mmafightdb.com compared MMA fighters’ heights across weight classes to see what impact height had on securing a triangle choke submission. The results of their analysis reveal that there is no correlation between height and triangle choke success. However, being taller than your opponent, particularly in the heavier weight categories, appears to be connected to greater triangle success:
“The results demonstrate what is perhaps key to all MMA fights; that it is the relative mix of fighters that is more important than any single objective factor. Being tall is good, but being taller is what matters, at least when it comes to triangles in the heavier weight categories.
Shorter and lighter fighters may take hope in the fact that in the lighter weight categories, height appears to make little difference to triangle success.
While legs and body shapes undoubtedly change how submissions work, there appears to be little evidence that being tall in itself will equal more triangle choke success. What appears to matter more is that a fighter is taller than his or her opponent.
The results contrast with many peoples’ experiences in the gym. Shorter fighters will testify that it is harder to triangle larger opponents than smaller opponents. Many will note that it is taller opponents that prefer the triangle choke in a training setting.
What is interesting is that this doesn’t seem to feed through into professional competitions, where fighters are required to weigh in at the same weight. This may be because height ranges and weights are restricted by weight categories more than they are in practice.”
Triangles are more successful in the early rounds
