Anderson Silva teaches you everything you need to know about clinch strikes

[BeerCityBandit]

K, maybe not everything, but it's a hell of a good start!

 

[aerius]

Valentina Shevchenko shuts down most of it in a 90 second video
That takes care of every double collar tie technique in Silva's video, which is why you rarely see the double collar tie in MT unless there's a big skill mismatch.


As for the rest, Sagetdao has the answers to the bodylock.

Valentina's used a couple of the techniques in MMA to get easy takedowns

Clinch defence in MMA has improved, you can't base your game on grabbing a double collar tie or bodylock and going to work with knees & elbows. The key these days is clinch transitions & how to move between different clinch grips & positions while working your opponent off balance and out of position to defend while hitting them the entire time, Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones are the best examples. DJ vs. Cejudo is pretty much exhibit A in how to kill someone with the clinch in MMA.

 

[Uchi Mata]

^^^^^^
What this guy said. Though that's not so new. With Silva, he just happened to fight a string of guys who had no idea how to clinch. The OGs who really showed us how to clinch in MMA were more so the Team Quest guys...what is dirty boxing other than transitioning between clinch positions while beating people up? It was effective then, and it's still really effective if you take the time to get good at it. For some reason it seems to me that the clinch in MMA these days is used mostly as a wrestling rather than striking position (in the sense that people position themselves to work takedowns and any strikes are incidental rather than the other way around), which is odd since the fighters who do look to actively strike from the clinch have a lot of success doing so like Matt Brown, Jon Jones, DJ, etc.

 

[BeerCityBandit]

^^^^^^
What this guy said. Though that's not so new. With Silva, he just happened to fight a string of guys who had no idea how to clinch. The OGs who really showed us how to clinch in MMA were more so the Team Quest guys...what is dirty boxing other than transitioning between clinch positions while beating people up? It was effective then, and it's still really effective if you take the time to get good at it. For some reason it seems to me that the clinch in MMA these days is used mostly as a wrestling rather than striking position (in the sense that people position themselves to work takedowns and any strikes are incidental rather than the other way around), which is odd since the fighters who do look to actively strike from the clinch have a lot of success doing so like Matt Brown, Jon Jones, DJ, etc.

I mean the video demonstrates many transitions from various positions. Not just double collar. Once you get used to drilling those techniques and they become fluid and instinctive then you can start stringing them together. I mean this stuff coupled with a decent grappling background would make a very dangerous fighter.

 

[MaxMMA]

^^^^^^
What this guy said. Though that's not so new. With Silva, he just happened to fight a string of guys who had no idea how to clinch. The OGs who really showed us how to clinch in MMA were more so the Team Quest guys...what is dirty boxing other than transitioning between clinch positions while beating people up? It was effective then, and it's still really effective if you take the time to get good at it. For some reason it seems to me that the clinch in MMA these days is used mostly as a wrestling rather than striking position (in the sense that people position themselves to work takedowns and any strikes are incidental rather than the other way around), which is odd since the fighters who do look to actively strike from the clinch have a lot of success doing so like Matt Brown, Jon Jones, DJ, etc.

Even the fighters you mentioned don't have a traditional upright Thai style clinch. That's because it obviously leaves you hips to high to effectively counter takedown attempts. Unless you have a great deal of experience like the fighters you mentioned, when you enter the clinch you have to prioritize defending/attempting takedowns or positioning yourself for strikes. When you have to worry about someone putting you on your back, the priority often becomes the fight for the takedown.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Even the fighters you mentioned don't have a traditional upright Thai style clinch. That's because it obviously leaves you hips to high to effectively counter takedown attempts. Unless you have a great deal of experience like the fighters you mentioned, when you enter the clinch you have to prioritize defending/attempting takedowns or positioning yourself for strikes. When you have to worry about someone putting you on your back, the priority often becomes the fight for the takedown.

I think too a lot of it is that fighters want to keep their opponents on the cage, and they feel like if they disengage a little to strike they let the guy circle off. Probably some truth to that, though I think there's a lot you can do at that close of range to really make him pay when he does try to spin off the fence. But it's true that if you're pressuring him up against the cage the whole round even if you don't get the TD or do a lot of damage you're probably still going to win the round based on superior control, and winning rounds is the name of the game.

 

[ARIZE]

Don't forget also that there is a huge difference between clinching with MMA gloves vs MT gloves...