Fighters Only

Issue 070

December 2010

It doesn’t feel good to be backed up against the cage. An opponent who ends up there can't sprawl his hips back, limiting his defense and giving you more opportunity to change levels and execute a takedown. Freestyle wrestlers such as Matt Hughes and John Fitch have carved a career out of it. Here’s four leg takedowns that exploit the positional dominance of trapping your opponent's back to the wall. Remember, once he’s on the ground, get him covered and get his shoulders all the way down to the mat, not just his butt. A good fighter will start scrambling as soon as he goes down and he may use the cage as leverage to stand up.

Single leg takedown with 'pump handle' arm trap

1 Pete (black shirt) has Jason pressed against the fence. Pete has single-wrist control and an underhook, and uses a center penetration step to pin Jason's leg to the cage.

2 Pete level changes to attack Jason's leg and presses his wrist control against Jason's leg to stop the knee strike.

3 Pete releases the pressure from his center penetration step, circles outside the leg and passes the wrist control to his left hand behind Jason's leg.

4 Pete picks up the single leg, controlling the ankle with his right hand.

5 Pete runs the pipe, pivots on his left leg and pulls the ankle through his legs.

Double leg against the cage

A staple of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, executing the double leg like this should practically guarantee that you pass the guard upon grounding. Take a look back over Hughes' career, especially the classic clashes against Trigg, Newton and Sakurai to see textbook double legs against the cage.

1 Pete has Jason pressed against the cage with an over/under tie-up and a center penetration step.

2 Pete steps his lead leg to the outside, bringing Jason's leg away from the cage.

3 Pete clasps his hands together just below Jason's butt, using an S-grip (one palm up, one palm down, locked together at the fingers).

4 Using an explosive squat movement, Pete heists Jason up onto his shoulder, looking up high.

5 Pete twists his shoulders and rotates his whole body to aim Jason wherever he wants him to land, swinging his legs past in order to prevent Jason closing his guard.

6 Pete lands in side control, hugging Jason's knees together to prevent him reguarding.

Single leg throw by finish

A single leg takedown with your head on the outside is a very effective attack. But it does offer some opportunities for the defender to take the attacker’s back, or reverse the position using the switch technique. You must remember to react quickly if the defender starts to move towards your rear.

1 Pete is pressing Jason on the fence, again using an over/under tie-up.

2 Pete level changes and grabs a hold of the outside single.

3 Jason crossfaces Pete and starts to circle out towards Pete's back.

4 Pete pivot steps, planting his right leg and stepping his left leg around, driving his shoulder in hard against Jason's knee, sending him crashing to the mat.

Breakaway striking and blast double takedown

Using strikes to bring the opponent's lines of defense away from his hips is an effective strategy. Take a look at Georges St Pierre's second fight with BJ Penn for some great examples of how to set up a leg takedown against the fence using strikes.