FIRST THINGS FIRST
Welcome to Open Note Grappling.
Every Tuesday morning I send out a breakdown of the best combat sports action. In less than 10 minutes you'll learn how the top fighters win and anything else fighters, martial artists, and fight fans need to know.
UFC 317 ended as easily the best UFC card of the year so far. In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja shined with suffocating grappling and a third round submission. Today we’re going to analyze how he made it look so easy.
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Now let’s get into it.
What's In Today's Letter?
Alexandre Pantoja is aging better than fine wine. In the past 4 years, Pantoja has gone undefeated with 8 victories, 4 finishes, and 4 performance bonuses. This time, he left his opponent facedown on the canvas with another rear naked choke.
Pantoja is a bit of paradoxical fighter.
On the feet Pantoja is wild, unafraid of eating counter strikes and undeterred by his own unsuccessful offense. He will run forward flailing hands and feet until he can grab onto his opponent. Then they either fold, or fall to the mat.
Once Pantoja is on the ground he’s a finely sharpened blade. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that can carefully and quickly cut through his opponents’ defensive barriers until he’s squeezing the life out of them. He did it again last night. Let’s see how.