A strong grappler, Brayan Rafiq's shown he's much more comfortable fighting on the ground and he'll make a concerted effort to try and get the fight to the mat when he can. Although he doesn't possess elite wrestling skills, Rafiq does possess a quick shot, nice double legs and slams and good takedowns overall. At time he has had difficulty getting fighters to the ground (he was continually stuffed and had lots of trouble trying to take Machida to the mat), but overall his wrestling abilities do look promising. Rafiq is effective fighting off his back where he displays good sweeps (especially half guard sweeps) although he does have a tendency to get hit and will need to improve his strike defense on the ground. From top position he's shown nice guard passing abilities and will mix in some good ground and pound consisting of strong punches and hammer fists. A slick grappler, Rafiq quickly transitions between positions and is great at taking his opponents' backs. Rafiq is well versed in submission and will capitalize on any openings he sees, and he has a particularly strong guillotine choke that he catches opponents in when they scramble and try to get back to their feet. Overall, while there are areas of his game that require work and he might not exhibit elite level grappling potential, Rafiq has a calm, cool and collected ground game that appears to be developing quite nicely.

Rafiq is still green on his feet and was thoroughly outclassed in the striking department by Shinzo Machida, while also getting picked apart by Daniel Tabera. He's looked out of his element standing - especially in earlier fights, although he has shown improvement as his career's progressed. Rafiq's footwork, hand speed, technical skills and overall confidence in his striking has looked much better in later bouts. Visibly he's looked much more comfortable about letting his hands go, he's worked his jab better and displayed a nice left hook and overhand right, and he'll need to continue making strides in the striking department going forward.