UFC on Versus 2: Looking at Charles Oliveira's BJJ Clinic

It's the day after UFC on Versus 2 and the MMA world is rightly buzzing about Jon Jones' annihilation of Vladimir Matyushenko.  Hopefully, what won't go unnoticed is the fantastic BBJ display Charles Oliveira unleashed in his fight against Darren Elkins which earned him Submission of the Night (in 41 seconds nonetheless).  What made it so amazing was not just the memorizing technique but the composure Oliveira showed after getting slammed hard on his back in the opening moments of the bout (not to mention this was his first time fighting in the UFC). 

Let's break it down.  When most fighters get slammed like Oliveira did, they take a second to regain their composure and assess the situation.  It seemed like Oliveira was predicting what has going to happen as he was getting taken down and immediately set Elkins up for the finish.   As you can see from the picture above, when Elkins took Oliveira down, he initially had him in side control, but Oliveira immediately got Elkins in full guard and then got both is feet on Elkins hips to create space. More after the jump...

In an instant, Oliveira trapped Elkins right arm with this left leg which allows his to transition to the triangle perfectly.  After some readjusting to secure the triangle better, Oliveira had the submission locked and it would only be a matter of mere moments before Elkins tapped.  The submission was officially credited as an armbar, but Elkins was well on his way to tapping before Oliveira turned him over while still clamping down on the triangle.  Whether you want to say he tapped because of an armbar or triangle doesn't really matter, because at the end of the day, it was beautiful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that got Oliveira the submission victory in his UFC debut. 

While this is not a definite sign that Oliveira is going to be a smashing success in the UFC, this did prove that the young Brazilian can perform under the pressures of fighting in the UFC and also has the raw skills to potentially be a force in the stacked Lightweight division. 

All pictures are via UFC.com