Collar Ties in MMA

Charles Oliveira & Matt Brown

Collar Ties are emblematic of MMA. A tool utilized for transitional offense, control, and defense: they are versatile. Just a hand upon the neck and a forearm in the opponent’s shoulder is integral to controlling the standing grappling of a fight rather than allowing yourself to get man handled by a larger grappler. Fight fans have long heard the story of when Anderson Silva forged his UFC star-making performance by brutalizing Rich Franklin with the double collar tie.

Disclaimer: The video clips included in this article are not owned by the author. They are included for educational purposes only to illustrate key moments in the fighter’s career and demonstrate aspects of mixed martial arts techniques and strategies. All rights to the video content belong to their respective owners.

Anderson Silva’s use of the “Muay Thai Plum” was revolutionary in the UFC against fighters of this era but you’d be hard pressed to see someone so thoroughly brutalized by clinch knees alone in a fight today. Randy Couture was a master of dirty boxing off the single-collar tie as well and used this MMA-centric position to deal his most significant damage. Fighters today are much more open to use collar ties for their offensive striking and grappling. A perfect tool for offense between phases of a fight that can keep an opponent clueless as to what is coming next.

Two exemplars of the collar tie are Matt Brown and Charles Oliveira. The collar tie is integral to the games of these veterans known as some of the most potent offensive fighters of all time.

Entries

Before we can work off the collar tie we need to reliably grab an opponent behind the head without getting flattened on the entry. You will be met with a punch to the temple if you decide to just reach your hand out to grab an opponent behind the neck like you’re at BJJ open mat.

It is much safer to wait for the opponent to strike and grab them as they reset. In his match against Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira employed the Jose Aldo Leg Kick Defense by hinging at the knee to send Gaethje’s leg kick flying through open space. Gaethje is forced to turn his back due to the power with which he chooses to throw his kicks.

Though Oliveira can’t quite secure the collar tie with his lead hand he throws a sticky right straight into single collar tie to enter the clinch with a grappling-hesitant Gaethje.

While leg kicking an opponent is forced onto one leg and must reset after the kick. The low target of the leg kick ensures their focus is on the lower half of the body. Grab their head while the opponent attempts to keep a semblance of a guard up returning to their stance. Collar ties are quicker to enact than punches and give you the upper hand in control while the opponent is not in full control of their own body.

Matt Brown does something similar here. Brown lifts his leg to check While Barbarena hops forward as if to throw a teep. Brown realizes that Barbarena had no intention to kick once his hands drop to hit the body and takes hold of his defenseless head to enter the clinch.

The collar tie is made a reliable tool while checking an opponent’s kick as fighter’s tend to drop their same-side hand while kicking. This is done to increase the power of the kick and carry the leg’s momentum to offense rather than staying in stance.

Oliveira can simply avoid the kick and reach out to grab Gaethje’s head while he drops his hand and kicks in punching range. The uppercut follows quickly and allows Oliveira to enter a more committed clinch.

Checking a knee works just as well as checking a kick. Brown defends Silva’s flying attempt with a check. the detriment to flying attacks is that you cannot control your body’s movement while mid-air. Matt Brown easily turns away from Silva’s attack and grabs him behind the head. Brown’s collar tie smothers Silva’s follow up punches and allows him to enter a more committed clinch to drag Silva to the mat.

Feinting a leg attack to your opponent is another reliable entry to the collar tie. Matt Brown slows his forward pressure and raises his lead leg as if to knee or teep his opponent. Silva punches the body while protecting his own to stifle Brown’s pressure and counter. Once Silva drops his hand Brown had already secured Silva’s neck and jammed a knee into his midsection. Silva was expecting a body attack and was met with a clinch instead.

Striking defense dictates clinch entries in open space, but grappling fundamentals rule their application while on the cage. Brown pushes Silva against the cage and keeps him there but butting his own head into Silva’s chin. If you can control an opponent’s head and thus their posture, you can control where they will go. Brown momentarily pins him against the cage and separates to throw an elbow and obtain a collar tie. With the collar tie he can throw an even stronger elbow to stagger the Brazilian.

The Immortal also shows us the easiest position to pick up a collar tie. I am well known for my insistence that more fighters should be attacking their opponents as they stand up. A great way to continue your offense as the opponent stands is to grab the collar tie.

Brown (intelligently) punches Barbarena as he stands which forces him to shell up. Rather than punch into the guard Brown capitalizes upon the defensive reaction by grabbing the neck to throw a perfect knee and push Barbarena to the cage.

Not to mention that this whole sequence was started by an absolutely LOVELY trip. (Trips are also underutilized in MMA and Matt Brown is one of the best trippers in MMA)

Offense-In

Now that we can get the reliably force a collar tie, what can we do from here?

As Anderson Silva showed us earlier, the knee is the premier weapon to use from the collar tie. An opponent’s immediate reaction to being grabbed behind the neck is to duck their head and weave out from the opponent’s grasp. When you have a strong collar tie it is advisable you pull the opponent’s head down into a knee. This will increase the chance they try and dip out themselves, making them a sucker for the knee, and increases the force of the knee once it connects.

Collar ties can immediately break an opponent’s posture but their value is in attrition as well. Constantly having one’s head pulled down wears on the upper back and neck. this fatigue makes one desperately try to escape the clinch and slowly wears down their posture and ability to maintain composure throughout a fight.

Gaethje almost throws himself off balance while trying to punch while Oliveira pulls on Gaethje’s head and calmly throws a knee. Consistently fatiguing and annoying tools will open up more opportunities to finish as a fight goes on.

Framing off an the face and creating space are another common reaction to collar ties. Barbarena posts on Brown’s shoulder and attempts to push him off while lightly attacking the body. Brown’s collar ties are much too strong to break however. Not only does Brown maintain his pulling grips behind the neck, but he is pushing his forearms against Barbarena’s shoulders to pull him in and keep him close. Brown’s strong posts and grips give him much more leverage to maintain control in this position and attack with his knees to a greater effect than Barbarena can muster.

Brown shows how versatile maintaining a single collar tie can be. Brown begins the clinch throwing a knee to punish Silva’s broken posture. Silva is forced to stand straight prompting Brown to throw some nice up-elbows/forearms through the guard. Brown almost gets tripped and his back is against the cage, but this is where the magic happens.

Just as Brown changed his weapons for the collar tie based on the opponent’s posture, he can push and pull off the collar tie to make certain weapons more viable than others. Brown pulls Silva in close to throw knees to the body. Brown creates space by pushing his forearm against the shoulder which opens up elbow attacks to the head. Push and pull, push and pull.

You can confound an opponent by interspersing your collar ties with strikes. Attacking off of a sturdy clinch has its merits but an opponent will be left guessing if you can prevent them from knowing whats coming next.

As Oliveira works off the collar tie he constantly elbows, knees, frames, and reinserts his collar tie. His hand is constantly moving across Poirer’s upper body leaving him clueless as to wether Oliveira wants to strike or maintain a clinch. This guessing game annoys Poirer enough where he chooses to shove Oliveira off of him rather than entertain fighting within the clinch.

Oliveira employs the concept of pushing and pulling here as well. Oliveira pins Poirer agains the cage and pulls him into a hard knee to then post off the head to create space and throw an elbow in the open space.

Collapsing space between upper bodies —> Knees

Creating space between upper bodies —> Elbows

Matt Brown’s collar tie allows him to throw vicious elbows, and a combination of elbows feeds perfectly into the collar tie. Employ “sticky strikes”, leaving your strikes where they land to easily convert them into a collar tie and throw more offense. You can create a positive feedback loop of offense and control like Brown does here.

One of Oliviera's favorite ways to get the collar tie is to throw a sticky left hook. Against Poirer and Gaethje he did it about a million times. His left hook is a potent weapon in its own right but is made all the more dangerous in that Oliveira likes to enter the clinch by grabbing the neck after throwing it.

This is a versatile entry as even missing the left hook entirely can lead to some offense. Poirer weaves under the left hook but Oliveira posts against Poirer’s head on the opposite side he would collar tie, grabs the arm, and throws a devastating knee to the midsection.

Now we see where the grappling attack slots in. Though off-balanced Oliveira employs his classic kick check/left hook entry to fall into the clinch with Gaethje. Oliveira grabs the double collar tie to force Gaethje into some knees, and pull him down enough to snap up a front headlock.

Oliveira’s front head lock submissions are sublime, and the threat of these forces Gaethje to push off desperately where Oliveira can enact offense as well.

Matt Brown’s trips are lovely. Barbarena desperately wants to escape Brown’s thudding knees so he frames off the face while standing up straight. Barbarena’s escape attempt forces him upright which succumbs him to the subsequent trip. Collar ties control the posture both directly and indirectly. You can pull an opponent down into a front headlock like Oliveira does, or make them uncomfortable enough in the clinch to straighten up.

Defense

Oliveira and Brown are potent from the collar tie but an opponent’s offense is not rendered inert by its use. While the open space between bodies in the collar tie is perfect for knees, Poirer shows that uppercuts through the collar tie are a great way to stifle the opponent from enacting their own offense from the position.

Gaethje shows the same. Oliveira’s insistence on offense from the collar tie rather than control can leave him in vulnerable positions before and after attacking himself. The uppercut is not usually stifled like punches around the collar tie are and should be a consideration for those looking to slot the collar tie into their game. Oliveira likes to attack with some uppercuts of his from the collar tie but the opponent gets the same idea. Consistently attack or break your offense with moments of control by pulling their bodies in too close to uppercut through.

Oliveira seeks to do exactly this as Poirer opens up with a flurry. The collar tie is a great way to smother hooking punches as the arm and shoulder get in the way, and pulling them in close gives you a moment of control before they can continue their barrage. Oliveira manages to throw an elbow of his own which forces Poirer to switch from offense to defense. Rather than punch more, Poirer weaves out and pushes off to re-establish distance.

Oliveira gets clattered in open space after missing his left hook. Poirer again attempts a flurry of hooks but Oliveira grabs a collar tie and stifles the offense. A thudding knee ends Poirer’s thoughts of offense and he is forced away again. Though Poirer managed to land some hard shots to the head in his meeting with Charles, the clinch that followed his barrages prevented him from ever finishing the job and maintaining a steady stream of offense.

Matt Brown almost keeled over from Silva’s body kick, but by putting a knee between them and grabbing the head he was able to keep Silva’s posture down, force a clinch, breathe, and finish with a takedown. If you can force the clinch you can turn a fight ending sequence into a bad moment that you recover from.

Exits

While offense within the clinch is useful, and defense integral, the clinch break is where a fighter can throw some of their most devastating strikes.

Look at how Silva pushes off the clinch. His hands are low and he backs up in a straight line. Though Brown does not capitalize in this instance, Silva’s reaction is emblematic of how most fighter’s look to escape an offensively potent collar tie. The combination of knees, elbows, front headlocks, trips, and wearing down of the traps and neck make it a horrible place to be when fighting the likes of Brown and Oliveira, and escapes grow more desperate as a fight wears on.

Oliveira’s fight with Gaethje is one of the best uses I have seen of enacting offense off of the clinch break. Oliveira’s flying knee puts him above Gaethje and easily drop down on the front headlock. As Gaethje weaves out Oliveira keeps a hand on Gaethje’s face to gauge the distance and throws a right straight over the top of Gaethje’s posting hand. This spelled the beginning of the end.

By this point int he fight Gaethje loathed clinching up with Oliveira. His desperation is on full display as he attempts to punch his way out of the clinch. He keeps his arms extended as Oliveira lets him back away. His only thought is “keep him away” rather than actually defending. Oliveira again throws a straight over the top of his extended hands and puts Gaethje to the ground.

MMA is made unique by the fact that grappling and striking attacks can be chained together in a way unseen in other combat sports. I believe Oliveira’s collar tie strikes compounded with the front headlocks are one of the most effective multi-pronged attacks in the game today and would love to see more fighter’s pick it up. What innovations can you see being made here? Are there any other fighter’s who are great with collar ties as well? Let me know below.

Shout out Michael for requesting this article!

-Kick