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Metamoris II Organizer Ralek Gracie Talks Match Making, Judges, Rule Sets and Rorion's Old Man Jitsu

2013-05-20T13:00:09Z

T.P. Grant had a brief talk with Ralek Gracie, organizer of the Meamoris jiu jitsu promotion. A member of the Gracie family and son of UFC founder Rorion Gracie. Ralek competed in MMA from 2007 through 2010 in Japan, retiring with a 3-0 record, his final fight being a win over Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba.

Ralek is now the driving force behind Metamoris, a BJJ promotion that features submission only matches. Their first event was held last fall and they are now set to hold their second event on June 9th, featuring a stacked card. Headlined by a sure to be exciting match between Kron Gracie and MMA submission ace Shinya Aoki, two very aggressive grapplers. Right under them is a match between two of the sport's top stars in Andre Galvao and Rafael Lovato Jr. Click here for event info and full fight card.

So here with out further ado here is the interview with Ralek Gracie:

T.P.: What is getting someone for an event like this like? The first time, did you really have to look for people, or did they come to you?

Gracie: I had to go out get people on board. And nobody really got it, no one really got the scale of what it would be like. I think now it's different talking to people the see the kind of press were getting and the media we're building around it. So it's cool.

T.P.: What was getting Brendan Schaub on board like? Did he volunteer for it or did you guys approach him?

Gracie: He volunteered man, he really wanted to test himself in the jiu-jitsu arena. And he wanted to do the world championships, the IBJJF worlds. I and said "Man you are going to go do the IBJJF which is a 10 minute match and you are going to have 3 matches or 4 matches in a day, and you're going to have to go in there and be very wary of the point system because there is going to be a guy who is going to pull you in his guard and sweep you one time and essentially beat you by points and you are just going to be sitting there with your hands opened wondering like where is the fight?' I know he's a fighter and I know for us he might get in an environment ---- he might just go in the and go for a submission --- and do his best and he gets to go in there and fight, and it's pretty much a fight without punches. So for him I think it makes more sense, getting treated right and being in an environment where he's really getting built and it's helping him---- so I think it's cool, I think it's awesome.

T.P.: So you feel that submission only tournaments are the best competitive reflection of jiu-jitsu? The best rule set that reflects what jiu-jitsu is to you.

Gracie: Yeah man, what I think is the more rules, the more you change the way people train. It's the same difference between jiu-jitsu and MMA. The MMA rules you train for MMA, if you train for a jiu-jitsu match you get, you know, beat up in an MMA match. If you train for a very specific point system in jiu-jitsu your training is going to be geared towards that system and it is going to change the way that you effectively approach maybe even the idea of a submission. And that‘s what we want to avoid, we want to create something were you're really going for submissions, and that's the main objective for them and there is no other main incentive for them other than to submit somebody. And I think that it's in the submission matches that we see the most dynamic jiu-jitsu from athletes across the board.

T.P.: I know Rickson kinda played around with creating his own promotion once with a point system. Do you ever think there is going to be a point system that could give us what you think a submission only match would give us?

Gracie: I'm working on it man. What we have now is three judges who are going to make the decision, and we want these three judges to basically make the decision on their experience as masters of the art and essentially curating it, like art. Saying ‘Ok, this person won' and they'll give a whole list of reasons, and we'll film them after the event and release that to the public. So that it's an educational process, they're explaining why they made their decision.

And they have 2 options in their decision, they can decide on a win or they can decide on a draw. And there's no points. There is no ‘I think you get 3 points for this sweep', no it has to be an overall, overwhelming domination, with real technique and strategy and positioning and angles and all these things that they are going to be able to see as a master, but... they'll just be able to see, they'll just be able to know it's there, and then they'll be able to make that decision. And it's actually a very simple thing at that point. What's difficult is being able to explain why they made that decision. And that's what we are looking for. We are looking for judges who not only are masters and have a reputation, but speak amazing English and are actually very articulate.

That's the hardest trouble for me right now. Like for me, if I was a judge, I could watch a match and Buchecha clearly had the upper hand against Roger, he was controlling the pace, he was way more aggressive with submissions, and got a close submission attempt and it was extremely close. I could describe that for 5 minutes explain in detail what happened watching that match, and that's what we want, we want the true reflection of jiu-jitsu, and we want unbiased judges who can curate the art of these athletes, and we want to create a space where it's open and we can showcase the best in the world in a very open way.

T.P.: Have you picked those judges yet? You said you were in the process of... do you have a few judges in mind? Have you picked them already?

Gracie: We have one, we have Pedro Sauer and he's just a very well-known black belt, actually he's a black and red belt. And just a very solid guy, very articulate. I was on the phone with him and he really felt me, the way that he was talking about the approach of being a judge for this, it sounded just right. So we're excited, and he's kinda on the level of criteria we're expecting as far as being able to really make a decision, and stick to it and explain the decision, and be accountable for their decision to the public. Which has never been done before, so it should be interesting.

T.P.: Yeah. Which match are you personally looking forward to at Metamoris II most?

Gracie: I think personally the main event. I think Shniya Aoki vs Kron is going to be high flying. It is going to be explosive man. Kron is a very exciting competitor, he is someone that doesn't like to grab on to this very much, he likes to be free and catch people in the chaos. And Shinya is the exact same way and in the matches I've seen him compete in jiu jitsu he'll try flying armlocks, and he'll try things that will generally surprise people because they'll never expect someone to go for something that outlandish or that different. Even if he doesn't land them, he'll go for things and he isn't afraid, he can really pull out a lot of tricks because he really thinks outside of the box, as far as jiu jitsu he isn't Mr. Cookie Cutter Jiu Jitsu Competitor, he is a jiu jitsu fighter. I'm really excited about that match.

I think Braulio Estmia vs Rodolfo obviously is a huge match, especially within the core jiu jitsu community it is even bigger than Kron and Aoki. Rodolfo is just the top guy right now, other than Buchecha, he is the top guy in the world and within his weightclass he is the top guy. And it is very cool that he is going against Braulio, who is a little bit more seasoned, been around the block. He has ADCC titles, he has got the world titles, he has got the Pan titles, and he is just coming in taking this match against this guy who he is giving up weight against, seeing Braulio go in there and go in there with Rodolfo is gonna be bananas.

Every other match on the card is interesting, we have a women's match Mackenzie Dern and Michelle Nicolini which is going to be exciting, Brendan Schaub and Cyborg is gonna be crazy. People think Brendan is gonna get tapped out in 3 seconds but I think it is going to be madness. It is gonna go anybody's way in that match.

T.P.: I personally am looking forward to Hall vs Cooper, I think that is going to be a great match

Gracie: Yeah man, for sure. I think the whole card is going to be great. I just hope I'm relaxed enough to enjoy it and not be worried if we have enough lights on the mats.

T.P: When did you decided from move from athlete to promoter?

Gracie: The decision was made more so because I had kids. Without kids I would be competing more, my mindset would be much more ‘just go to war' because it is fun and it is exciting. But having kids really makes you think more long term. These guys are my life now. I never really sat down and thought "Oh I'm gonna become a promoter now", the opportunity came up and it was perfect for me and just ran with it. And here we are and it is exciting.

T.P.: Growing up did you ever thing about doing anything else besides jiu jitsu?

Gracie: I'm an artist, I feel like an artist in everything that I do. I would love to just direct movies, if I wasn't in the jiu jitsu business I'd be directing movies, or something in the movie business.

T.P.: What is your personal style of Jiu Jitsu like?

Gracie: My jiu jitsu... hmmm... my jiu jitsu. Anyone's jiu jitsu is what they are training for and what their life style is like. So it is funny, for me right now jiu jitsu is the decompressing tool. For my whole life it has never been that way, now getting to train jiu jitsu and getting on the mat is like going on vacation. Where was before it was to fight and I was thinking about fighting and competing in Japan. My competitive process was to make my jiu jitsu be as multi-faceted as possible. Have my jiu jitsu be 50% stand up and 50% ground and really understand to concepts and leverage of jiu jitsu from a standing perspective as well. Everything that I do, even throwing a kick or a punch, I try to do it in a way that it is in line with my jiu jitsu philosophy.

My jiu jitsu is more of a complete, I like to think, and I try to be as complete as possible. The self-defense is there, but I don't need to think about defending myself because I'm not getting into street fights, I'm in more of the competitive thing. And if I do teach people it is more about figuring out what they want. If they want to learn defense or if they want to learn how to fight, I can go from there and help them. I'm not imposing myself on them, like they had to do one thing or the other.

T.P.: Ok one more question, what is rolling with Rorion like these days? What is his "old man" jiu jitsu like?

Gracie: Oh man, he is excellent. My dad right now is focused on educating people about diet and about nutrition. He still teaches a couple classes at the Torrance academy, he hadn't been teaching very much, but he stepped back in and started teaching a bunch of classes recently and people have been going bananas. He is 100% self-defense focus. And when he isn't doing self-defense, he is with Ed O'Neil rolling around doing private classes.

His thing is he stays as relaxed and smooth as possible and he has a couple little tricks. And it is very masterful and interesting how he does it. Rolling with him, he'll lay down and you'll get on top of him and he feels like he doesn't even exist, you know he is so small. And then all the sudden his little foot or his little hand comes in and gets you. He is very sneaky, very playful and very interesting. He isn't thinking of competition, he is just drilling for fun.

For more on Metamoris II visit their website, their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, and be sure to give Ralek Gracie a follow on Twitter. If you want to join the discussion comment below or reach out to T.P. Grant on Facebook or Twitter.

Metamoris II: Previews, Results, and Highlights

2013-05-20T02:07:39Z

So here with out further ado here is the interview with Ralek Gracie:

T.P..: What is getting someone for an event like this like? The first time did you really have to look for people, or did they come to you?

T.P: What was getting Brendan Schaub on board like? Did he volunteer for it or did you guys approach him?

T.P: So you feel that submission only tournaments are the best competitive reflection of jiu-jitsu? The best rule set that reflects what jiu-jitsu is to you.

T.P: I know Rickson kinda played around with creating his own promotion once with a point system. Do you ever think there is going to be a point system that could give us what you think a submission only match would give us?

T.P: Have you picked those judges yet? You said you were in the process of... do you have a few judges in mind? Have you picked them already?

T.P: Yeah. Which match are you personally looking forward to at Metamoris II most?

Every other match on the card is interesting, we have a women's match (names here) which is going to be exciting, Brendan Schaub and Cyborg is gonna be crazy. People think Brendan is gonna get tapped out in 3 seconds but I think it is going to be madness. It is gonna go anybody's way in that match.

T.P: I personally am looking forward to Hall vs Cooper, I think that is going to be a great match

Gracie: Yeah man, for sure. I think the whole card is going to be great. I just hope I'm relaxed enough to enjoy it and not be worried if we have enough lights on the mats.

T.P: When did you decided from move from athlete to promoter?

T.P: Growing up did you ever thing about doing anything else besides jiu jitsu?

Gracie: I'm an artist, I feel like an artist in everything that I do. I would love to just direct movies, if I wasn't in the jiu jitsu business I'd be directing movies, or something in the movie business.

T.P: What is your personal style of Jiu Jitsu like?

T.P: Ok one more question, what is rolling with Rorion like these days? What is his "old man" jiu jitsu like?

UFC on FX 8 Judo Chop: Jacare Souza Plays Transitional Chess with Chris Camozzi

2013-05-19T16:00:06Z

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza's submission of the night over Chris Camozzi at UFC on FX 8 was something to behold. From how smoothly Jacare flowed past the guard, to how he snapped on that arm triangle like an alligator onto prey, to how quickly Camozzi went to sleep, it was an all around crowd-pleaser.

It was also a showcase of the excellent transitional game of Jacare Souza. Any UFC fans not familiar with Souza were told that he was a champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and indeed he remains one of the most accomplished submission grapplers in the world. While many focus on his athletic ability, which is outstanding, Souza's ability to play the game of physical chess when it comes to grappling is sometimes overlooked.

The word "transition" gets thrown around a lot when it comes to grappling, and it simply means the time between established positions. Most fans who have watched MMA for some time or have played the UFC video games are familiar with the ground positions: guard, half-guard, side control, mount, the back, and so on, but there a myriad of undefined positions that exist in the transition between two of those positions.

Great grapplers understand and win those transitions. In a transition there are small windows for a fighter to act and the slightest difference between the placement of a hand, a foot, a knee, or an angle of the hips dramatically changes what is available for the fighter. To navigate these transitions, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters will do a drill refereed to as "flowing" in which fighters trade technique for technique with little to no resistance.

A fighter might go for an armbar, and instead of cranking for the finish allow his training partner to execute an escape and move to counter the escape. It helps familiarize fighters with those awkward in-between spaces and helps build instant reactions so when a fighter is going full force he does not stop to assess the situation.

Jacare demonstrated the drill in his open work out in the lead up to this fight.

These skills are a must at the highest levels of competitive grappling as often the best grapplers have such tight defenses in established positions the only way to catch submissions is to do so in transition. So when Jacare got got Chris Camozzi on the ground, he used the reactions he had developed drilling and "flowing" to catch an arm triangle.

Let's take a look.

Jacare reached the mount on Camozzi after a somewhat prolonged battle to pass the guard. For all the talk of transition skills, it is a very bad idea to let a fighter of Jacare's level set up shop in the mount and allow him time to work. Camozzi needs to escape this position, and he also needs to play a bit of a chess game. A traditional escape is unlikely to work, so Camozzi attempts an action that has a hidden, second intention.

Camozzi bridges and appears as if he is going for a basic bridge-and-roll escape, and Jacare counters it by raising up his hips and looking to take the back. But this is what Camozzi wants, as Jacare puts his right hook in, Camozzi's hand, circled in blue, comes down trapping that foot. Camozzi's intention is now to spin back towards Jacare, trapping the right leg in the half guard. But throughout the movement Jacare kept his right arm, circled in red, in position next to Camozzi's neck. At this point Camozzi is already in extreme danger as Jacare has already set up an arm triangle, ready and waiting for Camozzi to spin right into it.

Camozzi does spin right into the half guard, just as he wanted, his hand still pushing on Jacare's knee, highlighted in blue. But just as Jacare planned, Camozzi also turned right into the arm triangle, highlighted in red. In this case Jacare won the transition; not only did Camozzi react in the way Jacare wanted him to, Jacare was able to lever down immediately and smash Camozzi flat, removing any chance of escape.

From there Jacare is able to lock his hands and drive into Camozzi's shoulder, turning him slightly and allowed Jacare to pop out to the side. From there it is only a matter of seconds until Camozzi is out cold. (G)

This was a masterful display by Jacare of the move and counter-move nature of high level grappling and a demonstration that Camozzi was not completely wrong in what he was doing. He was just facing another class of fighter.

For more technical breakdowns be sure to check out the Bloody Elbow Judo Chop stream, for more on UFC on FX 8 click on that stream. For comments on the article scroll down and leave your thoughts or contact T.P. Grant on Facebook or Twitter.

SBN coverage of UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs Rockhold

UFC on FX 8 Results: Sunday Perspective

2013-05-19T14:00:07Z

UFC on FX 8 is in the books and Vitor Belfort landed an all-time great spinning kick to knock out Luke Rockhold. As much as it pains me, it seems like in the aftermath of this fight the MMA community again needs to discuss Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) and its place, or lack thereof, in the sport.

More and more MMA fighters are using TRT, and why wouldn't they? It is a legal way to inject oneself with Testosterone and then still compete in high level Mixed Marital Arts. Managers should pushing all their fighters to get on TRT right now because it is pretty clearly having an impact. Now clearly not every fighter on TRT is going to turn into a title contender but we've seen fighters who use TRT transform their bodies. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson raved about how much younger he felt while on TRT, Vitor Belfor and Chael Sonnen turned their careers around while on TRT, Dan Henderson has become an age-less wonder with its help.

What makes Belfort's TRT exemption particularly offensive is that he has been caught using steroids in the past; in fact he is still black listed in many parts of the United States for not fully serving his suspension for that positive test. Now Belfort is suffering from low testosterone, a side effect of heavy steroid use, and he is being given a medical way around the consequences of his own bad behavior. At the very least any fighter with a past positive test for steroids should not be allowed TRT use.

From a broader point of view, it does not make sense that TRT is legal at all. Aside from past steroid use the other causes of low testosterone do not warrant TRT use by a competitive athlete. It has been talked about that a life time of weight cutting can impact testosterone, and if that is the case then that is the trade off a fighter makes when cutting large amounts of weight before a fight.

Age is another factor, the older a fighter becomes the lower his testosterone levels, and that is just part of sports. As a fighter ages he needs to adjust to the changes in his body to stay successful and at a certain point he is no longer able to compete. That is part of life and part of sports, to allow aging fighters to have the testosterone levels of a 25-year-old is clearly a cheat on the legitimately 25-year-old fighters trying to make their name. And if a fighter is legitimately born with low T levels, then those are the breaks. You compete with the body you were born with, again that is sports. Every athlete wishes he or she was born with the physical gifts of LeBron James, but there is no other major sport where an athlete can complain that they are feeling slower and weaker than their opponents and be given a way to inject themselves with testosterone with the blessing of their sporting league.

And that doesn't even bring up the safety concerns of sending a chemically enhanced fighter in against a non- testosterone user, but that is enough TRT talk for one morning, on to the fights:

Vitor Belfort delivered an awesome kick. The body position, the way he had to come back across his own body, and the blinding speed he did it with all was awe inspiring. Not much for Rockhold to take away from this fight because he got kicked in the head before he really got anything going.
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza made very short work of Chris Camozzi. His transitions on the ground were like water, and he set that arm triangle up like a master chess player. Camozzi was out classed striking, wrestling and grappling, which doesn't really leave a lot of room in MMA. Jacare is a very complete fighter, he deserves to be fighting top level guys, so here's hoping he gets back in the cage soon against an elite Middleweight.
The big question seems to be who is next for both Jacare and Belfort. A one-off for title contender seems natural, but if Anderson Silva is able to defend his title at UFC 162 against Chris Weidman it could be a problem. Souza and Silva are friends and have said the will not fight and Silva has already made short work of Belfort. And even if the stars align and Belfor becomes UFC Champion, is having a TRT champion who is black listed in most major U.S. states good for the UFC?
Rafael dos Anjos didn't win that fight, but it shouldn't be called a robbery. The term "Robbery" should be saved for Leonard Garcia's win over Chan Sung Jung in the WEC, or other incredibly offensive judges' decisions. This was a close fight that fans disagreed with, not an all out robbery. There was likely some home cooking inovled here, but put away the pitchforks and torches.
Dunham was very impressive with the accuracy of his boxing, consistently finding his target despite dos Anjos pretty good head movement. It was a fight that left me very high on both fighters as they appear to be improving their skill set.
The main card opened with a match between Rafael Natal and Joao Zeferino, which had a fun moment where both fighters looked for leg locks from the 50/50 guard. It came down to the fact that Zeferino gased hard and likely should not have been on a UFC main card.
After this there isn't a ton to talk about. The Fuel TV portion of the prelims were very forgettable, the three Facebook fights however were much more entertaining. This could be because the Facebook fights featured three of the Top 10 UFC Flyweights. Why the UFC insists on burying their Flyweights on Facebook cards is beyond me. Yes, they are small and that does likely have an impact on their marketability, but it seems very short sighted to have title contenders emerge on the Facebook cards where less than half of UFC fans will actually watch them fight.
Nik Lentz did his Nik Lentz thing to become the only American to get a win on this card.
Francisco Trinaldo and Gleison Tibau are really big, and in both fights that was kinda a key factor. Tibau and Trinaldo both just about squeezed their opponent's heads off. Trinaldo locked up Mike Rio in a half guard arm triangle, which isn't unheard of, but it takes some strength to finish. Tiabu finished a more traditional full guard guillotine on John Cholish with equally impressive squeeze strength.
Paul Thiago got a much needed win over Michel Richard dos Prazeres, and staves off a pink slip for one more fight. Thiago is well past the peak of his career and will likely never recapture that 2009 form that caused him to run roughshod over the AKA crew.
Yuri Alcantara only need a crisp, straight punch to end Illiarde Santos' night. Not much to make of this as Santos took this one on short notice, but it was a nice KO from Alcantara, who is primarily a grappler.
Fabio Maldonado wore Roger Hollett down with a combination of clinch work, body shots, and Hollett's general aversion the third round. Maldonado had some nice rib roasters in this one and clearly took over this fight in the later rounds. Not much to say in terms of bigger picture other than body punching is fun.
John Lineker looked like a beast as he just ran right through Azamat Gashimov. Lineker is a physical beast at Flyweight. His body work is vicious and clearly bays dividends as he dropped Gashimov with a body kick. This kid could go places in this division and should be on the short list of contenders.
Jussier Formiga had some very fun grappling in his match with Chris Cariaso, but the match was marred, and possibly altered, by some awful stand ups by referee Kevin Mulhall. Formiga continues to have issues with his gas tank late in fights.
Well this card opened with a bang. A real sloppy brawl between Lucas Martins and Jeremy Larsen. The fight was hilariously bad at times, with Martins throwing slappy punches at times. Martins did fight in a vintage Chute Boxe style at times, eating shots and getting dropped, just to pop back up and return fire. Larsen was up two rounds, his corner told him to lead with a jab and look for the right hand, which had hurt Martins several times. Larsen didn't jab and was winging wild shots when Martins sat down on a straight right and sent him to the mat. Very nice come back for Martins, physically talented and still young, but doesn't look ready, skill wise, for the UFC.

For more reaction and breakdowns check out the stream for UFC on FX 8. To join the conversation on this card either jump in the comments below or or send reaction to T.P. Grant on Facebook or Twitter.

UFC on FX 8 Judo Chop: Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza and Passing the Guard

2013-05-16T16:02:24Z

UFC on FX 8 features quite a few Strikeforce stars making their UFC debuts, including the last two Middleweight Champions of the now defunct promotion, Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo Souza. Known as Jacare, Souza is one of the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grapplers of all time who has translated that to a successful MMA career. This is partially due to the fact that his style of jiu jitsu translates very well to the world of MMA, and also because his athletic ability allowed him to pick up the striking game very quickly.

Jacare's jiu jitsu is not the prototypical one that MMA fans are used to seeing. When thinking of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, many MMA fans think of Royce Gracie or B.J. Penn using the guard to confound and submit their opponents. But the bottom game is only half of jiu jitsu, and Jacare's fights show case just how detailed, technical, and effective the top game can be, as well.

The top game is really what old school BJJ was all about - a fighter's goal was to secure a takedown, pass the guard to a dominant position, and then submit. It takes just as much skill and knowledge of grappling as does playing guard, and it is a game that is used by some of sport jiu jitsu's very best including Jacare, Fernando "Terere", Roger Gracie, and Xande Ribeiro to name a few.

The guard is the most offensive position a fighter can have while on his or her back, and is iconic of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters. Passing guard is almost a martial art unto itself, with as many variations and adaptations as there are guards. While not totally universal, there are two keys to a good, controlling guard pass:

Limiting the mobility of the hips
Pinning the shoulder blades

These two concepts are normally present in guard passes, but passing guard is often as much improvising as it is rehearsed technique. When dealing with a superior grappler like Souza he can pass in dynamic ways that are technically perfect (G) or something he made up on the spot (G).

Let's take a look at the more measured passes Jacare has used that highlights the key concepts of guard passing and the fundamentals of Jacare's passing game.

When Jacare works from guard, he will often back his hips away, creating space for an opponent to establish a butterfly guard. Jacare's background in grappling has caused many fighters to employ grappling avoidance strategies, and the butterfly guard has become very popular for fighters to create space and stand up. Jacare invites the butterfly guard and then uses it to pass quickly.

Here is Jacare working from the butterfly guard of Robbie Lawler. Jacare's posture is very low and is controlling Lawler's hips, stopping him from getting to his side. This effectively kills most sweeps from the butterfly guard. Jacare has both arms controlling Lawler and his head just enough on Lawler's chest not to leave himself open for guillotine choke.

Jacare has control of Lawler's hips, but Lawler's knees are still high and tight to Jacare's side, preventing Jacare from moving to either side. Lawler is also able to sit up, giving him some ability to move and defend himself.

To get Lawler's knees lower, Jacare sinks his hips back. Lawler is forced to extend his legs to maintain the butterfly guard, giving Jacare a chance to slide over Lawler's right leg. Lawler keeps the left butterfly hook because even with Jacare passing to his right he can still threaten with sweeps as long as he maintains that hook and has some freedom of movement.

Jacare now gives up an underhook on Lawler's right; this is not a mistake as the underhook doesn't help Lawler at all and the overhook is actually what Jacare needs. He wants to have his shoulder in contact with Lawler's jaw to create a cross face. Jacare also raises his hips as he prepares to take away both Lawler's remaining butterfly hook and pin his shoulders to the mat in one move.

Jacare kicks his right leg behind his back, dropping all his weight on to his shoulder, pinning Lawler's back to the mat. (G) Lawler's ability to move or use his guard is completely taken away during the whole pass because of how effectively Jacare controls his hips and then pins his shoulders to the mat.

The key to maintaining control of both the hips and the body is that Jacare kept his hips low. Even when he raised his hips, it was not very high, and the pressure never really let up. The pass will fail if the hips do not get low and the bottom fighter is mobile off of his back. (G)

Jacare has always favored passing over the leg for his entire grappling career, but when doing a pass that involves stepping over one leg, quite often the other leg gets caught in a half guard. As a result, anyone who employs an over the leg passing game normally also develops a half guard passing game, as well.

Jacare's half guard top game centers around what is sometimes called the "reverse scarf half guard".

Here is Jacare employing that half guard against Joey Villasenor in Strikeforce. Souza has sat facing Villasenor's legs, overhooking his far arm. The position gets its name from the Judo pin position of gesa gatame, and this half guard variation of it provides both control of the hips and flattens the bottom fighter's back on the mat. Villasenor holding on to the half guard limits his hip mobility, and Jacare's upper body provides the pressure to keep Villasenor flat on the mat.

One of the primary advantages of working the half guard is that Jacare does not need to worry about nearly as many submissions, and can threaten with his own submissions while he passes. (G)

This half guard position has a great deal of offense that can come from it; for a look at one of its more basic passes here is Renato Tavares, American Top Team grappler.

This all barely scratches the surface of Jacare's overall BJJ game, but it does provide an overview of the basics of passing guard.

For more technical breakdowns be sure to check out the Bloody Elbow Judo Chop stream. For comments on the article scroll down and leave your thoughts or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter.

Gods of War: Gokor Chivichyan

2013-05-11T19:00:07Z

Born on May 10th of 1963, in Yerevan, Armeina Gokor Chivivhyan was a fighter right away. By the time he could walk he was picking fights with larger children, and was winning. At age 3 he joined a wrestling school and by age 6 Gokor was also training in Sambo. When training, Gokor consistently trained with older boys, and he progressed very quickly.

In 1971 Gokor won the Armenian Junior National Sambo Championship, and then the next year he won the 10-12 year old division while still 9 years of age. At this time Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, and in 1972 Gokor qualified for the Soviet Jr National Sambo Championships.

In 1973 Gokor began training in Judo and he would win the Armenian Junior Judo Championships in that same year. He would then travel to Russia and take second in their Junior Judo Championships, losing the finals match by referee decision. This was Gokor's first loss in competition, and he used it to fuel himself. Gokor returned to Russia the next year to claim gold at both the Judo and Sambo Junior Championships.

For the next five years Gokor would collect gold medals at National, U.S.S.R., European, and International level tournaments. In 1980 Gokor was in consideration for the USSR Olympic Judo team but was passed over for another Judoka who would go on to win a gold medal.

That next year, Gokor's family would defect to the United States and take up residence in Los Angeles. There he began to study under Gene Lebell, one of the United States' first great Judokas. Lebell had won back to back American championships in the 1950's, had won tournaments in Japan, had defeated Milo Savage in a proto-MMA match, and by the time Gokor came to the L.A. had begun working in Professional Wrestling, learning the no-gi grappling art of Catch Wrestling.

Gokor was still a teenager at this point, and just learning English. Training with Lebell was famously tough; he trained in and out of the gi, used a full range of submissions, and in no gi training grabbed skin like it was a gi. He also began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with the Mahcado brothers around this time as well. In the 1980's Gokor competed in a variety of competitions: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, submission wrestling, and, of course, Judo.

Gokor in Judo Tournaments, Grappling, Sparring

Gokor claims to have taken part in many "No Holds Barred" Fights, but it is unclear if this refers to submission wrestling matches with a minimal of rules or full on Mixed Martial Arts matches and few records of these fights exist. He did claim several bare knuckle fighting titles, but again there are no official records, which isn't uncommon in that period of American proto-MMA, but claims are fuzzy on if these matches took place and against what level of opposition they would have been against.

At this time Gokor's focus was still primarily on Judo. The goal of going to the Olympics and winning gold still burned in Gokor. He pushed very hard for U.S. citizenship so he could represent the United States in his adopted hometown of L.A. at the 1984 Summer Games, but was unable to secure citizenship.

Gokor claims he was traveling between the U.S. and Russia regularly in the early 80's and still competed for the U.S.S.R at some events, and that he qualified for the Soviet team, but they boycotted these games. It is still unclear how he was able to do this as relations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in the early 80's were still very tense and travel between them was very controlled. It might have been that Gokor competed under the U.S.S.R. banner simply by function of his citizenship status and not with the blessing of the U.S.S.R. judo team.

In 1987 Gokor won a Judo International World Cup while representing the U.S.S.R., but finally, with the help of the U.S. Judo Federation, Gokor was declared a citizen of the United States. He rushed to collect enough competition points to make the 1988 Olympic team bound for Seoul but there was not enough time.

Global politics and bad luck had taken their toll, Gokor's dream of competing in the Olympics would never be realized. In 1991, Gokor opened his Hayastan Academy in North Hollywood and began teaching grappling, along with striking techniques he had learned during training for NHB fights. Gokor's competitive career was largely over at this point, but he did win the U.S. National Judo Open and took part in a full on MMA fight in the World Fighting Federation. The promoters wanted to match Gokor with Akira Maeda, but when unable to sign him they found an impressive looking Japanese fighter, dubbed him "Mr. Maeda", and put in him in the ring against Gokor. The result was something of a farce as Gokor was clearly a vastly superior fighter and won with ease in under a minute.

But that is just the beginning of Gokor's legacy, as he has gone on to become an even more accomplished coach. In 1997 Gokor was awarded the U.S. Judo Federations "Coach of the Year" award. The Hayastan Academy has is now home to one of the most fearsome Judo teams in the U.S. In 2008 they stormed the first U.S. Nationals that was jointly held by the two competing Judo organizations in the U.S. and Gokor shocked everyone when he borrowed a gi , won his way to the finals in Openweight, and then won gold despite injuring himself.

In addition to becoming a top Judo gym, Hayastan has also become one of the most successful gyms at applying Judo in Mixed Martial Arts competition.

Two of Gokor's star students are Judo and MMA stars Karo Parisyan and Ronda Rousey, both beginning their training under the Armenian while they were still children. Parisyan's high flying, highlight reel throws made him the face of Judo application in the UFC . Rousey would win bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games for Team U.S.A. and then went on to become a sensation in Women's MMA. She became the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and took part in the first women's fight in the UFC.

Gokor also has coached Gegard Mousasi, Manny Gamburyan, Sako Chivitchian, and Extreme Couture head grappling coach Neil Melanson.

A 9th degree Judo black belt, 1st degree Razryad Grand Master of Sambo, a rank reserved for multiple time world champions, and 6th degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under John Machado, experience in Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling as well as Catch Wrestling training all make Gokor one of the most complete and credentialed grapplers on the planet and a more than worthy addition to our Pantheon of modern day Gods of War.

****

For more on Gokor

His biography from school website and documentary made by his academy. Both get a little vague at key times, but even if there is some fluffing of history here his accomplishments as a coach, and the rave reviews from very respected grapplers who have rolled with Gokor dispel any questioning of his skill or knowledge.

His official Facebook page

Thanks to Zombie Prophet and Jordan Breen of Sherdog for their assistance in the research of this article.

Official Bloody Elbow Women's MMA Rankings: Featherweight

2013-05-07T17:30:07Z

Bloody Elbow is creating our own Women's MMA Rankings. This time around we are debuting our Featherweight (145 lb) rankings, home of Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino.

Our rankings panel is composed of Fraser Coffeen, a staff writer for BloodyElbow and a former editor and contributor at LiverKick.com, Zane Simon, the arbiter of Bloody Elbow's MMA promotion rosters, MMA Mania's Brian Hemminger, host of the Verbal Submission podcast and an ardent supporter of Women's MMA, and T.P. Grant, a writer for Bloody Elbow.

The rankings are created by each panel member submitting a ballot, listing their Top 10. The #1 ranked fighter on each ballot is given 10 points, the #2 is given 9 points, and so on. The rankings are then created by the total point scores.

Below are the final rankings, the individual ballots, and comments submitted by each panel member about their own rankings. Rankings will be updated after two or more fighters on the rankings list have fought matches.

also receiving votes: Peggy Morgan (Fraser - 2 points, Brian - 2 points), Gabrielle Holloway (Fraser - 4 points), Amanda Lucas (Zane - 2 points), Ashley Sanchez (Zane - 1 point)

T.P. Grant: The top four of this one were very straight forward. Cyborg is still the top of division, Coenen represents the best chance of anyone in the division to beat her. After those four it is a mix of veterans who have complied good records and prospects who have yet to be tested. Romy Ryussen and Veronica Rothenhausler could turn into Top 5 kind of fighters as they appear to be good athletes.

Zane Simon: This is the thinnest of thin divisions. Even finding 10 women who are currently fighting over 135 lbs. is a bit of a challenge. With Cyborg's recent return she is easily the uncrowned queen of women's featherweight MMA. With or without a title, all acclaim in the division passes through her. Spots two through four are pretty well spoken for, after that it's a toss up in evaluating experience and level of competition.

Brian Hemminger: The top four is pretty obvious, but from there on, it's all about potential. I included a few really good prospects like Rothenhausler, Brents and Morgan because I think they have a TON of talent and while unproven, they could definitely be moving up the ladder and challenging the top girls on this list soon. I'm particularly impressed with Rothenhausler, who I feel has the most power of any female at 145 today, even Cyborg.

Fraser Coffeen: This division really emphasizes how WMMA remains a work in progress. The top 5 are all solid fighters, but even there you have issues - Cyborg has only 1 fight in the last year and a half, while Coenen has only recently come back to the division. But I'll take all 5 of those top fighters as solid picks. The bottom 5? That's a bit more dicey, with a lot riding on a small number of strong performances. Quick side note - this division made me really look forward to Invicta 6 in July, where we get not only #1 vs. #2 in Coenen vs. Cyborg, but also #3 vs. #4 in Gomes vs. Budd. Awesome.

Announced Matches:

#1 Cris "Cyborg" Justino vs #2 Marloes Coenen (Invicta FC 6: July 13, 2013)

A rematch for the top slot in the division, likely the best match up we will see in the division for sometime, short of Rousey moving up to fight Cyborg.

#3 Ediane Gomes vs #4 Julia Budd (Invicta FC 6: July 13, 2013)

The top four of the division all on the same card? That is a pretty rare treat in MMA. Clearly the winner of this match is the most likely to fight the winner of Cyborg and Coenen for the Invicta title.

#9 Veronica Rothenhausler vs Mollie Estes (Invicta FC 6: July 13, 2013)

Rothenhausler is still very early in her career, so this isn't a very high level opponent for her. Rothenhausler has some serious power, so this one could be over quickly.

MMA Origins: Fighting For Pride

2013-05-02T13:00:10Z

Nowhere is the history of the growth and evolution of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts more tied the world of professional wrestling than in Japan. It was the Japanese students of Western catch wrestler Karl Gotch that were the beginners of the shootfighting movement, where pro wrestling matches would be live fights rather than scripted matches.

Antonio Inoki was his star pupil, and he would become famous for his proto-MMA match with Muhammad Ali. Inoki is also credited with holding the first sport shoot matches in Japan and developing his own style of professional wrestling. And it was Inoki's students Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki who where the founders of Pancrase, a very successful promotion that mixed worked matches with shoot matches.

Pancrase was very successful in the early 1990's and was home to some of MMA's first international stars, including Ken Shamrock, at the beginning of his run of dominance, and Bas Rutten at his height. Pancrase always portrayed itself as putting on real fights, but on several occasions rising stars were "put over" by a compliant opponent to help build their star. In other cases, a superior fighter would "carry" a lesser fighter for a while to make a fight more exciting. There were also instances of outright works were both fighters were aware of a pre-scripted result, and in several cases this was to get the King of Pancrase title in the hands of a more marketable fighter.

Pancrase was one of the hottest entertainment tickets in the early 90's with stars like Funaki, Suzuki, Shamrock and then Rutten. But then Shamrock left for the green pastures of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and then American professional wrestling. Rutten vacated the King of Pancrase to spend time with his pregnant and ill wife, and would leave Pancrase outright in 1997. This was not the end of Pancrase - not even close - but it was a downswing for Pancrase as they had lost much of their star power.

All this was occurring against the larger backdrop of Japanese pro wrestling in the 1980's and 90's, which was a fluid and ever-changing picture. At the start of the 1980's Antonio Inoki had leveraged his fight with Ali to become the most well known pro wrestler in Japan. His promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling, became the biggest Pro Wrestling show in Japan and was home to both Satoru "Tiger Mask" Sayama and Akira Maeda before they would break away to start their own promotions. The promotion marketed itself as real fighting and featuring the best fighters in the world, often featuring matches with fighters from different martial arts simulating early MMA style-vs-style matches.

UFC Origins

In 1982-1983, New Japan experienced a boom with record attendance numbers. But when wrestler pay failed to rise, there were allegations that Inoki and his booker Hisashi Shinma were siphoning money away to other projects. Inoki attempted to blame it all on Shinma, causing a divide between the two men. Sayama left the promotion to form Shooto at that point, which is arguably the first Mixed Martial Arts league. There was a split among the remaining wrestlers between those who stayed with Inoki and those who left with Shinma.

Maeda followed Shinma to form a new promotion, called the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF).

Moving with Maeda and Shinma to the UWF was Nobuhiko Takada, a star in the making with looks and physical talents to become a legitimate wrestler in addition to a headlining personality. Like in the New Japan promotion, the UWF proclaimed themselves the best fighters in the world, and when a martial artist came to challenge them they had Tatsumi Fujinami keeping the gates. Fujinami had a background in Judo, and when combined with catch wrestling training under both Gotch and Inoki, he became a very formidable grappler. His reputation combined with the fact that UWF matches were very hard works featuring full-force strikes and real submission holds had fans believing the promotion was legitimate fighting.

The UWF would merge with the New Japan Pro Wrestling at one point and then break away again; all the while Takada continued to emerge as a star. When the UWF finally closed its doors for good, Takada parted ways with Maeda.

Maeda would start Rings in 1991 and, with the help of Chris Doleman, recruited sambo fighters from Russia to fill his roster. While Rings' main events were often works, the undercards were filled with actual fights.

Takada would also start his own promotion, the Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFi); it continued the tradition of hard works and looking as real as possible.

The UWFi was briefly home to Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, and Ken Shamrock before they left to create Pancrase. One of Takada's most famous matches took place in the UWFi, when he faced former sumo wrestler Koji Kitao, who had a reputation of bad behavior in the ring. The match was agreed upon as a draw, but when Kitao became sloppy, Takada pounced on an opening and landed a clean head kick, resulting in a legitimate knockout.

Nobuhiko Takada knocking out Koji Kitao in 1992

The UWFi became known as the promotion where every fighter was a shooter, meaning they really had the ability to fight, including a young wrestler named Kazushi Sakuraba. Again fans were sucked into believing that they were seeing legitimate matches. Within a few years, the UWFi was the hottest ticket in all of Japanese combat entertainment.

But it was then that the problems began. Late in 1993, UFC 1 broke the illusion, and on top of that, Japanese pro wrestling and Pancrase star Ken Shamrock was defeated at that event. Then in 1994 Rickson Gracie, using contacts through his student and Shooto fighter Erik Paulson, took part in the first Vale Tudo Japan event.

Full Event Video (Rickson's matches start around 21:25)

Rickson's dominant showing combined with Royce's defeat of Ken Shamrock made the Japanese wrestlers' claim to the best fighters in the world look rather shaky. Seeing the value in the Gracie name, Takada reached out to Rickson and offered him a large sum to appear in the UWFi. Rickson refused and reportedly made a comment about not doing "fake" fights.

After the refusal, Takada decided to change tactics. His booker Yuki Miyato came up with what seemed like a genius PR stunt. If they couldn't get Rickson on their side, they would discredit him. Takada talked to Yoji Anjo, the UWFi's toughest guy in the gym and a student of Fujinami. Anjo was to head to the U.S. and storm Rickson's school on December 7th, the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, and challenge Rickson to a fight with the Japanese media in tow. Clearly Rickson would be caught off guard and refuse to fight, and then he would be discredited in the eyes of Japanese fans.

Japanese MMA Origins

Before heading to challenge Rickson, Anjo made a statement to the Japanese press, "There is no need for Mr. Takada to go. If it is just Rickson, I'm 200 percent confident I can beat him."

When Anjo arrived, Rickson was at home with his family, and Rickson received a phone call that someone was demanding to fight him and threatening the students. Rickson came the school, and when Anjo called him a coward in front of his wife, kids, and students, the fatal flaw in the UWFi plan was exposed.

In the 80's in Brazil, the Gracies and their students had been very active in Vale Tudo fights, representing their art against practitioners of many arts. As stated in previous articles, the animosity between BJJ schools and Luta Livre schools, Muay Thai schools, and even other BJJ factions often spilled out of the Vale Tudo ring in what sometimes more resembled a gang war than a martial arts rivalry. Closed-door matches, dojo storming, and even street fights were not uncommon. In that kind of environment, schools needed a champion - a fighter that struck fear into their enemies and made them think twice about taking action.

Rickson's blend of natural gifts and technical prowess made him a natural choice for the Gracie family. He became their go-to fighter when the honor of the family was at stake. He took countless challenge matches, both in Brazil and later in California, often on short notice. And for the Gracies there was an unwritten rule when it came to these challenge matches - the challenger got what he asked for.

If the challenger was a martial artist simply looking to test himself against the Gracies, the representative of the Gracie school would oblige them, but gently. The challenger would be taken to the ground, but then the Gracie fighter would normally use open hand strikes to open up space for a quick choke, and often after the match was done a free lesson in ground fighting would follow. If the challenger wanted a tougher test, the Gracie fighter would follow suit and fight a bit rougher. But when a challenger was disrespectful, often what followed was a hard lesson in ground fighting.

This video is a match between an unnamed challenger and Gracie fighter Joe Prado, the fighter given gatekeeper duties at the Gracie academy for the 90's. It is unclear why things got so rough in this fight, but it is a good reminder of how violent these rule-less and referee-less matches could become.

Rickson had dealt out such a beating before. In Brazil in 1988, one of the best Luta Livre fighters, Hugo Duarte, was winning matches and speaking ill of the Gracie family. Rickson, the Gracie family enforcer, set out to silence Duarte. Rickson tracked the Luta Livre star down on a beach and challenged him with a slap across the face. In the fight that followed Rickson secured twisting arm control mount and instead of applying a submission hold, Rickson beat Duarte bloody until he retracted all of his statements in front of the crowd that gathered to watch them. The beating was a statement - don't mess with the Gracies.

Faced with the challenge from Anjo, Rickson decided to make another statement. Despite the Japanese fighter have a large size advantage, Rickson mounted Anjo quickly. Rickson then passed over a merciful submission hold and instead rained down punches. Anjo was reduced to a bloody mess in front of the Japanese media. The tables had been turned on the UWFi, and their claims of being home to the best fighters in the world were severely damaged. That image problem was not helped when Rickson returned to Japan for Vale Tudo Japan 1995 and easily dispatched three Japanese fighters to be crowned champion yet again.

According to Japanese pro wrestling tradition, as the head star of the UWFi it fell upon Takada to defend the honor of the promotion by challenging Rickson, but he knew Rickson would never agree to a worked match. So the match was shelved for several years.

Vale Tudo Origins

At the end of 1996, the UWFi closed its doors for good, but Takada was not ready to get out of the promotion business. He set out to make the fight with Rickson happen, and Takada was going to make it big. Takada got significant financial backing from Hiromichi Momose, who had well-known Yakuza connections. Momose created a promotion company, Kakutougi Revolution Spirits (KRS), to push this new promotion and secured other investors.

The first event would be centered around the bad blood between Rickson and Takada, and the name of Pride Fighting Championship was selected. Rickson was offered a substantial, and undisclosed, amount of to take part in a live fight with Takada and accepted.

Pride 1 took place on October 11, 1997 in the Tokyo Dome. While it would feature live matches, this was not a true mixed martial arts event. Some of the matches were works, and one of them was a pure kickboxing match featuring the K-1 Champion Branko Cikatić that ended in a no contest due to an illegal kick to a grounded fighter. The card also featured several veterans of the UFC and the results were mixed. While the mostly untrained Gary Goodridge turned in an impressive knockout over UFC 6 tournament champion Oleg Taktarov, it was balanced out by a rather dull draw between Kimo Leopoldo and Dan Severn. Renzo Gracie and pro wrestler Akira Shoji had a fantastic match that featured several near submissions by Renzo but ended in a draw due to time expiring.

The Rickson and Takada match proved somewhat anticlimactic as Rickson clearly outclassed the wrestler.

All in all, the event was a disappointment. The buzz for the match was not nearly what it would have been if Takada had been able to strike two years ago when the iron was hot, and it failed to fill the Tokyo Dome. It would be an inauspicious start, but Pride was destined to survive its own dark days and grow into one of the most beloved MMA promotions.

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For more on this time in MMA history and much more, I recommend checking out Jonathan Snowden's books, which helped this pro wrestling illiterate navigate the rather confusing world of Japanese sports entertainment.

Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting

Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling

For some sources you can click on and read right now:

Kid Nate's MMA History XIX: The Humbled PRIDE of Nobuhiko Takada

Jordan Breen's (Sherdog) This Day in MMA History: Oct 11

Thanks to all of those people for their work