[Poppa Catfish]

Can't possibly reproduce that moment, imo. You can try to grasp the awesomeness but surely it will elude you.

[Chairib]

Can't possibly reproduce that moment, imo. You can try to grasp the awesomeness but surely it will elude you.

Is it like the sound of one hand clapping?

[Chairib]

You have to watch the fight as a whole. It was great action both on the feet and on the ground. The kick was just the cherry on top lol.

Spot on observation. I'm still trying to figure out how Pettis not only got out of that the rear naked choke but was able to reverse. The grappling in this fight was really really fun to watch.

[kiefynugs]

yeah I hope he's able to scramble with Maynard like that, but the UFC is a different league. We'll see what happens.

Gotta say I'm really hoping Pettis takes this whole thing.

[urge2kill]

I'm so bent that I missed this live.

[Pratik]

I'm so bent that I missed this live.

you should be this was FOTY!

[Poppa Catfish]

Spot on observation. I'm still trying to figure out how Pettis not only got out of that the rear naked choke but was able to reverse. The grappling in this fight was really really fun to watch.

We were drilling this a while back and Pettis did everything correctly (and Henderson looked a little gassed), he had great wrist control and then shifted immediately to the opposite side of the choke. text book

[Chairib]

We were drilling this a while back and Pettis did everything correctly (and Henderson looked a little gassed), he had great wrist control and then shifted immediately to the opposite side of the choke. text book

Sort of text book at least to me. I've been talking about this to a couple of old grappling buddies because I found it really unusual.

This is what I saw:

Henderson gets his hooks in but instead of the grapevine and stretching Pettis out, he chose to roll him over while going for a choke.





Pettis initially counters the choke by getting his chin inside the V of Henderson's arm.

Next we do see Pettis get wrist control but it's a little sloppy since his left arm should have been protecting his neck. I've always been taught when the opponent has your back to go for the 2-on-1 when it comes to wrist control. If you only can use on hand, the free arm is always tight protecting your neck. I don't think Pettis was expecting Henderson to go for a choke with his left arm and it left him exposed.



And it didn't take more than a split second before Henderson got the choke with the left arm.





Pettis kept his cool and was able to get Henderson's right arm free, but that's when Henderson countered by switching from the rear naked to the bulldog choke. It's the same move Matt Hughes beat Frank Trigg with in their rematch.



Notice where Henderson's hands are, they're clasped together and the choke is sunk deep at this point. Look at where the blade of Henderson's forearm is.

This is where I can't figure out what happened. The choke was in but Henderson lets it go. Who knows maybe he lost his grip but by that stage wrist control isn't going to help Pettis.

[Poppa Catfish]

To me looks like the hold in the second to last photo is slightly on the chin not under it, and then he changes grip. The choke looks really deep on first blush, but on second look it looks like there is plenty of space. I don't think either choke was in to be honest.

Hopefully there is a Gracie breakdown on this fight, and hopefully this is brought up in class

[Chairib]

No he had the choke sunk, there's no doubt about that at all. Like I said, it's a very simple progression from the rear naked to the bulldog choke off of your opponents counter. In this case the right arm goes from securing the opponents head to linking up with the choking arm, or hand on bicep to hand in hand. Once you hit it, all you need to do is pull back and get as much pressure on the neck and windpipe as possible. It's not something you'll see too often in regular jiu-jitsu matches but it's effective in nogi competition. I used to use all the time. Though my favorite was going from the bulldog choke into your regular rear naked.




How long you been training for?

[lasker]

Very interesting breakdown Chairib. When I was watching it live I was sure the fight was over, then blinked and suddenly Pettis had escaped. From those pictures it certainly looks like Henderson had the choke tight enough to finish.

[36mafia]

great breakdown

[Poppa Catfish]

No he had the choke sunk, there's no doubt about that at all. Like I said, it's a very simple progression from the rear naked to the bulldog choke off of your opponents counter. In this case the right arm goes from securing the opponents head to linking up with the choking arm, or hand on bicep to hand in hand. Once you hit it, all you need to do is pull back and get as much pressure on the neck and windpipe as possible. It's not something you'll see too often in regular jiu-jitsu matches but it's effective in nogi competition. I used to use all the time. Though my favorite was going from the bulldog choke into your regular rear naked.

How long you been training for?

2.5 years now, started out at Ralph Gracies now at AKA.

I'm watching the replay and its from an another angle from that photo. His hands actually never clasp together at all, he is using his right hand to push on Pettis' neck. There is a moment of hesitation and it looks like he goes to go hand in hand but Pettis clears the arm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFe97...layer_embedded

I think 51 seconds in is right around when those photos were taken.

[Kaladarus]

Good post, I was very surprised Pettis wasn't submitted. It looked like the choke was in good and the fight was seconds away from being stopped. It's hard to understand how an escape like that could have happened or what Henderson did wrong.

[Chairib]

2.5 years now, started out at Ralph Gracies now at AKA.

I'm watching the replay and its from an another angle from that photo. His hands actually never clasp together at all, he is using his right hand to push on Pettis' neck. There is a moment of hesitation and it looks like he goes to go hand in hand but Pettis clears the arm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFe97...layer_embedded

I think 51 seconds in is right around when those photos were taken.

Thanks, I didn't know about that angle on the replay. It actually clears up something. It's a great angle too because I think that's right around the moment Hederson lets go of the choke at the 3:14 mark.

I think this shot:



Is the same as your shot here but different angle:



It also explains something, that I wasn't too clear about. After Henderson released the choke you see him push his right hand up against Pettis' neck. I was sort of wondering was he was doing there:



The replay on your angle makes it a lot clearer, he was trying to go back and establish the rear naked again.

[Chairib]

By the way, you got some nice schooling there with Ralph and then AKA. How was Ralph's school? And are you working with Dave Camarillo now?

[Pride>UFC]

you should be this was FOTY!

What kind of douche bag likes Rashad Evans?

So you support cocky punks who are boring, eek out decisions, and never look to finish the fight? Shogun's gonna leave him unconscious

[Vaughany]

What kind of douche bag likes Rashad Evans?

So you support cocky punks who are boring, eek out decisions, and never look to finish the fight? Shogun's gonna leave him unconscious

....

[Poppa Catfish]

By the way, you got some nice schooling there with Ralph and then AKA. How was Ralph's school? And are you working with Dave Camarillo now?

I'm lucky to be in a MMA hotbed. Lion's Den isn't too far away from my house, Cung Le has a gym not too far by that, Fairtex, etc etc

Ralph's school in Mountain View was good but it was primarily run by his black belt Will Dias, you actually get to work with Dave Camarillo at AKA. And of course the gym can't even come close to comparing to the talent level of AKA, where guys like Cormier pop in to give wrestling tips. Yoshida came in to do a judo seminar, which I sadly was forced to miss.

Plus you get to see things like Arlovski grappling against Cain and The Punk teaches the little kid class . It really is great.