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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.
This week’s UFC card was an undercover banger. Today we’re going to look at the two young prospects who got back to their winning ways and how they made it look so easy.
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Now let’s get into it.
What's In Today's Letter?
TATSURO TAIRA SUFFOCATES HYUN SUNG PARK:
Taira’s Pressure Can’t Be Topped
Tatsuro Taira is Japan’s current hope for their first ever UFC title. The 26 year old is ranked #6 at flyweight. After a losing a blood and guts decision to perpetual top 3 flyweight Brandon Royval, Taira was supposed to take on Amir Albazi, the UFC’s #4 flyweight. Then Albazi fell off the card and the UFC scrambled to find a replacement.
Enter Hyun Sung Park.
Park is a bruiser. A hard puncher with a knack for getting to his opponent’s back by striking in the clinch. Park was already preparing for a fight and his all action style meant that he and Taira were going to have a hard time making this fight boring.
Fortunately the fight lived up to hardcore fans’ expectations. Unfortunately for Park, it was at his expense.
Taira drops Park with two rights. Taira follows Park to the floor. Park grabs a pinch head lock and tries to use it for a butterfly sweep Taira. Taira gets a left under hook and puts his head on the opposite side. Now he can work his pressure passing. Park holds Taira off by keeping his bottom knee in tight.
Tatsuro Taira - Hyun Sung Park
I popped for this. It’s very rare to see good guard passing in MMA and Taira was inches away from completing the pass. Watch how Jozef Chen slices through this guard using similar mechanics.
Chen has a right under hook. He hops off to half guard then walks back to butterfly half guard. Now Chen has an under hook, his left knee pinching Hopstock’s hip, and chest pressure. This makes it simple for Chen to step over Hopstock’s butterfly hook.
Jozef Chen - Tarik Hopstock
Taira had the requirements for a textbook high tripod pass. Then he moved towards a side smash pass and got caught on Park’s legs. If Taira kept his weight going forward he probably could have stepped directly to mount. Taira was only able to advance position when Park tried to get up.
Park pushes Taira’s head away and sits up to escape. Taira slips in a back body lock. Park turns to run out and Taira hops to his back. Then Taira puts a hook in and they walk to the cage. Taira and Park fight for grips.
Tatsuro Taira - Hyun Sung Park
After a few seconds Taira was able to trip Park and lock a figure four body lock.
Watch Taira’s legs. It’s hard to see but it looks like Taira puts his left foot down and hooks Park’s leg with his right to trip him. Taira lands halfway between mount and back control. Park tries to stand up but Taira has his left hook in. That slows Park down so Taira can lock the body triangle.
Tatsuro Taira - Hyun Sung Park
Taira could not finish the fight in the first. Then in the second he took it right back to his spot and ended the night early.
Park is holding onto Taira’s hands. Taira brings them down and pushes Park’s right off of his left so he can punch it across Park’s face. Taira anchors the choke on Park’s collar bone and pushes Park’s defensive hand away so can close grip. Taira cranks on Park’s face to force the submission.
Tatsuro Taira - Hyun Sung Park
While it wasn’t the most hyped event, this fight ended up being an important fight in the UFC’s development. Park - Taira is officially the first UFC card to be headlined by two Asian fighters. That’s certainly a marker of the UFC’s growth as a global company and not necessarily reliant on American stars.
On the under card one young American prospect got back on the winning track as well.
AUSTIN BASHI BULLDOZES JOHN YANNIS:
Bashi’s Unique Breakdowns & Back Control
Austin Bashi debuted in the UFC this year as a very hyped prospect. Undefeated at 23, Bashi was supposed to be the next big deal. I was interested in him because he won the IBJJF’s 2023 No Gi World Championships.
Then Bashi lost to the prospect killer Christian Rodriguez and the wind left Bashi’s sails. This weekend Bashi was given a lay-up in a late replacement fight and he made quick work of him.
Through all of these clips pay attention to how Bashi:
Adjusts his hooks
Breaks down Yannis’s positioning
Yannis steps in with a left hook. Bashi drops under it to pick Yannis up with a double. Yannis turns away to escape. As he does, Bashi steps inside Yannis’s legs to put a hook in, grabs a tight waist, and hold Yannis’s wrist. Then Bashi puts both his hooks in and starts punching while holding Yannis’s wrist.
Austin Bashi - John Yannis
Yannis kept trying to shake Bashi off, but Bashi was always one step ahead of him to keep advancing position.
Bashi is high on Yannis. Bashi steps on the cage and grabs Yanni’s left leg to break his base. Then he stands over Yannis’s hips to hand fight and punch him. Bashi keeps his right leg inside so when Yannis stands Bashi can easily have two hooks in. Bashi grabs Yannis’s left leg to break him down again.
Austin Bashi - John Yannis
This looks simple but it’s missing from many grapplers’ games.
Sometimes when an opponent is turtling and trying to stand, you’re better off just taking your hooks out. This allows you to be mobile and drive weight through your opponent. It certainly beats keeping your hooks in and getting shook off the back.
Yannis is sliding out of back control. Bashi opens his hooks and briefly looks at an arm triangle. Yannis crawls to turtle. Bashi steps on his calf to slow him down. Then he uses a crab hook to disrupt Yannis’s base. Bashi slaps on the rear naked choke as he’s putting in the hooks and Yannis submits.
Austin Bashi - John Yannis
This win was impressive but I’m not sure how much we can take away from it. Bashi’s opponent was coming in on less than a week’s notice. The fight was a gimme. But, frankly, that’s a good thing for a professional fighter who’s only 23. They need the appropriate matchmaking so they can develop without getting broken. Either way, I’m happy to see these grapplers with modern jiujitsu making their way into the UFC.
Before we get out of here today I want to call out two grapplers who were ahead of their time.
HELP DESK UPDATE:
Demian Maia vs Gunnar Nelson
It’s very rare that good grappling gets remembered, let alone rewarded with post fight bonuses in professional MMA. So, I’m going to start adding analysis and rewatches of classic fights many have missed.
The first one I’ve added to the Help Desk is Demian Maia versus Gunnar Nelson .
Demian Maia remains arguably the most effective Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner to ever fight in the UFC. He didn’t win a title but that hardly matters. He ended half of his career with submission victories. More than half of those were rear naked chokes. And 10 years ago Maia went straight at Gunnar Nelson for 15 minutes in one of the best displays of grappling fights you’ll ever see in the UFC.
If you only know of Nelson as the Icelandic welterweight who fights infrequently you really should review his career.
He grew up competing in karate and switched to Brazilian jiu-jitsu around 2006 when he was 17. Nelson then won IBJJF Pan American Championships at brown belt, got silver at Worlds, and won No Gi Pans at Black; all in 2009. He even made it to ADCC that same year!
Nelson was prodigious. Maia was seeking perfection. And the two went back and forth for a 15 minute grappling showcase.
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LINKS, INSTRUCTIONALS, AND MORE MATCHES TO STUDY:
What Are We Talking About Today?
I love tripod passing. If you want to learn what Taira could have done instead you should check out these studies:
We’ve covered these prospects in the past on the newsletter.
Click here to read more about Tatsuro Taira
You can read about Austin Bashi here
Here is the first time I covered Hyun Sung Park
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS (you might have missed)
UFC 322’s main event was leaked. According to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev is fighting Jack Della Maddalena. This is the fight I’m most excited for right now. A modern take on striker vs grappler with who I believe is MMA’s best grappler against the equally violent and crafty welterweight champ.
Last week New Wave announced they were drafting Mica Galvao for their CJI 2 team. Now all of the teams have announced all of their athletes. Who do you think is going to win?
Not so much news but certainly something demanding your attention. UFC BJJ 2 happened last week and the replay is available for free here. Mason Fowler was crowned the inaugural 205 champ and both Tackett brothers won by submission. My bet is the UFC is going to pour money into making them the face of the sport.
Thanks for reading today. If you enjoyed this piece and want to read more about the top techniques, principles, and stories from the world of fighting upgrade to the Help Desk! The Help Desk has:
Detailed analysis of specific techniques, athletes, and themes
A searchable technique library with gifs and explanations
New content added every week
Accessing the Open Note Grappling Help Desk only costs $5 per month and it’s the best way to support my work. You can even try a week for free if you click here.
