too big, and too pretty, to overlook.

One thing that stood out from UFC 298 was how fighters were using back body locks to attack. Let’s review the tactics and techniques they used to be successful.

Beating People Up With Back Body Locks

While there are many ways to use them, body locks are as simple as they sound. One person locks their hands around the other to control their torso. The back body lock involves one fighter standing behind the other and locking their hands in front of the other’s belly.

The back body lock is basically an unavoidable position in grappling these days. Fighters are turtling to stand up and the easiest way to hold on to them is by locking your hands from behind. The position can turn into a bit of a stalemate, but at UFC 298 we saw a lot of cool attacks from body lock variations.

Vera has been training with leg lock wizard Ryan Hall and it shows. Vera was doing an excellent job rolling into the legs and gripping Nakamura’s foot to keep the scramble alive. Ultimately Nakamura was too strong of a wrestler for Vera to score from bottom.

As the fight went on Nakamura used more creative controls and strikes to continue hitting Vera from behind.

Nakamura is an all around stud. Before going to MMA, he won an under 23 freestyle wrestling world championship and he’s currently undefeated. Keep your eyes on him.

Later in the night another international wrestling stud returned to the Octagon. Henry Cejudo fought Merab Dvalishvili. Ultimately Merab wore him out with his pace and positioning.

Fighters are often so worried about escaping grappling exchanges that their defenses fall away. This is the perfect time to strike. Punching on the end of grappling exchanges is one of the simplest ways for a grappler to have quick success in MMA.

Later in the fight Dvalishvili was throwing Cejudo all around the cage.

You’ll also hear the kosoto gake called an outside trip. Regardless of what you call it, hitting one on an olympian like Cejduo is impressive. Dvalishvilli needs the next title fight at 135 after Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling fight at UFC 299.

In between the two fights above the subject from last week’s article had another stellar performance.

UFC 298’s (Only) Submission Of The Night

Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov

The first fight of the pay per view was between Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez and Roman Kopylov. This past Friday we broke down Fluffy’s UFC career thus far and you can read about his game here.

The basic dynamics pit Fluffy’s pace and grappling against Kopylov’s sharpshooting striking. Early in the fight, Kopylov was doing a good job staying on his feet, but Fluffy was still starting to suck the life out of him from clinches on the fence.

Midway through the second round, Fluffy finally got to a dominant position and the fight was as good as done.

In the lead up to UFC 298 we discussed Fluffy’s game. He combines grappling and striking to make the most of dominant angles, deal damage, and drown his opponents with his pace.

Combat sports are about dealing damage while preventing your opponent from doing the same to you. The simplest way to achieve that is by getting to an angle where you can hit your opponent but they can’t return the favor. Side and rear body locks accentuate those control positions. If I hold you from behind or side on, I can trip you, throw you to the floor, and find creative ways to hit you the whole time.

This weekend the UFC returns to Mexico with a card built to showcase Latin American talent. On that same day, the PFL and Bellator will have their champion vs champion event in Saudi Arabia and KSW is hosting a completely bonkers PRIDE rules event. All of this takes place one week before ONE Championship and a day after Karate Combat is hosts their second Pit Submission Series event.

It’s never been a better time to be a fan of combat sports. Stick around here to read all about the upcoming action.

Citations, Further Viewing, And Three Major Stories You Might Have Missed

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