Putting Someone To Sleep With The Darce

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This week we’re taking a closer look at Gabriel Bonfim’s d’arce choke and one of Youssef Zalal’s signature techniques to explain why it didn’t work this weekend.

In the premium section we’re analyzing some of the best chain wrestling we will ever see in the UFC from half of the main event for UFC Seattle, Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo.

Now let’s get into it.

During this weekend’s UFC card we saw the return of two brothers that happen to be high action prospects, Ismael and Gabriel Bonfim.

Ismael lost after a weird miscommunication with the ringside physician. Before that anticlimactic end, his brother, Gabriel showed, us why he’s such a welcome addition to the UFC.

The d’arce choke is an indirect strangle. That means you have to choke someone through their shoulder like a triangle. Generally, this means the choke comes on slower than direct chokes like guillotines and rear naked chokes.

This begs the question, why was Bonfim able to put Williams to sleep so quickly?

Sure, Bonfim hooking the leg helped keep Williams stuck, but that doesn’t explain why he went to sleep. Bonfim’s superior squeeze came from the rotation he put on Williams’s neck.

Let’s look at this demonstration with Gordon Ryan and Jon Jones to clearly explain what a world class d’arce looks like.

If you watch the Bonfim finish (Bonfinish?) you’ll notice he pulls his choking arm’s elbow up towards the ceiling much like Ryan does above. That shuts off the airway to Williams’s brain and puts him out.

Now let’s move on to a fascinating takedown technique we saw a couple times. I think this technique could become a staple of fighters’ games much like the calf kick.

Youssef Zalal has quietly and quickly turned into one of the UFC’s most compelling contenders. After going 3-3-1 across 7 decisions in the UFC, Zalal was dropped from the promotion in 2021.

Since then, Zalal has racked up 7 wins, 6 finishes, and re-entered the UFC’s featherweight division. Along the way he became much much craftier on the feet.

Zalal fights like a matador. He dances and stabs from distance until he can draw his opponent onto a counter. Those counters come as potshots, takedowns, and highlight reel trips.

The osoto gari is a fundamental judo technique. It literally means “large outer reap” and it makes for impressive highlights. It’s a staple of Petr Yan’s game and you may remember Jon Jones electrifying the crowd with one against Stipe Miocic last year.

Zalal tried this low effort high reward takedown this weekend against Calving Kattar.

Later in the fight Zalal’s takedown attempt almost backfired.

Osoto garis are relatively low effort with high high reward. In MMA they are particularly valuable because you can kick into them (like Jones did above) or use footwork to hop into them (like Zalal did on Quarantillo).

Now here comes the problem with osoto garis in MMA and no gi.

Because there is no gi to grip on to like there is in judo, it is much much harder to manipulate someone’s posture. As a result, when you hop into the osoto gari like Zalal tried to do, you risk getting thrown with the same throw.

To effectively use the technique you need to start with at least one of the following:

1. Trip your opponent as they’re stepping so their feet are light

2. Push your opponent’s head off line so they have to move to catch their balance

To finish the throw though, you are going to need to push your opponent’s head eventually. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, the osoto gari has unique utility in MMA because you can hide the set up with long range kicks.

This coming week we get to see one of the best wrestlers to ever fight in the UFC return. Henry Cejudo is headlining UFC Seattle against Song Yadong.