Quick Definition
The Dagestani style is a wrestling-based approach to MMA built on takedowns, cage control, and constant top pressure rather than finishing fights with strikes or submissions.
What is the Dagestani style?
The term describes a competitive approach, not a codified martial art with its own belts or rulebook. It grew out of the wrestling and Combat Sambo culture of Dagestan, a Russian republic in the North Caucasus, where boys have trained in freestyle wrestling and Sambo from childhood for generations. Fighters who come up through that system carry a specific game plan into MMA: close the distance, get the fight to the clinch or ground, and grind out rounds through volume and control instead of chasing a knockout or a submission.
Khabib Nurmagomedov turned the approach into a UFC storyline. He retired in 2020 with a 29-0 record, and most of his wins followed the same shape: takedown, top position, ground-and-pound, repeat until the opponent broke or the horn sounded. Islam Makhachev, his longtime training partner, carried the same foundation into his own title runs, first at lightweight and then, after moving up in 2025, at welterweight, adding sharper striking on top of it along the way. Between them, the two names became shorthand for the whole style.
What separates it from a fighter who simply wrestles well is the layering. It stacks freestyle wrestling’s takedown chains, Combat Sambo’s control and submission game, and MMA-specific cage tactics into one continuous system. Pull out any single piece and it stops looking distinctly Dagestani.
How the Dagestani style works
Three ideas hold the approach together.
Chain wrestling. A fighter doesn’t commit to one takedown attempt and hope. If a double-leg gets stuffed, the follow-up is already loaded: a single-leg, a trip, a bodylock against the fence. Stopping the first attempt often just buys an opponent a second or third one.
Cage control. The fence becomes a wall to work against. Pin an opponent there and their retreat options disappear, which makes the next takedown easier and the scramble afterward harder for them to win.
Top position over finishes. Once the fight hits the ground, the priority is staying on top and racking up damage and control time, not hunting a fast submission. Submissions come when they’re available, but they’re a bonus, not the plan.
The cumulative effect shows up in the numbers as much as the highlight reels. At UFC 311, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili broke Georges St-Pierre’s UFC record for career takedowns, a record built on this same wrestling-first blueprint, even though Dvalishvili is Georgian, not Dagestani. That’s the tell: the approach has outgrown the region that produced it.
Dagestani style vs. Combat Sambo vs. freestyle wrestling
People often use “Dagestani style,” “Sambo,” and “wrestling” interchangeably, but they aren’t the same thing. The style is what fighters build when they take the other two and adapt them to a cage.
| Freestyle wrestling | Combat Sambo | Dagestani style (MMA) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Olympic grappling sport | Russian combat sport blending judo, wrestling, and striking | An MMA fighter’s applied game plan, not a sport of its own |
| Primary goal | Score takedowns and control; pin the opponent | Score via throws, holds, strikes, and submissions | Win rounds and fights through takedowns, cage control, and ground-and-pound |
| Striking | None | Limited, sport-legal strikes | Full MMA striking, often used to set up the takedown |
| Submissions | None | Included, but secondary to control | Available, but not the priority — control comes first |
| Where it’s used | Mats, no fence | Mats, no fence | The cage, using the fence as a tool |
Freestyle wrestling supplies the base: the takedown chains and the physicality. Combat Sambo adds control holds, joint locks, and limited striking that don’t exist in pure wrestling. Neither one involves a cage. The Dagestani style is what happens when both get applied inside the fence, where a wall to work against changes the whole equation.
Common misconceptions
The handcuff is a technique, not the style. The Dagestani Handcuff traps an opponent’s wrist behind their back or against the mat. That’s one specific control technique. The Dagestani style is the broader game plan around it, and plenty of fighters use the handcuff without fighting anything like the wider system.
Wrestling is the foundation, not the whole picture. Wrestling supplies the base, but the style also pulls in Combat Sambo’s control and submission elements and cage-specific tactics that don’t exist on a wrestling mat. Calling it “just wrestling” skips the parts that make it dangerous in a cage.
One loss doesn’t retire a system. Umar Nurmagomedov went into UFC 311 undefeated through 18 professional fights and lost a decision to Merab Dvalishvili after Dvalishvili’s pace wore him down over five rounds. It’s the exact question Grapplers Graveyard posed afterward: has the Dagestani style been figured out? Islam Makhachev has since become a two-division UFC champion on the same blueprint, and Magomed Ankalaev held the light heavyweight title for seven months before Alex Pereira took it back in a rematch. One loss tests an approach. It doesn’t retire it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Dagestani style an official martial art?
No. It has no federation, belts, or rulebook of its own. It’s a recognizable way of applying Combat Sambo and freestyle wrestling inside MMA’s cage.
Who created the Dagestani style?
No single person invented it. It grew out of Dagestan’s wrestling and Sambo culture over generations and became widely known through Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC run.
What’s the difference between the Dagestani style and the Dagestani Handcuff?
The style is the overall approach to fighting; the handcuff is just one arm-control technique used inside it, not the approach itself.
Is the Dagestani style still effective in the UFC?
Yes, though opponents have adjusted. Islam Makhachev is a two-division champion built on this foundation, and Magomed Ankalaev has held UFC gold on the same blueprint, even as opponents keep finding new counters to try.
What base martial arts make up the Dagestani style?
Mainly freestyle wrestling and Combat Sambo, with judo contributing throws and grip fighting to both.
Sources
- Grapplers Graveyard. “Has the Dagestani Style Been Figured Out?” Accessed September 2026.
https://grapplersgraveyard.com/has-the-dagestani-style-been-figured-out/ - MiddleEasy. “How Dagestan Became a Powerhouse for Wrestling and MMA Grappling.” Accessed September 2026.
https://middleeasy.com/guides/how-dagestan-became-a-powerhouse-for-wrestling-and-mma-grappling/ - MiddleEasy. “Dagestani Handcuff Guide: Everything You Need To Know.” Accessed September 2026.
https://middleeasy.com/guides/dagestani-handcuff-guide/ - GroundedMMA. “What Is the Dagestani Handcuff Used by Khabib in the UFC?” Accessed September 2026.
https://groundedmma.com/what-is-the-dagestani-handcuff/ - ESPN. “Dvalishvili closes in style to edge Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.” Accessed September 2026.
https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/43474199/dvalishvili-closes-style-edge-nurmagomedov-ufc-311 - Sportskeeda. Coverage of Eugene Bareman’s comments on the Dagestani style. Accessed September 2026.
https://sportskeeda.com/mma/news-ufc-news-israel-adesanya-s-coach-says-dagestani-style-fighting-the-best-way-fight
Related MMA Terms
MMA Glossary
Explore 200+ MMA terms, techniques, and definitions.