Crash Course: Elbows in MMA
TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 10: (R-L) Matt Brown elbows Donald Cerrone in their welterweight bout during the UFC 206 event inside the Air Canada Centre on December 10, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Among the legal strikes in MMA, elbows remain the least used and are probably the ones with the most room to grow in usage and tactics. So why is this? Elbows remain illegal in most forms of striking competition, largely known for their role in Muay Thai (and in smaller South East Asian regional kickboxing variants like Lethwei). So it’s as simple as adapting the tactics and set-ups of Nak Muays, right? Yes, and no. While there’s certainly a lot to learn from the Thai boxers in their application of elbow strikes, there are other obstacles. MMA has developed quite a different meta from that of Muay Thai when it comes to striking, in part because of the presence of wrestling but also because of cultural factors, mainly the large influence of boxing and both Japanese and western styles of kickboxing being more predominant influences in the current MMA striking landscape than traditional Muay Thai is. On top of that, there’s difficulty in actually training the use of elbows. While big sparring gloves and shin guards are easily accessible, elbow pads are not as common, and even if they were, they don’t protect as much as they can’t compromise arm mobility if they’re to be used during competition simulation. Elbows are particularly dangerous because they can be thrown with reckless abandon (the point of the elbow is just a singular bone with no little pieces to break like those of the hand; not even the knee is as sturdy) and can easily produce cuts. Thai boxers get good at elbows not only from hitting pads and light sparring but also because they compete insanely often, allowing it to test their tactics in an actual competition setting (and even then, you need to consider that Thais themselves understand the danger of the strikes and their cuts, and it’s not rare to see low- to mid-level bouts between locals with no elbows thrown).
That being said, MMA is constantly evolving, and the use of elbows has not been stagnant for the last twenty years. We’ve seen different applications in different phases and ranges, elbows inside the clinch have become commonplace even if clean connections aren’t as common as, let’s say, knee strikes, and fighters are starting to catch up with set-ups and situations to use them from open space.
Clinch Elbows
I would guess the clinch is the place where most fans of the sport expect elbows and knees, especially from collar ties (the often misnamed “muay thai clinch”). This makes perfect sense because the elbow is, by definition, a short-range weapon, and what better situation to throw and land it in than when in close quarters?
The most common elbow strike in combat sports is the side elbow, which follows a similar path to that of a boxing hook. Called a sok tee over in Thailand, it’s not only easy for anyone with any kind of boxing background to get a hold of its technique, path, and weight transfer, but it’s also simple to find set-ups and opportunities to land it.
Most elbows in the clinch follow a very simple principle if we are talking in broad strokes: you control and/or post on a key part of your opponent, then you either wait for them to create space or you create it yourself, and you use that same hand that was grabbing/posting to land an elbow.
In the first clip above, Matt Brown goes from wrist control to post on Tim Means’ upper arm; he pins his head against the side of Means own head and quickly removes it to land the elbow when he feels the timing is right, creating the space he needed for the strike himself.
In the second clip, Brown grabs a hold of Means’ forearm with his right hand while he has a long collar tie with his left hand. Means is standing tall and trying to grab collar ties himself, and this presents the space to land the elbow.
Elbows are often thrown from collar ties because they offer control over the target (the head) and simplify the aiming process greatly.
But you can apply the same principles to basically any position in the clinch; collar ties offer control over the head, but other positions can be more unexpected, be it for the reactions they produce or the different threats they pose. In the video above, there are three examples of Leon Edwards attacking Donald Cerrone with elbows while controlling his opponent with an underhook with his other arm, and in the last one, Joanne Calderwood is nailing her foe while grabbing a long overhook.
The horizontal elbow works similarly to a hook, but it has some key advantages: it needs less space to wind up, it attacks space even better than hooks, and it needs less accuracy to inflict damage. Its bigger and less fragile point of contact means it can be thrown more recklessly and will often inflict more blunt damage, even when blocked, than a punch.
But a hooking motion is not the only way to land an elbow.
Elbows can also be thrown with a vertical forearm, and this opens more options and affords more flexibility to their applications. Vertical elbows can also be thrown in a sweeping motion, or they can be thrown straight in a spearing motion (these are known as sok poon in Thai). Elbows with a vertical forearm are particularly good for attacking inside a high guard or inside opposing collar ties. Variations with this technique are even less used in MMA, and the versatility they add for damaging close quarters striking remains underrated.
Elbows From Range
Now that we understand the role elbows can play inside ties, their differences from other strikes, and their applications, you might wonder: If elbows are such a short-range weapon, do they have any actual use or advantage from long range? And the answer is yes.
While it’s certainly easier to land short elbows with little distance between you and the target and while having something to grip to measure space, some of the advantages of the elbow remain true at long distance. They remain good options to attack space, are still good at sneaking into unexpected places, and their different ranges allow them to pair well with other attacks with similar starting motions.
The simplest application is to just step into range, looking for elbows. This can be risky and open up the user to counters, but they can work surprisingly well if aptly set up. Especially if paired with other previously established threats, elbows can bring their aforementioned advantages and are in general a good option to deal with static guards for their ability to split guard or just plain inflict impact through them. Elbows also have different timing and range for punches and can throw opponents off when they put their guard up after seeing the initial motion of the shoulders.
Another option, and one that blends the lines between range and clinch striking, is posting or grabbing a loose tie of the other fighter to measure distance and strike with the elbow. The post/grip can work in itself as a set-up depending on the reaction of your foe, and without giving you strong control, it gives you valuable data when it comes to distance, timing, and feel, which can be the hardest aspects of a successful elbow strike.
A cool variant of the method just mentioned, and one that I think will or at least should become more popular, is attacking elbows off wrist control. We can see two different examples here: Jordan Mein closing distance, quickly grabbing the wrist of Matt Brown and immediately folding his arm for an elbow strike, and Tim Means, who grabs wrist control from distance to create a clinch situation and set up his strike like we talked about in the clinch section above. Either way, elbows off wrist control are a great answer to high guards and a good alternative to other things that are just becoming part of the mainstream metagame in the sport, like punching the body.
As a short-range weapon, elbows lend themselves perfectly as counters when opponents close the distance for you. Again, two different approaches here: Tim Means countering a body shot with a free side elbow, and Leon Edwards getting a hold of Cerrone with a loose collar tie to meet his incoming foe with elbows from the single tie.
On the topic of counter-elbows, it’s the perfect moment to remember the existence of vertical elbows. Their guard-splitting properties and smashing power are perfect for intercepting overzealous enemies crashing forward. It’s also an energy-efficient and relatively safe option.
Extras
I think we have covered the basics of elbowing and their uses during the stand-up phase of MMA. There’s a lot else that we could talk about, and obviously there’s much more detail and nuance to the science of smashing a pointy bone against another human being’s skull. But here are some clips about topics that we could get into more detail about in the future.
I have produced numerous videos talking about different solid clinch performances and obviously there’s a lot of elbows involved, for further analysis check the next videos up: