MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Missed Kimura to Rear Naked Choke

 Posted by at 2:39 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Oct 122011
 


MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week returns with its second offering following the defense against the rear clinch suplex. Last week, Ed Perdomo and Johnny Rodriguez prevented a suplex by turning into the opponent and pulling half guard to lock in a Kimura shoulder lock. However, things don’t always go as planned, especially in a scramble situation such as the one caused by pulling half guard. This week, Ed and Johnny will provide an alternative way to take control of the situation should the opponent manage to free their arm: taking the back and sinking in the Rear Naked Choke. Continue reading »

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UFC 136: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 Posted by at 7:41 PM  MMA News, UFC  No Responses »
Oct 092011
 
Frankie Edgar had all the answers at UFC 136, ending his UFC career-long rivalry with Gray Maynard in indisputable fashion with a TKO win in the championship rounds. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)

UFC 136 burst into Houston, Texas with all the fan fare of a UFC Fan Expo and all the hype of the rematches between “The Answer” Frankie Edgar (14-1-1) and “The Bully” Gray Maynard (10-1-1), who fought to a hotly contested draw at UFC 125, and “Bad Boy” Leonard Garcia (15-8-1) and Nam Phan (19-10), who first met in one of the worst judging decisions in MMA history. The card was stacked to the ceiling with a co-main event title bout between “Ken-Flo” Kenny Florian (14-6) and “Junior” Jose Aldo (19-2), a middleweight contest between top contenders Chael Sonnen (25-11-1) and “All-American” Brian Stann (11-4), and a lightweight tilt between ailing submission ace “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon (21-6) and red hot striker “The Young Assassin” Melvin Guillard (27-9-2). While the fans certainly were not disappointed and the card was controversy free, something rare indeed in this era of mixed martial arts. There were more than a few fighters on the card who suffered bitter defeat at UFC 136, and to explore this, MMA Gospel has The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Suplex Defense to Kimura

 Posted by at 2:06 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Oct 052011
 


MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week returns with three new grappling techniques for the continued education of our readers. Ed Perdomo and Johnny Rodriguez have chosen to focus this arc on countering the rear clinch by preventing the Suplex or Rear Drag takedown and turning it into an opportunity for a fight-ending submission following the resulting scramble. The first technique that will be explored is the defense of the Suplex itself followed by a Kimura from the half guard position.  Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Defending the Shoot with an Inverted Necktie

 Posted by at 2:44 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Sep 282011
 

Ed Perdomo and Adam Valencia have chosen to end the current arc of MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week with a very advanced submission. This time, when Ed defends the shoot, he will attack with a modified version of “Peruvian Savage” Tony DeSouza’s (10-4) masterpiece, the Peruvian Necktie. The choke was designed specifically for the purpose of defending against a classic double-leg shoot and is a perfect weapon to use against overly aggressive wrestlers who are always hunting for that big slam. This modified version is a little easier for stocky fighters to pull off and is also a great alternative if the opponent defends the Peruvian Necktie.   Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Defending the Shoot with a Rear Naked Choke

 Posted by at 4:57 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Sep 212011
 

Last week, Ed Perdomo and Adam Valencia demonstrated how to use an opponent’s outside single-leg attempt against them by turning them over into a straight Armbar. This week, they will continue working against the outside shoot that is common among lower level ground fighters and strikers just cutting their teeth on wrestling by taking the same outside shoot a different direction. Ed will short sprawl the shoot and turn Adam around to take his back, setting the position for a solid Rear Naked Choke. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Defending the Shoot with a Spinning Armbar

 Posted by at 5:43 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  3 Responses »
Sep 142011
 

It’s a new year for MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week and Ed Perdomo and Adam Valencia are here to usher in another 52 submission grappling techniques with a three-part arc on making your opponents pay for shooting from the outside. In each of these moves, Ed will turn a long range shoot into a fight-ending submission that capitalizes on Adam’s momentum and position. Starting off the chain is a basic Spinning Armbar. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Movie Review: “Warrior”

 Posted by at 4:48 PM  Features, MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 302011
 

(Promotional material courtesy of Lionsgate)

When I drove to Chicago to answer the invitation MMA Gospel received to attend a three week advanced screening of Lionsgate Entertainment’s new mixed martial arts drama Warrior staring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, I didn’t expect much. The few short trailers that had come out prior had piqued my interest though and seemed to imply that the film would offer more than the poor acting of several UFC champions and excessive nudity that previous MMA films had given us, but knowing the mainstream media’s still jaded opinion of the sport, I didn’t expect Warrior to be much more than a basic rehash of every old boxing movie re-skinned to appeal to niche market MMA fans. I was pleasantly surprised. Director/screenwriter Gavin O’Connor put together a movie that appeals to fans of all walks of life and manages to weave a story that is both deeply ensconced in the subculture of mixed martial arts and completely independent of the action in the cage at the same time. The story could have centered around any sport and still had a serious impact on the viewer, but MMA was certainly the best fit. Continue reading »

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UFC 134: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 Posted by at 7:45 PM  MMA News, UFC  No Responses »
Aug 282011
 

Anderson Silva (top) extended his record number of UFC title defenses to nine after brutally destroying the only man to hand him a loss in the past seven years. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)

The UFC made its triumphant return to Brazil with UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami in Rio de Janeiro. The card was loaded to the hilt with Brazil’s biggest stars as well as a few hometown heroes as the South American nation took on the world. In their bouts, the Brazilians had resounding success with “The Spider” Anderson Silva (29-4), “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-6-1), and “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (20-5) all taking home spectacular knockout wins and undefeated young Edson Barboza (9-0) taking a “Fight of the Night” winning Split Decision. With “Thunder” Yushin Okami (26-6), Forrest Griffin (18-7), “The Hybrid” Brendan Schaub (7-2), and “The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (17-7-1) all coming up short, the lone main card victor from the visitor’s dugout was Stanislav Nedkov (6-0) who scored a come-from-behind TKO win over “Banha” Luiz Cane (9-4). The fans were the real winners as the UFC again came out and proved why it is the greatest mixed martial arts organization in the world, bar none, but did the fighters come out as well as the fans did? To answer this, MMA Gospel brings The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Step Over Bridged Armbar

 Posted by at 2:50 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Aug 242011
 


Building off last week’s Triangle Choke Escape to Side Mount Ed Perdomo and Mike Richardson return to demonstrate a Step Over Bridged Armbar not commonly seen outside of submission grappling competitions that can flow easily from the escape. It is a quick, easy, and often overlooked arm lock due to its less controlled positioning and the need to sit out from side mount, but it is very effective and can end the fight by submission, or technical submission, very quickly. It also allows for an element of surprise due to the fact that is its rarely utilized in MMA.  Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Triangle Choke Escape to Side Mount

 Posted by at 4:12 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Aug 172011
 

MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week returns with its final three-technique arc prior to its one-year anniversary. Hapkido expert Ed Perdomo chose to end the year with a trio of moves that range from the most basic of escapes to a spinning Inverted Triangle Choke and worked with Mike Richardson to bring it all to the MMA Gospel family. This Triangle Choke Escape to Side Mount is among the easiest escapes in MMA, but it is also one of the most commonly botched escapes, especially late in the fight when fighters are tired. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Scarfhold Leg-Scissor Armbar

 Posted by at 5:26 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Aug 102011
 

MMA Gospel returns for the final submission in its current three-move chain as Ed Perdomo and Adam Valencia demonstrate a Leg-Scissor Armbar from the Scarfhold position.  The submission will feed off of the Reverse Half-Nelson Sweep from two weeks prior and is a viable alternative to the Inverted Omoplata explored last week. The Armbar is one of the most basic in all of Judo as well as one of the tightest and most difficult to escape as it utilizes the dominant offensive position known as head and arm position or Scarfhold. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Inverted Omoplata from Scarfhold

 Posted by at 2:28 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Aug 032011
 

MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week continues with an old favorite. Last time, Ed Perdomo used a Reverse Half Nelson Sweep  to break Adam Valencia’s turtle and move into place for either Side Mount or Scarfhold position. Here, Ed will choose to take Scarfhold and move into an Inverted Omoplata. This submission is a very tight shoulder lock that will end the fight if it gets locked in. There is no toughing it out – either the opponent taps or the muscles and ligaments of the shoulder get torn into pieces. For safety, please exercise caution with this technique and practice it only under the supervision of an experienced submission fighting instructor. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Reverse Half Nelson Sweep from Turtle to Side Mount

 Posted by at 4:05 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Jul 272011
 

This week will begin a brand new arch in MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week featuring Hapkido master Ed Perdomo and his assistant Adam Valencia. This set of three will focus on the set-up in a big way. It has always been stressed throughout the year- long run of Technique of the Week that the set-up is everything and as we draw closer to the anniversary, just six weeks away, MMA Gospel has chosen to present two arches that stress the core principles of grappling that have always been the underlying theme of Technique of the Week. This arch will begin with a Reverse Half Nelson Sweep from Turtle to Side Mount, and will continue into a pair of submissions from the Scarf Hold in the following weeks. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Short Armbar Off Missed Kneebar

 Posted by at 2:15 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Jul 202011
 

Last week, MMA Gospel continued its segment that began with an Armbar Defense from the Guard by moving from the defense directly into a Kneebar. This week, Ed Perdomo and Adam Valencia will close this combination of techniques with a Short Armbar from side control. As always, each technique feeds off of the last and this one is no exception. The Armbar is set up after missing the overhook that started last week’s Kneebar and following through to a fight-ending conclusion. Continue reading »

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MMA Gospel Technique of the Week: Kneebar from Armbar Defense

 Posted by at 4:17 PM  MMA News, Technique of the Week  No Responses »
Jul 132011
 

Last week, Ed Perdomo and Adam Valencia demonstrated a way to defend one of the most common attacks in MMA, an armbar from the guard, with a minimal use of energy while improving position at the same time. The escape left Ed in an excellent position to move into side control, return to his feet, or even respond with a submission attempt of his own. This week, Ed and Adam will demonstrate the easiest and least expected submission to be found from this escape, a straight Kneebar.  Continue reading »

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