Dedé Pederneiras shows the way to surprising guard passers in sport Jiu-Jitsu. Photo: Junior Samurai.

The opponent is pressuring strong and close to passing your guard in a bout of Jiu-Jitsu. What now? What to do? Relax! GRACIEMAG.com’s got you covered. André Pederneiras, widely regarded as the best Brazilian coach in world MMA, shows how to keep from getting flattened out—and even turn the tables on the passer.

TRICK TO CATCHING OPPONENT WHO TURNS ON ALL FOURS

Dedé points out that in performing maneuvers impeding the guard pass, it’s important to have the passer’s arm wrapped up. However, if the opponent is wise to this, he turns on all fours and grabs your leg, so Pederneiras teaches how to catch them by surprise and submit them right quick.

Featherweight Dustin Pourier did a splendid job representing Jiu-Jitsu at UFC 143. Photo: Josh Hedges/ UFC publicity.

The “Submission of the Night” award at UFC 143 last Saturday in Las Vegas went to Dustin Poirier. With a snug triangle, the purple belt from Louisiana hyperextended the arm of Max Holloway 3:23 minutes into their bout. His Jiu-Jitsu savvy earned him an extra 65,000 dollars, not to mention his 12th win in 13 career fights.

The triangle, a move seen on the main stage ever since Royce Gracie and the very first UFC shows, is still a highly effective finishing move both with and without the gi—two legs and two arms against the enemy neck; but there’s often a way out.

USE YOUR WEIGHT BY STACKING OR FALLING BACKWARDS

You can defend by either going forward or backwards. The thing is to never let your opponent break your posture or trap your arm once and for all.

In the following exclusive video, brown belt Alvaro Fontes of SAS team demonstrates how to defend against the triangle by throwing yourself backwards; a handy escape without the gi as well, perfect for when you’re running out of steam.

At Team Nogueira's Rio headquarters, Captain America speaks Portuguese. Publicity photo.

The wrestling coach at Team Nogueira, Eric Albarracin, better known as “Captain America,” is already considered pretty much a Brazilian. With an appreciation for Jiu-Jitsu, Portuguese that’s getting better with every day, and a teaching style all his own, always requesting applause and grunts of “Uha!”, the trainer now teaches GRACIEMAG.com readers a double-leg-takedown counter-attack that results in landing in top position with the guard passed.

Pay close attention to the moment he switches grips and how he powers his opponent off balance.

IN JIU-JITSU AND WRESTLING ALIKE, THE SHOT HAS TO BE PLACED JUST RIGHT

Mexico’s Javier Torres, a contestant on the 13th season of the UFC reality show, for which Junior Cigano was one of the coaches, helps in demonstrating the position.

Get a good takedown move from Captain America and a lesson in Portuguese, to boot. Let us know if you can get it to work for you, below.

Anderson using Jiu-Jitsu in Xingu / Photo: PortalAmazonia.com.br

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva sought a different tribe with which to train. At the invitation of Globo television network, the Jiu-Jitsu black belt and masterful Thai boxer paid a visit to the Kamayurá tribe of the Xingu river basin and tested his takedown techniques in a style known as huka-huka.

The footage was shot in the state of Mato Grosso and broadcast on last Sunday’s episode of the “Esporte Espetacular” television show, and it wasn’t long before the UFC legend’s fans were voicing their suspicions. “While Anderson is fooling around, Chael Sonnen is training!” said one of the fans, watching closely the events surrounding the champ’s title defense, almost a sure thing for the June UFC in São Paulo.

Just after falling to the tribe champion, Anderson Silva paraphrased a Sir James Dewar quote, “People’s minds are like parachutes—they only function when they are open,” Silva lectured. “They have a different way of fighting, a different type of technique. They are very strong, and I really enjoyed the experience.”

The Dewar phrase, in fact, is one of the favorites of Rickson Gracie, who along with Rolls and Carlinhos Gracie would often test themselves in sambo and other styles of hand-to-hand combat.

Our gentle readers will surely agree that testing oneself is one of the grand pillars of the martial arts, as Anderson, Rickson and Bruce Lee would preach. But what did you make of Silva’s testing himself against the native Brazilians? Was it a true test, or was it just a hoax?

Another question: if Anderson hops an airplane and takes a 30-hour flight to Thailand to train over there, would anyone see it as a waste of time?

Help us get the debate going in the comments field below.

Coach Titi in action on his way to winning the 2009 No-Gi American Nationals / Photo: GRACIEMAG.com archives..

An interesting match-up for Jiu-Jitsu fans approaches—at Bellator 61 this March 16 in Louisiana, USA.

Arm collector Givanildo Santana will take on Bruno Carioca in the promotion’s middleweight GP. The curious part is that Carioca will be receiving his ground training from a former rival—guillotine king Cristiano “Titi” Lazzarini, a Vinicius Draculino black belt and the teacher of submissions superstar Rômulo Barral. Lazzarini and Carioca faced off in MMA back in October of 2010, when Carioca prevailed. Now the two join forces in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, as Cristiano reported to GRACIEMAG.com.

Could the lessons from the guillotine king keep the arm collector at bay? Between one grueling training session and another, Lazzarini took the time to share some of the lessons that will guide them in training for their commitment at Bellator:

1. WHEN THE MMA GAME DOESN’T MATCH UP

“Giva is a Jiu-Jitsu player from way back; he’s compete a lot in the gi [during the 1990s and 2000s] and has a really good grappling game, with a real tight armbar attack. But Bruno’s a monster; he’s explosive, and the way I see it their games don’t click. That’s something that happens a lot, and that’s why I have full faith he’s going to win,” said Cristiano, who has a fight of his own coming up on March 24. After their commitments, he will help Barral prepare for the 2012 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, and may even give it a go himself.

2. GIVE IT YOUR ALL

“Our training philosophy is: always do your best every day, every training session, as you’ll never get that day back again.”

3. JIU-JITSU SPARRING IN THE GI FOR MMA

“Don’t neglect your gi. Between fights, always get back to training in the gi. If possible, keep active in competition; that will help you adjust the positions, keep up to date on techniques, and sharpen up your defenses.”

4. TRAIN LIKE A PRO

“Be professional about your career from the start, if that’s really what you want to do! There’s no room for amateurs in modern MMA,” Lazzarini said in closing.

Now what do you think, gentle reader? Who wins it at Bellator—Giva Santana or Bruno Carioca? Post your pick in the comments field below.

Eli Manning, the ace led the NY Giants to another NFL title. Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for DIRECTV.

What does Jiu-Jitsu have to do with American football? A lot more than would seem, as GRACIEMAG.com outlines below.

1. ELI MANNING’S “JIU-JITSU” COACH

Elisha Manning, the young quarterback who won his second NFL title late this Sunday evening, was throwing too many pass interceptions last season. Then Mike Sullivan—an upstart coach formerly on the Rangers who holds a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu and is big on MMA—entered the scene.

Sullivan didn’t have any experience training quarterbacks; still he took the problem head on, setting Eli Manning up with a triangle like the one he’d seen on the Gracie academy emblems. He assigned a meaning to each vertex on the triangle and encouraged the NY Giants star to seek equilibrium between the three different concepts: leadership, decision making, and precision. Manning embraced Sullivan’s new training philosophy, threw fewer incomplete passes, and ended the season breaking an historic Giants yardage record—and he won the Super Bowl, to boot!

2. HAVE FUN IN JIU-JITSU RESPONSIBLY

In conversations between Mike Sullivan and the prankster Eli Manning, coach and athlete always set aside a few minutes to talk about anything at all, except football. For every five hours talking about plays, tactics and training, the two would take the edge off through brief exchanges about Adam Sandler movies, telling jokes or being silly. To become a great champion, you don’t need to be serious the whole time—quite the contrary. Comic relief can prove to be a performance booster.

3. FALLING AND GETTING BACK UP IS PART OF LIFE

In football as in the martial arts, knowing how to fall is vital—if just because there will always be something looking to bowl you over. A true ace takes those hard knocks, seems to be down for the count, and leaps back to his feet as though nothing happened.

Or as UFC fighter Renan Barão, another of the weekend’s winners, once said: “You have to see the obstacles along the way as something small, fleeting. There will always be hardships on everyone’s path. You have to keep calm and get past them and keep heading towards your dreams.”

4. JIU-JITSU, WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, IS A TEAM SPORT

Even though it’s an individual sport, in Jiu-Jitsu the power is in the union more than it would seem. If you don’t have motivated teammates to count on, you likely won’t make it very far.

As in a football team, every Jiu-Jitsu school has someone quick, someone technical, a powerhouse with a hulking frame, and that guy who crudely uses force at every opportunity. And all of them will be key in shaping your game, as well as your progress on the mat.

Condit against Diaz / Photo: Nick Laham, UFC

In the video introducing the stars of the UFC 143 main event this Saturday just before the two took to the cage in combat, Carlos Condit said, “I’m going to win because I have a much greater repertory of moves and I’m going to use all my weapons.”

Diaz retorted, “I’d like to see him hit me while walking backwards.”

Once the five rounds were up, Nick’s battered face and the scorecards from the judges proved Condit right.

Even backpedaling, he’d managed to get his arsenal to work for him and leave its mark on his opponent. In an evenly-matched encounter, that made the difference.

On the other hand, over the 25 minutes of combat, Nick was unable to string together that combination of strikes that would prove his superiority or bring the fight to a conclusive finish.

Ineffective with his potent boxing skills, all Diaz could do was resort to his brawler persona, trying to taunt his opponent into bringing the action to him.

As thought trying to influence the public and judges, Diaz wasted a lot of time showboating: dropping his guard, crossing his arms, mad-dogging his opponent between rounds.

Diaz did manage to influence the public; now the judges…

Once it was all over, Diaz’s reaction to the proclamation of his defeat was consistent with his performance: quite inelegant. “I don’t need this s%#$! I’m done with this MMA!”

Condit, on the other hand, showed the composure of a champion: “Diaz is a great fighter … It will be an honor to face Saint-Pierre,” said the interim champion of the welterweight division in his post-fight celebration.

Now ahead of Condit, an attempt at the definitive title by taking on Georges Saint-Pierre at a date yet to be determined, once the Canadian champion has recouped from injury. And next for the UFC, the February 25 event in Japan.

Check out the complete results from UFC 143:

UFC 143
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
February 4, 2012

Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz via unanimous decision;
Fabricio Werdum defeated Roy Nelson via unanimous decision;
Josh Koscheck defeated Mike Pierce via split decision;
Renan Barão defeated Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision;
Ed Herman subbed Clifford Starks via rear-naked choke at 1:43 min of R2;
Dustin Poirier subbed Max Holloway via armbar from triangle 3:23 min of R1;
Edwin Figueroa defeated Alex Caceres via split decision;
Matt Brown defeated Chris Cope via KO at 1:19 min of R2;
Matthew Riddle defeated Henry Martinez via split decision;
Rafael Sapo defeated Michael Kuiper via unanimous decision;
Stephen Thompson defeated Dan Stittgen via KO at 4:13 min of 1R.

Nick Diaz is one of the headliner's at the UFC this Saturday in Las Vegas. Photo: UFC/Publicity.

In the wake of a lukewarm show in Chicago, expectations for UFC 143 on Saturday are high—at least, to our trainee.

“Boss, I predict an array of different finishes, a night Jiu-Jitsu fans won’t be forgetting anytime soon! There will be triangles, back attacks, and even never-before-seen subs—even picking “Submission of the Night” will be tough, you can count on it,” he said, flapping his arms like a seal.

Now what about you, who do you think will be the big standout of the night? Do you agree with the predictions below? Comment and let us know.

UFC 143
Mandala Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
February 4, 2012

Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit – Pick: Nick Diaz
Roy Nelson vs Fabricio Werdum – Pick: Fabricio Werdum
Josh Koscheck vs Mike Pierce – Pick: Josh Koscheck
Renan Barão vs Scott Jorgensen – Pick: Renan Barão
Ed Herman vs Clifford Starks – Pick: Ed Herman

Card preliminar

Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier – Pick: Dustin Poirier
Alex Caceres vs Edwin Figueroa – Pick: Edwin Figueroa
Matt Brown vs Chris Cope – Pick: Matt Brown
Matthew Riddle vs Henry Martinez – Matthew Riddle

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Rafael Natal vs Michael Kuiper – Pick: Rafael Sapo
Dan Stittgen vs Stephen Thompson – Pick: Dan Stittgen

Jiu-Jitsu and ADCC 2007 star Demian Maia had a crack at the UFC middleweight title back in 2010, even racked up five back-to-back submission wins in the promotion.

Now after his participation in the main card at UFC on Fox 2 last Saturday, the Brazilian black belt had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com in which he recognized where he went wrong. Coming up, Demian Maia addresses his tactics and points out the mistakes he has identified and the lessons he has derived since dropping a unanimous decision to the tough young Chris Weidman, another ADCC alumnus.

Demian Maia absorbs a kick from Weidman at UFC on Fox 2, in Chicago. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC.

OVERCONFIDENT STANDING

“I really put a lot of faith in my standup, since I felt quick and heavy handed, and thought I could knock him out boxing. I based my strategy on that confidence, which in fact wasn’t what I had agreed to do with my trainers,” said Demian. “I was confident and believed in it; that’s why I took that risk. That was my belief at that time,” he admitted to reporter Junior Samurai, while also remembering that Weidman is quite a piece of work on the ground himself.

Fired up to win the fight by knockout, the Jiu-Jitsu champ ended up running out of steam and unable to rally back.

“I was in great shape for this fight, really well prepared. Now I don’t know if it was the adrenaline from wanting the knockout too much; that could have sapped my energy,” Maia added.

TARGET VICTORY, NOT JUST THE KNOCKOUT

“The lesson I ended up learning was that all I should be thinking about is winning. In this fight, I went in dead set on getting the knockout and, after staggering him standing, getting him to the ground to finish him. But I think I have to start fighting with winning on my mind, fighting to always be in a dominant position, and that’s not what I did. I went in there thinking about ending the fight, and that wore me out a lot, hindered me. I should have fought thinking about winning, no matter what. Because I already knew he’d taken me down, so my goal should have been to score too, to get a takedown back on him, like I always used to do,” recalled the Fabio Gurgel black belt.

What do you think, dear reader, do you agree with him? Comment below.

Jiu-Jitsu ace Charles do Bronx sinking the fight-ending calf-crunch, to Eric Wisely's chagrin / Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

The calf crunch, a weapon of surprise in Jiu-Jitsu, finally had its moment in the sun last Saturday in Chicago, when Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira used one to swiftly bring his fight at UFC on Fox to a close.

IT’S WRAP IT UP, GRAB THE WAIST, AND WRAP UP

An expert on the position in sport Jiu-Jitsu, Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes (Soul Fighters) got his girl’s dad to help him show GRACIEMAG.com readers how it’s done, on his break between seminars in Lyon.

So, direct from France, Tanquinho and Megaton go over the details of the move Charles honed so smoothly in São Paulo. Or was it in the Bronx?

Werdum launches arm asault at last ADCC, against Jeff Monson in England. Photo: GRACIEMAG.com.

Two-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion Fabricio Werdum will be making his UFC return this Saturday in Las Vegas against the hard-to-handle Roy Nelson. “Vai Cavalo” has been training at full steam to put on a show of his own against his formerly chubby opponent at UFC 143 this Superbowl weekend,, as you can see in the following video.

SET OBJECTIVES, FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS IN JIU-JITSU

Besides getting a glimpse of part of Fabricio Werdum’s training, readers get to learn some fine lessons the heavyweight has derived over the course of his career. Check it out, and let Werdum get you motivated for training today.

Gilbert Durinho celebrates MMA win with Belfort family in the cage. Publicity photo.

Gilberto “Durinho” Burns made his professional MMA debut last Saturday at Crown Fighting Championship 5, in Saint George, Utah, USA. The current Jiu-Jitsu world champion of the lightweight division put his slick submission skills to work and tapped out the dangerous José Salgado with a first-round rear-naked choke.

JIU-JITSU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP-WINNING TECHNIQUE

The black belt from Rio de Janeiro State won his amateur MMA debut last July. On the occasion he celebrated victory with a post on Twitter: “I did well, thank God. I kept cool. The guy was really good at wrestling, but I took his back and subbed him. It was awesome!”

Two MMA fighters in the UFC octagon / Photo: UFC publicity

First off, respect. Plenty of it.

Luis Fernando Verissimo, 75, is the Anderson Silva of Brazilian chroniclers, a role he has performed since 1969. His writing starts out thin like Anderson’s voice, and invariably ends with a resounding knee—a move one of his characters, the Analyst of Bagé, once used.

In his column from the day before yesterday, published in every major newspaper in Brazil, Verissimo was again in fine form. The target, however, was MMA.

A point of view is like a belly button, everybody has one. But Verissimo’s description of two fighters on the octagon floor is amusing; “like a creature with two torsos and eight legs suffering convulsions,” are the words he used.

The best-selling writer is no layman when it comes to martial arts, in absolute terms. He told us one time that he would watch MMA fights late night during the days of Pride FC out of curiosity, like everyone did. He wrote about Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali on a number of occasions, and on one of them he tried buying tickets, unsuccessfully, to witness the boxing legend’s farewell bout, back in 1980.

“Perhaps it was for the best. Ali’s final fight was a melancholic affair. He could have avoided it. But he believed in his own magic and thought he could pull it off,” Verissimo wrote on the occasion, adding, “But the man will live on in the history of the United States, not just in that of the sport. He was an active participant in a number of revolutions, like the one that gave African Americans new perspectives, as well as the one that ended American involvement in Vietnam. He was always a fascinating mixture of jester and superman.”

Brazilian writer Luis Fernando Verissimo: pure blood and violence in the UFC / Publicity photo

Anyone puzzled by the success fist-fighting has seen on TV perhaps isn’t aware of how the first sporting event ever filmed, in human history, was a fight. Another point for boxing. Nearly a century thereafter, though, MMA on TV is still getting battered and bruised.

The fact is that a lot of good folk like MMA. And a lot of good folk detest it. A lot of them still don’t quite get what’s going on when the fight hits the ground. Nothing out of the ordinary, it’s just a new sport, one consolidated in 1993. And yes, it is brutal. But describing MMA as “just violence in its purest form,” as Verissimo did, seems to be a bit overboard. That’s kind of like watching a skier jump a ramp on TV during the Winter Games and saying, “That’s just a lunatic launching himself into the abyss.” There’s technique, there’s training, there’s a healthy dose of courage, and there’s even a bit of lunacy. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Often, someone who doesn’t practice martial arts doesn’t comprehend that sporting a gi, shadowboxing or trying to take an opponent down, whether through brute force or intelligence, is as edifying and invigorating a pleasure as taking a walk on the beach, swimming in the ocean or chasing after a ball.

Be it what it may, there is a superb lesson and perhaps even a certain contribution to the sport at one point in Verissimo’s musing:

“ … [MMA] is pro-wrestling stripped of its costume, with real blood. There’s no good guy or bad guy, just two fighting machines fighting.”

That said, could there be a lot of good people thumbing their noses at MMA because they see the athletes as being merely machines? For not knowing their backgrounds, what they’re thinking, and what they’re trying to prove with that victory?

Of the Jiu-Jitsu black belts in MMA, Forrest Griffin once worked as a policeman. Minotauro, having been run over by a truck in his youth, is walking inspiration for those who are going through hard times. Wanderlei, who helped his father work the bar, has a lot to teach us. Renzo, one of the pioneers, reads James Joyce between bouts. Toquinho’s training was taking down cattle, and he slept under an overpass before starting at BTT. Demian, who’s fight today in the UFC will air on Fox network in the USA, nearly became a journalist, and he may well have even dreamed of being someone like Verissimo.

As you can see, the sport has its own “supermen,” besides its pranksters, and all of them are fascinating. Maybe that’s what’s missing from the UFC, especially on the big screens during the show. Maybe they’re not showcasing enough, or are too brisk in showing, the human side of the artists in the spectacle, for the accidental spectator to see. Who’s the villain in that fight? Who’s the guy going to root for? That was something that Pride FC did masterfully.

In the end, more drama and less blood wouldn’t do anyone a bit of harm, nor perhaps getting rid of elbows on the ground.

The one saying so isn’t even us, it’s the expert Verissimo, that fan of Ali, Tyson, and one day maybe even of the stars of the UFC.

Verissimo with a copy of GRACIEMAG in hand: the master was always clued in to fighting. Photo: Raphael Nogueira.

Roger Gracie at the 2012 European Open / Photo: Raphael Nogueira

“I’m changing my game,” said Roger Gracie this Friday behind the scenes at the 2012 European Championship, the welcoming Jiu-Jitsu tournament going on in Lisbon, Portugal, until Sunday.

“For my whole career as a black belt I got used to starting out slow and calm in my matches. I never felt the need to go all out against my opponents during the first two minutes, since a match lasts ten. I always started out slow and brought up the rhythm progressively, hitting max intensity towards the end. However, ever since losing in MMA [to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by knockout at Strikeforce in September 2011] it dawned on me; if I don’t change my way of fighting, I’ll lose again,” said the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-London, England transplant.

The Gracie gave hints that he won’t be able to be an “explosive MMA fighter” so long as he remains a, shall we say, “excessively calm” Jiu-Jitsu competitor. The essence [Jiu-Jitsu] is what dictates the rules for all the other facets of Roger Gracie, even when he steps into the ring sporting gloves and trunks.

IN THE NAME OF THE SON AND JIU-JITSU

The Gracie gets emotional (teary eyed) as he remembers the moment he first caught sight of his son after his fight with “King Mo”. “I don’t want to ever feel like that again; my son is the most important thing to me, and I want to be the best example possible for him; so I can’t let myself go home defeated,” said Roger.

Roger talks Jiu-Jitsu with event promoters Kiko and André Fernandes. Photo: Raphael Nogueira.

“So I’m focused on my MMA career now. I believe that, in the gi, this year I’ll only compete at the Worlds. That’s why I didn’t sign up for the European. I’d really like to compete at a high-level championship but my priority right now is MMA training. That was the big career lesson I learned from losing: I have to be more determined, enter the fight at a more intense pace. In Jiu-Jitsu, I often get taken down early on, but I have around eight minutes to recover, which is plenty of time. In MMA, one punch or a knee can end the fight instantly; there’s no time to recover from a knockout.”

Through the bustle of attending to the fans, students and friends surrounding him, Roger took the reporter’s question pertaining to the absolute black belt title in Lisbon: In the end, who’s going to be the big winner of the 2012 European Championship.

“Well, Rodolfo Vieira is the favorite, there’s no denying it. He’s been coming up with great results. But everyone has a chance. I got to see Lagarto training up close, for instance, and he’s in excellent form. But if what you’re asking is that I point out the favorite, there’s no denying it’s Rodolfo.”

Chael Sonnen, between Demian Maia (left) and Rashad Evans, plays with the replica UFC belt he took to yesterday's press conference. UFC publicity phto.

It’s been tense going to press for the greatest Jiu-Jitsu magazine on the planet. The GRACIEMAG editor-in-chief asks the trainee to help out in revising Training Program of the month, with guard techniques taught by Bruno Frazatto, while the team got to wrapping up the cover—which is a sight to behold, by the way.

“I can’t right now,” says the newbie, wagging a finger. “This here is serious. I’m concentrating to figure out who’s going to take it—Demian or Weidman.” And he starts rubbing his forehead, his eyes shut tight. His baseball cap gets slapped off his head and goes whizzing through the air right away. Not enough to distract him from such an important mission.

Ten seconds later, he bustles up, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, to hand in his complete list of picks, scrawled on a Bibi Sucos snack bar napkin.

The alternative was to rip it up and watch him cry, or publish it and watch him cry… from joy. No one is so heartless on a Friday. So here go The Trainee’s Picks for UFC on Fox. Check them out if you have the courage, and send us in your own predictions, dear reader.

UFC ON FOX 2: EVANS VS. DAVIS
UNITED CENTER, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
JANUARY 28, 2012

Chris Camozzi vs Dustin Jacoby – Prediction: Chris Camozzi

Under card (Fuel TV)

Joey Beltran vs Lavar Johnson – Prediction: Lavar Johnson
Michael Johnson vs Shane Roller – Prediction: Shane Roller
Charles Oliveira vs Eric Wisely – Prediction: Charles do Bronx
Cub Swanson vs George Roop – Prediction: George Roop
Mike Russow vs Jon Olav Einemo – Jon Olav Einemo
Evan Dunham vs Nik Lentz – Prediction: Evan Dunham

Main card (TV Fox)

Demian Maia vs Chris Weidman – Prediction: Demian Maia
Chael Sonnen vs Michael Bisping – Prediction: Chael Sonnen
Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis – Prediction: Rashad Evans

Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares celebrates yet another submission win at ADCC 2011. Photo: Dan Rod.

The only thing harder to do than figure out what’s going on in Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares Rousimar Palhares, o Toquinho’s head is escaping one of his submission holds.

What’s so special about the way the BTT star does leglocks? Why is he so devastating in the UFC middleweight division?

The theories answering that are far-reaching and varied, and they’re pretty much all valid.

1. REPETITIONS

Ever since he first started training Jiu-Jitsu in Minas Gerais, under Iran Brasileiro, the rookie Toquinho had faith in the position , and he does repetitions of them to exhaustion to this day, now in the UFC. The fact that heelhooks are very conducive to injury means most folks forgo using them too often in training. Toquinho didn’t want to hear it, though, and he set about polishing up the technique, even if his matmates had to suffer some as a result…

2. MORE THAN MERELY THE RIGHT SQUEEZE, ROUSIMAR’S GOT POWER

Even in training, the desire and pressure with which Toquinho applies holds rarely allow his prey to escape. They either tap or lose a limb. “Even when he does it real slow, during training, it comes on really strong. If just because of his natural explosiveness,” remarks Miltinho Vieira, a training partner of Toquinho’s who recently got the call-up for the UFC featherweight division, now dominated by José Aldo. “The one who polished up Toquinho’s footlocks with him was the late Eraldo Paes, who was a specialist on the holds; he came from a luta livre background and was always using foot attacks,” Vieira adds. The man who beat Palhares in the final at ADCC 2011, in Nottingham, England,  André Galvão concurs: “That creature is real strong; that’s the thing that sets him apart the most, as I see it.”

3. ANATOMICALLY PERFECT JIU-JITSU MACHINE

At ADCC 2011 everyone was noticing: “Look at Toquinho’s torso; it’s shaped like a T! How would anyone be able to get their foot out once he fits it under his arm?” Indeed, the former cowboy’s powerful arms and even more powerful legs are a major boon in trapping an enemy leg. Fit in just right, his skill with the torque technique does the rest.

4. TRAP THE LEG, NOT THE FOOT!

As we mentioned above, most fighters are overly concerned about their foot being caught and don’t pay enough heed to the hold on their leg. “In MMA, as you get all sweaty, the hold ends up getting loose. Toquinho does a good job of adjusting the leg positions, and he sinks it in such a way that keeps the guy from spinning away,” says observant black belt Francisco “Sá”, a frontrunner in the Jiu-Jitsu scene in the Brazilian state of Ceará, in a conversation with our Junior Samurai.

5. DESPERATE OPPONENTS

Wracked with fear of Rousimar’s Jiu-Jitsu, his opponents try fleeing, to not stay stuck to him, as Rener and Ryron Gracie demonstrate below, 3:50 minutes into the video.