There are many ways to defend a standing guillotine. The option of lifting and slamming your opponent on the ground while being caught in a guillotine is one of the more dangerous ones.
As reported in an article by Kirik Jeness on MMA.tv, there has been a recent trend of MMA and BJJ competitors severely injuring injuring their necks while executing this technique:
“in 2009 Zach Kirk shot for a double leg in the main event of an amateur show, and got caught in a guillotine. When the fight hit the ground, Kirk’s fifth cervical vertebra shattered, bone fragments ground into his spinal cord, and his muscles went limp forever.
In 2010 Braulio Estima was temporarily paralysed while shooting for a single leg.
In early 2010 Franco Lescano was training at Argentina’s Tiger Gym for his MMA debut when he attempted a takedown while caught in a guillotine. The resulting injury left him paralyzed from the neck down, and he died 21 days later.
On May 14, 2012 fighter Devin Johnson suffered a spinal cord injury during practice at Urijah Faber’s Sacramento gym, Ultimate Fitness. He was training for his final amateur fight before turning pro. He will never fight in the cage again, but is fighting to regain as much function as he can.
On April 26 of this year former college club wrestler, grappler, music promoter, and guitar player Steve Watts was paralyzed from the neck down in an unregulated amateur mixed martial arts event at Cher-Ae Heights Casino, in California. The catastrophic injury occurred when Watts defended a guillotine attempt by Michael Hebenstriet by slamming his opponent. His head hit the canvas and the impact fractured Watts’ V-4 vertebrae, damaging his spinal cord.”
Here are some safer standing guillotine defenses:
Laugh Off Most Any Guillotine with Luta Livre grappling techniques that this 6x ADCC veteran uses to stay safe.
- Get out from one of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s most common chokes with luta livre fighter Nicolas Renier’s secrets to becoming an escape artist.
- Nicolas Renier has found huge success with these moves, and you can ward off guillotines from top, bottom, and everywhere in between with these tactics. Get 10% OFF with code ‘BJJEE’.
