Alan Belcher is a top UFC competitor and is recognized as one of the best submission grapplers in America. His new “Immunity Course” is built to teach ANYONE how to beat more experience grapplers. Get in on his Free video series at: www.MicroBJJ.com/Immunity

By now, I’ve fallen in love with videos that are false fronts—moves that are used to cloak another submission attempt in which your opponent does not see coming.  In this video breakdown today, we get one of those moves demonstrated by Alan Belcher and one of his instructors.

This one is for all of you arm drag fans out there!  After a while, your opponent can easily defend the drag, so being able to surprise those with this move it always a plus.

Belcher Breakdown: Anaconda Choke

This is a very slick setup.  Let’s assume we’ve gone for the arm drag a few times by now and our opponent has been well aware of this move and does not want to budge on giving up any space.  So what do we do now?  Well first off, make sure you are not extending your arm too far from your body, as this could open up the door for your opponent to take your back.

Let’s break this down:

• Apply your underhook onto his arm.
• From here, pop up and grab his head.
• Holding him by the ear, pull his head down and stuff it into your armpit.
• Bring your arm firmly into his shoulder region.
• Apply the hold wrist deep, making sure he can’t escape from it.
• Place your chin right next to the lock.
• Utilizing a butterfly hook, roll him over as you slide underneath him.
• Squeeze for the finish.

If you like the anaconda choke then you might like this article by Cage Potato about the 10 top most bizarre submissions!

Variations of the Hold

Once we have them here, it’s time to go for the finish.  Our opponent knows that they are in trouble, and will likely be frantically trying to escape and make the move impossible to finish.  If the squeezing of the choke doesn’t do the trick, then there are a few ways around this road block.

Using your left leg, bring it up and try to pin down the opponent’s isolated arm.  This will add more pressure to the choke and they will be more inclined to tap out due to the pressure.  It will also nullify any potential escape that they could use with this arm and keep them firmly in place.

While going for the hold, you can also walk your hips into your opponent, which will bring your body weight down onto their head.  Crunching their head down, they will be forced to add pressure to the hold with their own body, which can make for a very unpleasant experience for them.

So there you have it.  If your opponent has been pesky and stubborn and won’t allow the arm drag, hit them with this little trick!  If you go about it the correct way, it should be an easy finish for the submission. If you liked this move go check out some of Alan’s other moves in this article by Science of Skill!

-Dan Faggella