Charles Oliveira is something of a renaissance man when it comes to using Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the UFC. Since signing for the promotion in 2010, he has the record for the most ever submission wins, standing at a total of 14. What is even more impressive is that he’s still only 31 years old and has more to come.
Perhaps this statistic was inevitable when he achieved victory in his UFC debut via a 41 second armbar in round one. Nonetheless, many fighters have came into the promotion with a lot of hype yet end up fading into obscurity.
This is not the case for Oliveira, whose UFC career wobbled a little during his earlier run and around 2017. Since then, he has came back recomposed and is currently on an 8 fight win streak. What’s even more impressive is the recent victories he’s achieved, over the likes of Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, and Clay Guida.
To get a greater insight into how and why Oliveira has become so dominant in the octagon, you have to understand his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and just how good it is. Firstly, he is a third degree black belt which means a minimum of 9 years at the rank. Compared to some UFC fighters who are blue belt in rank, Oliveira swamps them in this department. Of course, BJJ is irrelevant if it cannot be put into effect, which can be seen with his losses. Obviously, no fighter is invincible – yet Oliveria seems to have tapped into something over his last 8 fights.
Looking closer at his submissions, there seems to be a clear pattern. Firstly, he is very successful at using the rear naked choke. Whilst many fighters will end up victorious after getting to the opponent’s back, it’s even more of a certainty with Oliveira there. In brief, his leg positioning, tightness and control of the upper body makes it almost impossible to escape once he is on your back. Sadly, many fighters aren’t as composed on the back and can let a seemingly guaranteed win slip away. This isn’t the case with Oliveira who to date has 4 rear naked choke victories in the UFC.
Secondly, Oliveira is also an expert at the front-headlock position which is very common in MMA. This position is usually obtained against a failed takedown or sprawl. Similarly, it’s seen when an opponent turtle’s to escape from bottom pin positions. Doing this against other opponents will often go unpunished. However, Oliviera is arguably the greatest ever in the UFC for submitting from the front-headlock. To date, he has scored a combined 7 submissions from there that combined the guillotine and the anaconda choke.
Interestingly, the guillotine has been commonly used throughout MMA history. However, it is arguably his use of the anaconda choke that makes him versatile. Sometimes, people will defend the guillotine and simultaneously expose themselves to the anaconda. This is where many attackers fail as the anaconda is relatively obscure and difficult to master. Because of his years of BJJ experience, this is not an issue for Oliveira who can seamlessly switch between both chokes to great effect.
As a result, he is now looking towards the lightweight title. Combined with an impressive 8 wins in a row and seemingly unstoppable grappling skills – you could make a strong claim that Charles Oliveira has successfully bought Brazilian Jiu Jitsu back to the forefront of the UFC.
