Let’s all sit back and watch UFC heavyweight standout “Big Nog” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira instruct on how to transition from half guard to finishing with an arm triangle. Awesome.

Amaury Bitetti at seminar in Recife / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

The first (two-time) absolute champion of the world, Amaury Bitetti is on a tour teaching seminars all across Brazil. Last weekend was the City of Recife’s turn. On November 3 and 4 he’ll be in Fortaleza, Ceará State.

As a prelude to what he’s offering, Amaury demonstrates a guard pass with a bear-hug to bolster GRACIEMAG.com readers’ No-Gi games, whether for Jiu-Jitsu or MMA.

The position can ultimately wrap up with an arm-triangle. The trick is to squeeze with a hand-in-hand grip at rib height to overcome the opponent’s guard, and next to capitalize on the arm being in an uncomfortable position and squeeze out the arm-and-neck choke.

To find out where to catch up with Bitetti in Fortaleza, call (85) 8675 6799 or send an email to assessorial@bitetticombat.com.br.

Ricardo Tirloni / Bellator publicity photo

Looking to make it through to the next stage of the Lightweight GP, Ricardo Tirloni, a training partner of Thiago Tavare, set a trap for black belt Renê Nazaré. In the second round, after wobbling Renê with a hook, Tirloni finished off his opponent with an arm triangle. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1SSrIZiNeA

In the other GP bouts, former UFC fighter Rich Clementi outpointed Alexander Sarnavskiy via split decision, while muay Thai world champion Cosmo Alexandre outpounded Mike Bannon, forcing the doctor to intervene and call a stoppage in between the second and third rounds.

Check out the complete results:

BELLATOR
READING THEATER, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
OCTOBER 19, 2012

Rich Clementi defeated Alexander Sarnavskiy via split decision;
Dave Jansen tapped out Magomed Saadulaev via guillotine in R3;
Marcin Held defeated Murad Machaev via unanimous decision;
Ricardo Tirloni tapped out Renê Nazaré via arm triangle in R2;
Brett Martinez tapped out Eric Albright via guillotine in R2;
Cosmo Alexandre defeated Mike Bannon via doctor’s intervention following R2;
Duane Bastress defeated Lewis Rumsey via split decision;
Lew Polley defeated Carmelo Marrero via unanimous decision;
Darrel Horcher defeated Emanuel Brooks via KO in R1.

Tiago Coelho tries sweeping Tanquinho from half-guard. Photo by Gustavo Aragão.

The half-guard is a weapon oft-used in competition Jiu-Jitsu these days, and it can come in handy for lighter fighters wishing to flip sides with heavier and stronger fighters perched atop them.

In today’s video, GRACIEMAG.com features a position by Professor Eduardo Castro showing how to sweep from half-guard and smoothly finish with the arm-triangle.

“When the opponent raises his right knee to start passing, you should begin the sweep. Put the foot that is under the right knee on his left thigh. Use the hook of your left foot as though going for a de la Riva guard sweep and push his left leg with your right leg,” Eduardo explains.

“The opponent will want to get up to not be swept, and it’s at this moment that you switch hooks. The opponent will generally try and go for the arm. Grab his arm, put his elbow on the ground and remove your head. Grab behind his neck to trap him, kick his leg back and turn the body, sinking the hold,” he teaches.

Braulio subs Chris Holland in grand style at Titan FC. Publicity photo.

On his first outing as a professional MMA fighter, Jiu-Jitsu ace Bráulio “Carcará” Estima had his work cut out for him, at Titan FC 24 in Kansas City yesterday.

The Jiu-Jitsu professor at Gracie Barra Birmingham, England, started out in the welterweight tilt taking a major right to the jawline.

The blow switched Bráulio to all systems go, as he closed the distance and took the game Chris Holland to the ground, where he set about using what he’s been studying for the last 20 years.

Just 3:21 minutes into the bout, Carcará sunk an arm-and-neck choke so snug that Holland didn’t have enough time to tap and passed out cold.

Bring on the next challenge.

Titan FC 24
Kansas City, Kansas, USA
August 24, 2012

Anthony Johnson defeated Esteves Jones via TKO at 0.53 min of R1;

Braulio Estima subbed Chris Holland via arm-and-neck choke at 3:23 min of R1;

Brian Davidson defeated John Devall via TKO at 3:32 min of R1;

Cody Gibson defeated Andrew Whitney via unanimous judges’ decision;

Matthew Foster defeated Matt Uhde via unanimous judges’ decision;

Adam Stickley subbed Jose Vega via choke at 3:23 min of R1.

Chad Mendes, the rookie Lance Palmer and Urijah Faber / Personal archive photo

The owner of considerable Jiu-Jitsu skills, Lance Palmer is part of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male. The fighter is undefeated in three MMA fights, and on the coming 30th of June “The Party,” as he is known, will take on Nick Macias under the banner of U.S. promotion RFA 3.

In the following video, you will get a glimpse of everything that went on before, during and after his encounter with Jordan Chandler at Showdown Fights last February. Big props for the snug arm-triangle applied by “California Kid’s” buddy. Has he got a future, or what?

Jonatas Novaes, a Rodrigo Comprido black belt, takes on Drew Fickett on the coming 16th. Publicity photo

With a number of IBJJF titles on his CV, Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jonatas Novaes has an MMA fight scheduled for the June 16 SF Shofight 20 event. The fight will be held in Springfield, Missouri, and the Rodrigo Comprido student will take on speedy former UFC fighter Drew Fickett.

“He’s got a lot of experience. I know it’ll be tough, but I have faith in God, I’m leaving there with the win,” said the Brazilian who now counts nine wins on his MMA record. Now his American opponent is 59-fights old, and has won 42 of them.

In the final days of his preparations for the bout, Jonatas sent a message exclusively to GRACIEMAG.com readers with a useful position for MMA and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu. In the video he teaches you to defend from half-guard and finish or sweep. Do you have as much faith in your half-guard for MMA as Jonatas does? Watch the video and comment with our other Jiu-Jitsu-lover readers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plsr4ZlOFQc

Besides Novaes, the event will also feature a number of ex-UFC aces, like Marcus Aurélio and Kendall Grove, who will be taking on Lyle Beebohm and Terry Martin, respectively. Now stalwart judo stylist Karo Parisyan takes on John Gunderson in the evening’s main event.

SF Shofight 20
Springfield, Missouri, EUA
June 16, 2012

John Gunderson vs Karo Parisyan
Kendall Grove vs Terry Martin
Drew Fickett vs Jonatas Novaes
Chris McDaniel vs Charles Bennett
Aaron Rosa vs Mike Wessel
Allen Gibson vs Dustin Phillips
Roli Delgado vs Chris Gruetzemacher
Lucas Overcast vs Matt Lucas
Karen Darabedyan vs Josh McDonald
Marcus Aurelius vs Lyle Beerbohm
Sam Alvey vs Shonie Carter
Jacob Ritchie vs Robert Sabaruddin
Chris Barnes vs Jesse Zeugin
Jason Ignacek vs Ara Meridian

Flyweight Michael William demonstrating a variation of the arm-triangle in Fortaleza / Photo: Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

If one quality Jiu-Jitsu provides its adept is not giving up, it sure fits Jiu-Jitsu black belt Michael William.

William, an MMA fighter, got his start in Jiu-Jitsu thanks to a social project in Santa Terezinha, a community on the outskirts of Recife, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Shaped by the hands of Marcos Vinicius and Daigo Rodrigues, he learned his first moves while practicing on a mat made of Styrofoam covered in canvas.

“I didn’t even have a gi top. Nowadays, I feel my No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu skills come from that. I went two years only practicing submission grappling, without the means to buy a gi,” recalled Michael, who would later move to Fortaleza, where his opportunities to shine in MMA cropped up.

“I challenged Jussier Formiga for the Shooto Brazil title twice but came up short. But I won’t give up; I know my big break is coming,” he added confidently.

In the video below, Michael William demonstrates a variation on the arm triangle exclusively for GRACIEMAG.com readers. A tactful teacher, the diminutive fighter explains how you force the opponent to flip. And once in side-control, Michael capitalizes on a fatal mistake from the opponent, drops his arm and grabs the elbow for the finish.

Chang Sun Jung choking out Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel 3 / UFC publicity photo

The owner of a, shall we say, “José Aldo” style of fighting, South Korean bruiser Chang Sun Jung has been climbing the UFC featherweight ranks with ferocity and flair. “The Korean Zombie” is blessed with mark-finding fists, high kicks and rare Jiu-Jitsu skills, and for that reason he’s seen as the biggest threat to Aldo’s throne. But before the inevitable showdown can take place, the champion, José Aldo, has to get past Eric Koch on July 21.

Watch and decide for yourself whether or not Zombie is skilled at the art of terrorizing an opponent high and low like José Aldo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkff3VRSjmg

But it’s not just Aldo and team Nova União who’s got their eyes on the ace. Faithful fans of good Jiu-Jitsu Ryron and Rener Gracie put the South Korean’s game under the microscope, in particular his intricate finish over Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel 3 last May 15.

The move Jung used is an effective variation on the arm-triangle often referred to in Jiu-Jitsu as the brabo or D’Arce choke, dubbed as such because of the exhibitions of Joe D’Arce, who used the hold proficiently in the USA. Learn some more details about the hold below, and use them to further bolster your Jiu-Jitsu.

Chang Sun Jung and his arm-triangle: submission and fight of the night bonuses / UFC publicity photo

As GRACIEMAG.com predicted, the South Korean Chang Sun Jung proved the power of his Jiu-Jitsu last night in Fairfax, Virginia, during the main event at UFC on Fuel 3.

The “Korean Zombie” didn’t just do that, he also put on a standup clinic against Dustin Poirier in the octagon. In the second round, Chang slapped on armbars, omoplatas, triangles—all duly defended by his American opponent. But the merit in Jiu-Jitsu comes from being patient and undermining the opponent with double attacks, and the Korean ultimately came up with the finish in the fourth round.

Following a flurry of solid strikes and a big flying knee, the contender for José Aldo’s belt finished up in grand style, sinking a suffocatingly snug arm-triangle.

THE BELLY’S ROLE IN THE MOVE

“He did everything just right. He sunk the triangle and thrust his belly over the opponent’s head,” noted professor of Jiu-Jitsu Elinor Batista, the leader of Garra Fight team. “The American didn’t tap in time and ended up passing out. There really was a lot of pressure behind it.”

The fight and the finish netted “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” honors for the stalwart Korean. Now “Knockout of the Night” went to Tom Lawlor, who took just 50 seconds in downing the veteran Jason MacDonald.

Check out the video below to see how to sink the arm-triangle in the gi. Pay attention to how getting a tight hold and the direction the body is placed over the opponent’s head are key in getting the move to work right.

UFC on Fuel 3
Patriot Center, Virginia
May 15, 2012

Chang Sun Jung subbed Dustin Poirier via arm-triangle in R4;
Amir Sadollah defeated Jorge Lopez via split decision;
Donald Cerrone defeated Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision;
Yves Jabouin defeated Jeff Hougland via unanimous decision;
Igor Prokrajac defeated Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision;
Tom Lawlor defeated Jason MacDonald via KO in R1;
Brad Tavares defeated Dongi Yang via unanimous decision;
Cody Mackenzie defeated Marcus Levesseur via guillotine in R1;
TJ Grant defeated Carlo Prater via unanimous decision;
Rafael dos Anjos subbed Kamal Shalorous via rear-naked choke in R1;
Johnny Eduardo defeated Jeff Curran via unanimous decision;
Francisco Ribera defeated Alex Soto via unanimous decision.

Check out the complete results:

UFC on Fox
Anaheim, California, USA
Saturday, November 12, 2011

Junior Cigano defeated Cain Velasquez via TKO at 104 min of R1;
Ben Henderson defeated Clay Guida via unanimous decision;
Dustin Poirier subbed Pablo Garza via arm-triangle at 1:32 min of R2;
Ricardo Lamas subbed Cub Swanson via arm-and-neck choke at 2:43 min of R2;
DaMarques Johnson defeated Clay Harvison via KO at 1:43 min of R2;
Darren Uyenoyama defeated Kid Yamamoto via unanimous decision;
Robert Peralta defeated Makens Semerzier via TKO at 1:53 min of R3;
Alex Caceres defeated Cole Escovedo via unanimous decision;
Mike Pierce defeated Paul Bradley via split decision;
Aaron Rosa defeated Matt Lucas via split decision.

Samuray in action at Shooto Brazil / Photo: Carlos Ozório

Coming up this coming August 5, Shooto Brazil 23 will take place in Brasília, and two-time UFC fighter Antonio Samuray will be vying for the promotional under-100kg title against Glover Teixeira.

Our collaborator Junior Samurai caught up with the fighter and checked out how the training that won him his last two fights and catapulted him to a title shot.

In the city of Fortaleza, where he trains at Dragon Fight/Nova União, the striker worked hard alongside aces like Carlos Índio, Maicon William, Maurilio Touro, Mario Pimba, André Galo and others. The Ceará state native took the time to teach GRACIEMAG.com readers the arm triangle in the video below: