FIRST THINGS FIRST
Road To UFC has found a young Japanese submission expert. Here we’re going to look at what makes his game work so well.
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Submission Savant On The Road To UFC
Road To UFC is the company’s talent pipeline for fighters from Asia and Oceania. Every season features tournaments across four weight classes to get men and women to the UFC.
Road to UFC is responsible for the arrivals of Rei Tsuruya, Lawrence Lui, and Nyamjargal Tumendemberel. This season features submission savant Takeru Uchida.
The Japanese flyweight is 9-2 as a professional and every fight has ended in a submission. He’s the the definition of live by the sword, die by the sword.
Heres the interesting quirk though. Uchida actually fought in the first season of Road to UFC in a non-tournament bout against Shaun Etchell.
Uchida is in bottom half. He sits up and turns belly down. Etchell gets a seat belt and rolls Uchida onto his side. Uchida’s hips are high so he turns to slip Etchell off. Uchida gets on top in the over under position. Etchell sits up. Uchida reaches behind his back to grab Etchell’s trap. This helps him scoot onto Etchell’s back. Etchell quad pods to slam Uchida forward but the choke is in.
Takeru Uchida - Shaun Etchell
Why has it taken so long for Uchida to get here? He’s only 23, his first Road to UFC fight was when he was 19, and he himself said he needed more time before he was ready for the peak of the sport.
To his credit, Uchida crafted one of the most efficient and effective grappling games you could ask for. Like many squirrelly submission studs, that starts with his guard.
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