The world’s strongest male featherweight BJJ fighter of 2019, Matheus Gabriel won last Sunday a gripping final against Marcio André. The black-belt from Checkmat, a student under Keiser Girão (who studied under Rigan Machado), had already taught some of his tricks to Graciemag readers.
For instance, how do you react when you pull guard at the same time as your opponent? To Matheus Gabriel, a champion also at the 2019 IBJJF Pan, one viable, effective option is to finish right away.
In this swift technique, he focuses on the correct grip to maximize the pressure. Then a quick hip projection put him in a position where all he has to do is adjust the triangle.
Starting 17 seconds into the following video, his instructions go like this: “Sometimes the person is trying to fight for the berimbolo. I’m gonna hold on the collar and the elbow. I don’t like holding on the sleeve so much, because there isn’t much pressure. And my left foot goes to the hip. Why is it on the hip? So I can come up with my hip to be able to catch him in the triangle. Like this [0:40]. I’ve locked the triangle in place, put his arm to the side. Foot on the hip, and squeeze the triangle.”