5 reasons why Charles Oliveira's invitation to Islam Makhachev to grapple at UFC 280 could be a mistake

#4. Islam Makhachev's tripoding will pose a problem

Makhachev's tripoding will pose an issue as it will render it extremely difficult for 'Do Bronx' to threaten guillotine chokes or throw strikes from the bottom.

When Makhachev tripods, he presses either his head or upper-body against his opponent's chin or against their chest. Both methods break his foe's posture and pin them to the mat while he then lifts his own hips to step over their legs to advance into a superior position like half-guard or full mount. When a grounded fighter's posture is broken and their chest or head is pinned to the mat, they're unable to generate any offense.

Even if Charles Oliveira manages to secure a guillotine choke, Makhachev's tripoding works as a well-oiled counter. Not only does lifting his hips and torso relieve the pressure on his neck, it also allows him to step over to his opponent's side to render the choke all but useless. Charles Oliveira will only succeed in tiring out his arms by pursuing a guillotine choke against Makhachev, as was the case when Khabib fought Dustin Poirier.

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#3. Charles Oliveira will struggle to return to his feet

If the Brazilian realizes it might have been a mistake to grapple with Islam Makhachev, he will encounter another problem many fighters have struggled with.

Many of Makhachev's takedowns are completed against the fence. The purpose of this is to maintain grappling dominance over his foes. The current counter-wrestling approach in MMA is to use the fence to wall-walk. Fighters intent on getting back to their feet use the wall to scramble their way back into a standing position.

However, this isn't effective against the likes of Makhachev because he keeps his opponents pinned against the fence where he'll trap one of their wrists with a thumbs-down grip while shoving the top of his head against their chin to break their posture and keep their head in place.

In this position, Makhachev constantly switches between wrestling and striking to batter his opponent with punches until his foe uses their free hand to block them. However, if his opponent's free hand is focused on blocking punches, it is not low enough to dig for an underhook to defend a takedown, allowing Makhachev to easily secure an underhook of his own to trip his foes or simply drop down to their hips for a takedown.

Makhachev traps his opponents in a loop against the fence. If they try to block his punches, they expose themselves to his takedowns. However, if they try to defend his takedowns, they expose themselves to his punches. It's a losing situation no matter which option his foes choose.