UFC 313: Justin Gaethje's Clinch

Where it is and where it should go.

Still Chuggin’

Contents:

• Adversity Everywhere

• The Highlights

• Vulnerabilities

• “JAB!” -Trevor Whitman

• Another Thing He Barely Does

Justin Gaethje proves that he’s not done yet. Though Rafael Fiziev was coming in to face ‘The Highlight’ on short notice, Gaethje’s previous knockout at the hands of Max Holloway left many to question how much longer the paragon of violence had left. The answer is more than they thought.

In a fight that mirrored their first meeting, Gaethje struggled early but worked his way back into the fight with his stellar striking game off of the collar tie. His tactics became predictable, but Gaethje showed that he can switch it up when he’s in the right mind to do so, adding some slick entries to confound his opponent and eventually secure the win.

The problem with Gaethje is that he does not employ these tactics until he’s losing, and by then it might be too late. If he jabbed and shot takedowns more often, he could be even more of a force than he is now. What is Justin Gaethje’s clinch striking like, and how could it be even better?

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.

Adversity Everywhere

Justin Gaethje leaps into the clinch with a long, sticky jab (V1). The use of punches as collar tie entries has been a staple of Justin Gaethje’s since his career in the World Series of Fighting (now PFL). The collar tie acts as a target for his rear hand, pulling the head and punching towards it to land violent punches in the clinch.

In round 1 he had trouble getting this combination off. Whether Fiviez entered the clinch on his terms or Gaethje’s, he stifled Gaethje’s collar tie with a deep underhook and controlled his usual punching arm with a tricep tie. As Gaethje was preoccupied fighting his grips or shooting tiny shots into the body, Fiviez had cleared a space for his thudding knees.

Body work was Fiziev’s M.O. this fight, much like in their initial meeting. Gaethje struggled on the outside as Fiviez landed body kicks with abandon (V2) that often occupied the dead spaces of this fight. For whatever reason Gaethje seemed unaffected in both fights, and Fiziev’s kick rate seemed to tire him out faster than his kick’s did Gaethje. Fiziev was fighting as if it would be scored like a Muay Thai bout (where it is weighed heavily towards kicks).

Without any real counter to Fiziev’s work from the outside, Gaethje did as Gaethje does. He barreled forward, and somewhere along the way, began to find craftier ways to impose what worked.

V1

V2

The Highlights

V3 showcases the highlights of Gaethje’s clinch game:

1. Dip deep to the right (outside the opponent’s jab/lead side)

2. Swing the left hand to the head or waist

3. Throw the uppercut or overhand right

4. Rip the body or punch off the break

Gaethje’s clinch game has maintained this general style for years because, most of the time, it works. Gaethje struggled through the first round as Fiziev had great clinch fundamentals, controlling Gaethje’s arms and disengaging on his terms. The longer the clinch, the more it favored Fiziev. So Gaethje shortened the clinch time (V4).

The moment Gaethje’s left hand touched Fiziev’s head, he was punching (V3, 4, 7, 8). Gaethje’s overhand right is the key to maintaining a short inside time and landing reliably. His left hand stills Fiziev’s head for just a moment and acts as a target for his right hand to punch to. Even if he can’t see what’s happening he knows where his hand is (try punching your own hand with your eyes closed). While his lead sits on Fiviez’s neck, he simply has to punch through the head to meet it. This adds additional power to it.

Gaethje’s right was his primary clinch breaker (V4, V5, V6). Despite Fiziev’s proficiency in the clinch, he was not often attacking out of it, something Gaethje’s former opponents have taken advantage of (V13). Instead, he opted to push away (V3) which often did little to prevent the right hand. Rather, no matter Fiziev’s defensive reaction, Gaethje’s overhand seemed to thwart it at every turn:

Fiziev tries to pull Gaethje into the clinch, but Gaethje’s overhand creates space, and allows follow up shots inside Fiziev’s outstretched arms (V4, V7).

Fiviez tries to turn off the cage and separate, but Gaethje breaks the clinch with his overhand (V5).

Fiviez tries to circle to get away from Gaethje’s collar tie, but circles right into the overhand instead (V6)

No matter what Fiviez did to escape the clinch, Gaethje seemed one-step ahead. Gaethje’s pattern is predictable though, so Fiziev was able to catch onto it. Gaethje always dips to the outside, except in V8. Fiziev throws an uppercut to catch him, but Gaethje actually dips inside of the preceding jab and weaves out, away from the counter. Gaethje’s mix-up kept him safe and provided him with a new entry into his collar-tie that is immediately followed up by a picture perfect uppercut.

Gaethje’s usual style and inventiveness (V9) afford him a violent close-range game that is hard to contend with. Even though he has a predictable pattern, Gaethje tends to improve on his mix-ups and entries throughout the fight (V8, V9). This is not to say that it is impervious to counters though: it has been stopped before he gets the ball rolling.

V3

V4

V5

V6

V7

V8

V9

Vulnerabilities