You might already be familiar with my belief that Khamzat Chimaev is going to "smesh" his way through the UFC's welterweight division.  

He has picked up and smeshed everyone that he has faced so far, an in some lesser known matches, he has landed some spectacular takedowns that I've never even seen before... like this monstrosity:

No idea what it's called... but I wanna do it.

I also recently found this footage of Khamzat training a very cool no-gi variation of a Seoi Nage (shoulder throw).

(Note how he is only taking a knee on the side of the arm that he is gripping... it's a slick throw.)

Now, any time I see guys from a certain 'team', or even folks from a certain geographical region asserting absolute dominance, I try to find some commonality in their method.  

The most obvious common trait amongst the dominant Russian fighters is a clear stylistic inspiration from Abraham Lincoln.

It is admittedly very cool to see that Russians share our patriotism.

But on top of that, all three of these Russians have backgrounds Judo and Combat Sambo.

Combat Sambo is just like Mixed Martial Arts in which everyone is wearing a Gi... and some fashionable boots.  

The gi gives fighters the ability to execute Judo throws, and Judo foot-sweeps, in the midst of their fighting art.  

But the sweeps in particular allows these fighters score takedowns and get into dominant positions... with very little risk, and very little energy expenditure.  

Here's one example of Islam Makhachev in action on a very slick foot sweep.

That's a fight altering moment, that cost no energy whatsoever.

Now, I did some searching to find a great video that highlights the foot-sweeps and throws of this squad... but came up empty handed.

The only problem with this video is that it highlights every technique three or four times, and that may be a disproportionate representation the move's success within the sport. 

In other words, there have been hundreds of successful 'Hirai Gosh', or 'Uchi Mata', 'O Uchi Gari' throws in mixed martial arts... and yet you'll only see three or four in this video. 

You'll also see three Tai Otoshi but they may be the only three that have ever been landed in the history of MMA.

So, out of the long list of moves that you will witness in this video, here's my Top 10 that you should actually learn:

Throws

Uchi Mata - 3:39

Harai Goshi - 2:55

(Ippon) Seoi Nage - 0:27

Ushiro Goshi - 1:46

Te Guruma - 7:42

Sweeps

O Uchi Gari - 6:25

Sasai Tsurikomi Ashi - 4:21

Ko Soto Gari - 5:21

Hari Tsurikomi Ashi 0:12

Ko Uchi Gari 6:59

But keep in mind... this list represents years of judo training.  

Quite frankly, it's a lot easier to learn how to punch people in the face... and that's why most MMA fighters are all perfectly average.  

Have a fantastic week!

-Trav

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