Last night Nate Diaz put his newly earned black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to good use by submitting Jim Miller with a really slick Power Guillotine when Miller shot in for a takedown. It was the first time Miller had been stopped in his professional career. Diaz looked the far superior grappler of the two.
He almost got the tap out using a one armed guillotine but Miller started to slip out so he transitioned into the regular variation. You know I’m a big fan of the Guillotine Choke here, I even dedicated a huge post to detail how to pull off all the different guillotine variations.
I understand why some people hate the Diaz brothers because of their attitudes but they both always turn up to fight.
Just try to watch the sequence below and not be impressed by the BJJ od Nate Diaz it’s absolutely impossible!
Watch The Gracie Brothers breakdown Diaz’s slick guillotine as well as Alan Belcher’s submission defence against feared leg taker Rousimar Palhares. Like they say the choke was so deep it was more like a rear naked choke from the front than an actual guillotine.
I feel that Nate is the more well rounded member of the Diaz brothers. His takedown defence is a lot better than his older brothers plus his Judo seems a lot crisper as well.
The Nate Diaz Story
I really like this video, it’s a good look into when Nate began doing BJJ & MMA and how it came about. It chronicles him going from young intimidated kid to TUF winner. It also shows just how much he looks up to his older brother Nick. I think after the win now is the time that Nate will step out of his brothers shadow and prove he is more than just ‘Nick’s younger brother’.
Quick Note
It was great to see Jim Miller coming out to Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It’s refreshing to see a fighter walkout to something other than Hip-Hop or shitty Nu-Metal.
If you’ve trained MMA or BJJ for more than a month you probably already know how to put on a basic armbar. But Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and grappling coach for multiple UFC fighters Robert Drysdale demonstrates to Karyn Bryant how to get the armbar from side control with a higher success rate by performing a few small tweaks to how you set it up.
There is a very interesting interview with Robert from 43 seconds onwards before the technique at 06:12 (after a hilarious yet bizarre cameo from Bas Rutten).
Armbar Technique
Robert Drysdale
Little teaks and techniques can make all the difference. You attempt an armbar and your opponent defends it. Then deepen your top hand and go elbow deep and grab your leg with that hand. Cross your feet – now most instructors will tell you not to do this but I have found myself that I finish guys with a higher rate of success when I cross my legs than when I don’t. Always cross the leg that is on the bottom, make an effort to keep his head down using your bottom foot, it will make it harder for your opponent to get up.
If you feel your opponent trying to get up wrap the leg to stop him from stacking you. Always assume the opponent is stronger than yourself (just like what Helio Gracie always said). Relax and play stupid so your opponent will relax and stop defending, when you feel than hit his arm with an open palm slap so his hand slips off his bicep.
Lastly a really cool tweak that I’ve never heard before is is when you sit back pull the arm towards you instead as well as pulling it down, when you fall back try to put the arm behind your head. Doing this will add pressure to the bicep and the shoulder, this will make it a lot harder for him or her to escape. This is a much tighter armbar and if the opponent tries to pull their arm out it will put the submission on more.
Robert Drysdale Vs Clay Davidson
I always like to try and find some footage of the person demonstrating the technique actually putting it into practice. Robert is one of the only one’s I’ve been able to successfully do this for. In 2010 Drysdale faced Clay Davidson, a King of the Cage veteran who entered the contest riding a six-fight win streak. Drysdale won via armbar in the first round using almost the exact technique he demonstrates in this video.
What did you think of the technique? Do you have a variation that works just as well? I’d love to hear what you have to say, even if it is a criticism (a constructive one). Please leave me a comment and let me hear your opinion.
Paul Sass did not earn his nickname “The Sassangle” by knocking guys unconscious with head kicks. The man knows what he is good at and it’s BJJ. His submission game is good, very good. More accurately it is his triangle choke. 8 of his 12 career victories have by way triangle and the other 3 have come from heel hooks. The man knows how to tap a guy out.
Watch the video below to see Sass take a page out of Anthony Pettis‘s book and throw on a ‘Showtime Triangle’ by jumping off the fence. Talk about adding some flair to a move. If he ever does this in a real MMA fight he will automatically be awarded submission of the decade.
Greg Jackson is the head trainer of Jackson’s Submission Fighting and MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Greg is also the MMA coach of fighters such as Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Carlos Condit & Shane Carwin. I’ve already commented how dominant Jones looks in a previous post and Jackson is a big part of that. Jackson founded his own martial art, Gaidojutsu in 1992, which combines the rudimentary techniques from Olympic wrestling and kick boxing with judo submission locks. He then further developed the martial art by adding techniques from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Grappling and Mauy Thai.
In the below video he demonstrates an effective version of the arm bar from guard with the help of lightweight MMA fighter Aaron Riley.
The method Greg demonstrates involves isolating your opponents arm by pummelling an arm through your opponents armpit to establish the underhook. The next part involves clasping your hands together, to begin the isolation process. Next slide your hips out slightly then slide your hands down to just above the elbow. Rotate your hips 90 degrees and throw your leg over his or her head to get the submission. This method is really effective due to it being extremely difficult for your opponent to pull out his / her arm once you’ve locked it down. It’s a lot more difficult for you opponent to anticipate what you are about to do because it’s just as plausible that you are setting up a sweep by under hooking an arm.
I hope you find this variation on a classic move useful and tap out some of your teamates with it. Be sure to leave me a comment or send me an email to let me know if you do.
BJ Penn demonstrates a really cool alternative to use when you attempt an armbar from guard and the opponent puts his weight down on you to stop you from finishing the submission attempt, and instead turn it into a sweep to full mount by using the leg nearest your opponents head like a pendulum.
Multiple time BJJ and Submission Grappling world champion Marcelo Garcia shows Stephan Kesting how to do the North South Choke correctly so you can easily finish an opponent. I’ve been doing BJJ and MMA for about 18 months now and I’ve never actually attempted one of these moves even though I end up in a [...]
ADCC champion and MMA fighter Robert Drysdale shows how to put on a Front Anaconda Choke. This is a really good submission to catch guys that are more experienced than you out with. It’s really easy to put on. You can also get it from standing by pulling your opponents head down while simultaneously dropping [...]
Demian Maia, World’s BJJ and ADCC Champion and up-and-coming UFC contender demonstrates a technique to enable you escape side control. I’ve tried this myself and it works really well against guys who are bigger & heavier than you.
BJ Penn shows how to defend an Armbar. I watched this video when I first start doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and it has saved me from getting tapped out so many times. I suggest if you are new to BJJ or MMA that you memorise how to do the two defence manoeuvres he demonstrates here, because [...]
BJ Penn teaches you how to the the basic Guillotine when you have your opponent in your Closed Guard. I keep trying this myself but unless you catch your opponent quickly and off guard they will have put their chin down to defend the choke by the time you have reached around behind their head. [...]
