First Things First

Last week we got an excellent professional jiujitsu card from WNO. Three athletes in particular threw a wrench in the idea that no gi has devolved into all wrestling and top game. Let’s take a look at how these three won by patiently putting pressure on their opponents from bottom.

Pressure > Position

You can’t watch a fight card without hearing people talk about pressure. In striking, commentators will discuss the pressure applied from proper footwork. Your pace and positioning keeps you in front of your opponent so you can continue to do damage.

It’s more common in grappling to hear people discuss pressure as function of passing, top position, and largely as a substitute for weight. You pin someone, force them to carry you, and sap their strength.

These explanation are limited views of pressure.

You can apply pressure to your opponent from bottom by staying composed, continuing to attack, and not giving up position. The end result is the same: your opponent has a momentary lapse in attention and you take advantage. They crack under pressure.

Technical Takeaways

Now let’s take a look at three of the matches from WNO 24. All of the winners attacked relentlessly from bottom until their opponent had a momentary lapse in judgment.

Victor Hugo Runs Through Late Replacement Javier Zaruski

From the word go Hugo was attacking his opponent Zaruski. He sat, hand fought, and got an arm drag early to jump into a guillotine.

Shortly after this Zaruski came in close and Hugo threw up an omoplata. Now Zaruski had a difficult line to walk. He had to stay engaged so Hugo didn’t hit him with another arm drag or try to wrestle up, but he also couldn’t over extend and risk getting his upper body attacked again.

With Hugo holding the back it was only a matter of time before he finished Zaruski.

Zaruski was a late replacement in this match-up. I wouldn’t mind seeing Hugo rescheduled against his original opponent, Luke Griffith. Hugo vs. Griffith or one of Griffith’s stablemates Nicholas Meregali and Gordon Ryan are the only match-ups I’m interested in at that weight class right now.

Before Hugo put on this masterclass, gi superstar Tainan Dalpra continued his transition to no gi by taking on Jacob Rodriguez.

Tainan Dalpra Continues To Improve His No Gi Game

After getting signed to ONE Championship and getting no matches for a year, Dalpra started competing in WNO. Now he’s slowly been taking no gi matches. This one against Jacob Rodriguez was his most challenging one yet.

Rodriguez started by hitting a double on Dalpra. He even made it to mount a few minutes later.

After Dalpra got out, he immediately went back to attacking Rodriguez’s legs. Dalpra’s leg entanglements got closer to scoring every minute that went by. He even briefly climbed to the back.

Rodriguez had success early with tight passing. He was also getting countered by Dalpra’s leg entanglements and sweep attempts. Naturally, this made him want to get in tight again to pass.

In the final five minutes Dalpra was able to get under Rodriguez’s hips to score what would cement the match for him.

Rodriguez was forced to act fast. He kicked Dalpra away to wrestle up but this only gave Dalpra a better look at his back.

Dalpra is new to no gi, but he has more than a decade of grappling experience over Rodriguez. They both looked good in this match and Rodriguez shouldn’t lose much career momentum.

The most impressive finish of the card came from the co-main event.

Diego Pato Weathers The Storm

WNO’s 145 and 155 champion Diego Pato took on former gi world champion Fabricio Andrey in the co-main event. Pato played guard and Fabricio fought to get around his legs. Early on, it didn’t look good for Pato.

When Andrey went back to attacking on top he was actually able to get around Pato’s guard again.

This would end up being the turning point in the match. Andrey never got his hooks involved to control Pato’s hips and he lost the position.

Pato carefully shimmied out until he could drop his back to the mat and fully escape the crucifix. Then he went back to attacking from guard and finally swept to get on top.

Pato did not want to lose position like Andrey did. Every time Andrey moved, Pato’s hooks re-engaged. He never fully locked back control, but he kept his elbows and knees tight so his chest was glued to Andrey’s back. This left Pato free to attack Andrey’s neck.

The reason these three men above won was because they were active. Yes, they were on their back. But, they were pulling on posture, fighting for grips, and forcing their opponent on top to work. That work rate caused the top players to overextend and give up positioning in crucial moments that gave the win to the guard player.

It just goes to show you that good pressure is patient. It comes from staying active, and disciplined on offense. You don’t need to throw a million moves at your opponent, you just need to stay composed and stay in front of them. If you can consistently attack without giving up position they’ll crack.

WNO 24 was a great jiujitsu card all around. Half of the matches ended by submission and you really got to see good guard work.

A lot of no gi events can devolve into bad wrestling, or people gaming the system to squeak out a win. But WNO’s rules allow for classic, patient jiujitsu to slowly play out.

This Friday we’ll be covering another MMA super prospect for the premium notebook. Come back here at the end of the week if you want to see some of the most creative grappling the UFC has ever had.

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