Submission Breakdown: Fabricio Werdum's Triangle that Shocked the MMA World
SAN JOSE, CA - JUNE 26: Strikeforce fighter Fabricio Werdum (L) battles Strikeforce fighter Fedor Emelianenko (R) during their Heavyweight fight at Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Werdum at HP Pavilion on June 26, 2010 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
I have crazy news, everyone! It turns out, MMA can produce some incredible submission grappling moments, so why not talk about them? In this series, I’ll be taking a look at some of the most impressive (frankly mind-blowing) submissions throughout MMA history. I’ll break down what happened, the methodology and thought process behind it, and the mechanics involved. For context as to what prompted this, check out the Twitter thread, and feel free to add your own favorites as well.
Fedor’s run of dominance through the heavyweight division is, to date, one of the greatest runs in MMA history. Littered with other legendary heavyweight figures, Fedor was the prohibitive favorite over the man with arguably the best BJJ in the history of the division, Fabricio Werdum. Despite being the more accomplished grappler, the odds of Werdum successfully submitting Fedor were not high in the eyes of fans. After all, Fedor had successfully waded through the guards of other legendary BJJ fighters, like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and beat them there. If he couldn’t beat Fedor on the feet, and Fedor would be able to hang on the mat, what chance did Werdum have?
Werdum flops to the mat after an exchange, and Fedor gladly accepts the invitation to fight on the ground, as he has done throughout his career. After a meek attempt to throw Werdum’s legs aside, Fedor dives, recklessly I may add, up the centerline to land a huge left hand. Fedor’s left arm is in between Werdum’s legs after missing the punch. Werdum does not have his legs locked behind Fedor, and is holding on to the wrist for control. Fedor begins to establish a base, posturing up and placing his right hand on the outside of Werdum’s knee. Instead of freeing himself from between the legs, Fedor decides to try and land some ground and pound. As Werdum begins cranking the arm, Fedor first attempts to grab his own hand to curl it back. Unsuccessful, he stands up and pushes against the outside of the knee again while pulling back to slide his head out, and succeeds. With his head free, he starts circling to the left side of Werdum, landing hammer-fists as he goes.
Despite his escape, there were some key errors made by Fedor in this exchange. The first was diving straight into the guard of Werdum, with no control of the feet, knees, nor hips. He was so focused on landing a big shot, he sacrificed any stability or base that would have allowed for sustained offense on the ground. The second was his willingness to ignore the danger of the submission application to land a few punches, which didn’t do much damage. He waited until the danger present was too much to ignore before trying to escape. In essence, his mentality in this fight is what led to his eventual loss. The willingness to plow through danger as it came, rather than prevent and circumvent it, was the key factor in his loss. When going back to watch how Fedor approached the guard of Nogueira, there’s a marked difference in the strategy, patience, and grappling IQ between that fight and his approach here. The next few moments after his escape illustrate this point perfectly.
After his escape, Fedor begins land those shots mentioned above on Werdum’s head. He’s free to land shots but you’ll notice that Werdum is less concerned about blocking the hammer-fists then he is getting his hand on the side of Fedor’s face, creating a post. At the same time, he’s pushing off his right foot, crunching his body, and rotating with Fedor, and turning his hips back toward Fedor, otherwise known as a Granby roll. Because of Fedor’s sole focus on landing those shots, he keeps circling and runs into the cage. His face gets pushed back inside the leg of Werdum, and the triangle choke that would finish him. Had Fedor taken the extra step to peel Werdum’s post to establish a better position to land his shots, both in this instance and in the fight overall, we may have had a very different outcome.
With the legs locked behind Fedor’s shoulder, the focus of Werdum is still to threaten Fedor with the armbar. Notice Fedor’s elbow is not deep inside, making it difficult to pull Fedor down to tighten the choke. Werdum pulls down on Fedor’s wrist and extends his hips. Fedor twists and yanks to try and sneak his elbow out of danger. While at risk of increasing the pressure on the joint, it’s a common tactic employed in MMA/No-Gi, since there’s less friction. Since this occurred early in the fight, Werdum had an easy time maintaining control, shutting down that escape route. Fedor is forced to lean in and forward to relieve some of the pressure on his elbow, which is what Werdum was waiting for.
With the triangle locked, Werdum continues to work on securing the the finish. He alternates between tightening the triangle and threatening the armbar. Switching between pulling down the shin/head, forcing Fedor side to side, pulling and extending the arm. Forcing Fedor to react to each attack, and securing the triangle and arm further with each attempt, the escape options dwindle. After forcing Fedor to post his right arm, Werdum pressures up with his hips on the trapped arm. Fedor tries one more time to bring his weight back and curl the arm in, but it’s too late. The triangle is too tight and his arm is being cranked relentlessly, a moment of hesitancy as his hand wavers, and the tap comes. John McCarthy stops the fight and Fabricio Werdum makes history. In just :68 seconds, Fedor’s incredible win streak was ended, securing the biggest win of Werdum’s career.
That brings us to the end of the fourth installment of our Submission Breakdown Series. Feel free to comb through the Twitter thread, and let me know which submission you’d like me to break down next time.