(Props: MMACandy via Reddit/MMA)

Damn…this is even sexier than when Chael did it to Anderson at UFC 148. Three more MMA Candy videos featuring the lovely Brittney are after the jump.

I awoke this morning to find a lone, blinking message on my answering machine. The messenger, whom shall be referred to as Minowaman for the time being, informed me of a video that would not only change the MMA and combat sports world’s forever, but possibly reignite the long, bitter tensions between the United States and Russia. And now, I will pass it on to you, Potato Nation, as I can only assume that shit in my town is about to go Red Dawn within the hour.

Amidst a deadly crew of English-speaking, Russian sleeper cells, a lone FBI agent, code name Gull of the Sea (at his request), was able to infiltrate a remote, Russian facility, like so, and record the following video of the illegal toe hold technology that the Russians have been building up for years.

UFC 137 goes down tomorrow night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, and one fight that we feel is being criminally overlooked (televised on Spike or not) is the lightweight match-up between Dennis Siver and Donald Cerrone. Now, where both men are known for their elite striking game, its is Siver who has made his name off of the spinning back kick/turning side kick, picking up victories over Nate Mohr and Paul Kelly at UFC 93 and 105, respectively. Cerrone has stated that he feels the spinning back kick is Siver’s only weapon, and whether or not you agree with him (I don’t), you have to admit that it is one awesome weapon.

(Props to our buddies over at IronForgesIron. Skip to 4:00 for the beginning of the fight.) 

If Scott Jorgensen hadn’t convinced you back at WEC 47 that the guillotine choke could get much, much worse, then Morgan Bracken sure will. The 4-3 lightweight fighter managed to pull off this beaut of a throw/submission last weekend at an unknown event in Topeka, Kansas. We literally know nothing else about the fight, and frankly we don’t care to find out. Because a move like this is kind of like trolls in Norway, legend has it that they exist but you until you actually see one, you never believe. In fact, one of the only other people to see both a guillotine suplex and a troll is Bas Rutten. Go figure.

Check out a few of our favorite attempts after the jump.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Ryron and Rener Gracie break down the action from a UFC card, so we decided to give you guys a double dose of knowledge to kick-start your weekend. Above, we have their take on Chael Sonnen’s ever improving Jiu-Jitsu game, which capped off with a second round arm triangle submission of Brian Stann at UFC 136.

Now, moving past how “gentle” Chael was in his victory, the Gracie’s demonstrate and analyze the transitions, guard passes, and remount techniques Sonnen used to defeat Stann with their usual competency, breaking down both the first and second rounds of their middleweight fight. Being a guy trained primarily in the ground game, I can’t say enough how valuable these break downs are.

Check out the Gracie’s breakdown of Jon Jones’ 4th round rear-naked choke over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 after the jump.

-Danga 

You know, if everyone stopped hating on Eddie Bravo and Joe Hogan for their personal beliefs related to “the heefer,” they might be able to learn a thing or two when it comes to Jiu-Jistu. But here at Cagepotato, we are all about putting judgments aside for the sake of the sport. In the above video, Bravo demonstrates a beautiful bait-and-switch submission on Joanne of MMAGirls.net, and though he may not be up to par on his English (it’s sunk, Eddie) there is no denying the man’s abilities to pull off some brilliant transitions on the ground.

As I watched Pat Barry fall victim to yet another submission at the spider legs of Stefan Struve during UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson this past Saturday, my stomach began to take on the feeling that I hadn’t known since I watched A Serbian Film for the second time. I knew what was going to happen, but deep in my atheist soul I hoped…no, prayed, that things would somehow change. And like a 7-Eleven cashier in Compton, I found myself on the wrong end of the barrel yet again.

Thankfully, the powers at be have likely given Barry another chance. And since we all know “HD” is an avid Cagepotato Fan, I figured I’d let the master of all things MMA/street fighting, Bas Rutten, give us a little tutorial on how to escape a triangle choke. It may not be as flashy as power-bombing your way out, but it’s a hell of a lot more effective.

Being the Renaissance man that “El Guapo” is, he manages to make a complex maneuver seem as simple as four steps:

(Video courtesy of YouTube/OfficialGSP)

A technique that isn’t used as much in mixed martial arts as it is in collegiate wrestling is the low single leg takedown. The reason why we don’t see it very often is the move is risky as there are punches allowed in MMA and with your hands clasped behind your opponent’s heel, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to take a few shots before you get the takedown.

If you aren’t Brock Lesnar and eating a few punches isn’t a concern, read on.

Yesterday when we posted video of that double armbar submission, Potato Nation loyalist ihateemo pointed out that it looked a bit like Eddie Bravo’s Sorcerer submission, and he even linked to the video. Thanks, ihateemo, now we can’t post that as the technique video of the day and write about how they looked similar. We would have looked very perceptive and educated, and everyone would have been impressed, but ihateemo had to go and screw it up for us. Thanks a lot, jerkface.

Good thing is, Bravo has plenty of videos out there of the strange and wonderful world of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, and finding footage of him weeded and talking his way through an exotic submission requires about two minutes and a yellow belt in Google Fu. With just a little bit of time and effort, we found this little gem covering the Vaporizer leg lock (which has NOTHING TO DO WITH WEED, YOU GUYS), plus a bonus: the vid features Joanne Spracklen, whom we’re sort of fond of around here.

Ok, Nation: go put on your gi pants, do some stretching, and try this out on a white belt today. With any luck, you can make them tap and/or cry and be back on XBoX before cocktail hour.

[RX]

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW? VidProps: BlackBeltMagazine/YouTube

Some things you just never expect to see. You never expect to see a picture of Brock Lesnar with spectacles, or BJ Penn and Matt Hughes broing it up. We will probably never see Cheick Kongo hit a flower sweep to triangle choke, or Jared Shaw look like anything but a giant bag o’ douche, or Dana White say anything nice about MMA websites. I have seen some things in my time, Nation, but this … this is a whole ‘nother thing.

What we have here is some truly unexpected video evidence of Chael Sonnen on his back. Doing jiu jitsu. Explaining jiu jitsu. Attempting, if you can believe it, a submission maneuver.

Mind is asplode.

As if that were not enough, after the jump you’ll find more video of this alternate-universe Sonnen being interviewed by a Brazilian reporter for RedeTV and saying nice, respectful things about Brazil and its flag. Lest you start to believe that one of Sonnen’s other personalities has completely taken over, relax — he’s still full of piss and vinegar whenever he talks about Anderson Silva.

When we watched this video, we lost The Game. VidProps: PanicPulse/YouTube

Ed “Short Fuse” Herman impressed some of us last night when he went all Paul Harris on poor Kyle Noke, catching Noke with a heel hook and torquing that motherlover until Mario Yamasaki noticed Noke’s “owwie” face and tap simultaneously, stopping it with a minute left in the first round. No official word yet, but expect Noke to be walking gingerly for the next few weeks.

If you’re not familiar with the much-feared heel hook, take a quick peep at this video where the lovely Joanne Spracklen demonstrates the mechanics, and keep in mind that the twisting action at the heel puts a lot of strain on the knee of that leg. And when we say “a lot of strain”, we mean that ligaments pop and tissues tear when you start cranking on this.

Joanne illustrates the standard heel hook, whereas Herman pulled off the inverted variety, moving Noke’s leg to the other side of his hips and twisting the toes out away from the body; the effects are every bit as devastating.

Do NOT try this at home. Seriously, people talk about how kids are resilient and can bounce back from anything, but surgery on knee ligaments will slow even the best of them way down.

Plus, i’m being told that mine is past the manufacturer’s warranty period, and now i have to pay out of pocket to get him fixed. And that’s why we can’t have nice things.

[RX]

Preparing for today’s technique video entry, we thought we’d struck gold when we ran across a video from GracieAcademy titled “143 Armlocks in 10 Minutes“. Wow, we thought to ourselves, we didn’t even realize there were that many variations. Clicking on the video to watch, we were even more impressed to find that the video in question wasn’t even a full ten minutes long! Not only are these guys knowledgeable, they’re effing fast.

Well, cue the Price is Right “aw shucks” sound effect, because we got trolled pretty hard. Turns out the video is an armbar drill — watch Ryron Gracie go from side to side, working on his form, and not a single fun variation to speak of. Well played, Gracie Academy. You may have won this time, but we’ll be back.

Luckily, right next to that video we found the customary Gracie Breakdown for UFC 133, so you can watch Ryron and Rener work through the (submissionless) UFC card, including that Costantinos Philippou attempt at an omaplata that Rogan was yelling about.

Enjoy! (Seriously, enjoy this. Don’t go through another joyless day; talk to your doctor to find out if BJJ is right for you.)

[RX]

Happy Friday, Nation. For today’s tech vid, we’ve selected one of our favorite submission coaches, Erik Paulson. The catch wrestling guru has been torquing and pulling on limbs for a long time, and seeing him in one of his early DVDs looking all young and svelte is good for some of you damn TUF n00bs. (Just kidding, guys, we love you, too.)

Watch as Paulson walks you through the first few techniques from his Quick Kills instructional, focusing on quick submission setups directly from the free-movement phase of fighting. Paulson closes the distance quickly, takes his opponent down, and moves swiftly through submission chains targeting toes, ankles, and knees — pretty much all the stuff that you want to keep functional not just for athletic competition, but for quality of life. You know, like walking the dog, or supporting your own weight without assistance.

What we enjoy about Paulson’s work is how well he explains what he’s doing, and how well it’s illustrated. With leg submissions, it’s not always easy to follow what’s being attacked and how to maximize the potential of the hold. Not so here; when Paulson applies a toe hold, he articulates exactly how to twist and tweak that foot until the bad guy is ready to cry uncle (or lose a toe).

Watch this video three times, then go Palhares somebody. Not some random somebody, though — make sure they were asking for it. We’re speaking of that one guy at the bar with the shirt and the tattoo. You know the one.

[RX]

VidProps: WorldMartialArts/YouTube

Duke Roufus knows a thing or two about kicking. Also about punching. Oh, and knees and elbows, too.

Hmmm. Let’s start over…

Duke Roufus knows a thing or two about striking, and since his retirement from kickboxing competition, he’s passed along his knowledge to fighters from the Roufusport Martial Arts Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pat Barry, Danny Downes, Matt Mitrione, Anthony Pettis (and his little bro Sergio), Alan Belcher, Ben Askren, and Eric Koch (and more) have all spent time with Duke sharpening their stand up skills, and Roufus has been credited with pushing innovation in MMA striking. Belcher’s cage-spring superman punch and Pettis’ Showtime Kick were both attributed to training with Roufus, because they apparently practice that kind of crazy stuff over there.

But we must remember the words of Mr Miyagi: “first learn stand, then learn fly.”

Watch this video of Roufus breaking down technique for Thai-style low kicks. Watch it twice, then go find a bamboo tree. Kick that bamboo tree until it falls. You’re now halfway to being a Roufusninja, and don’t leave us comments about how bamboo is technically grass. That’s bullshit. No one ever became a ninja by kicking grass; that’s clearly a moronic idea. You think Tony Jaa took a level in badass by kicking over blades of grass? Absolutely not. He kicked down trees and made friends with elephants.

As far as we know, Duke Roufus does not have an elephant friends. What he does have is this video of kicking technique, and you need to quit arguing and watch it.

[RX]

VidProps: uchideshi/YouTube

Ok, Nation, today’s tech video is one of our favorites: a clip from Roy Dean’s White Belt Bible BJJ instructional. Called “White to Black – A Shift in Perspective”, the video illustrates the evolution of a BJJ player through a single, simple technique — the armbar.

Now based in Bend, Oregon, Dean is a long-time student of traditional martial arts, with black belts in judo, aikido, battojutsu, and jujutsu from his studies as an exchange student in Japan, as well as a black belt in BJJ under Joe Moreira and Roy Harris.

Chances are, the armbar was one of the first submissions you ever saw in MMA, and you had no idea why Royce Gracie was upside down underneath a guy — and the guy on top was tapping out with alacrity. Like the rear naked choke, we see the armbar so often that it can seem boring and pedestrian.

Watch this and fall in love with the armbar all over again.

[RX]

VidProps: jbelljitsu/YouTube

Chokes from the front headlock position: there are many. Names for chokes from the front headlock position: there are more. It’s enough to make you second-guess yourself while you’re at the bar in your Affliction shirt and you see a fighter shoot his arm under his opponent’s neck for a choke. Is it a Brabo? Is it a D’Arce? Gator roll, anaconda, neckties of various nationalities… how do you keep them straight?

By learning them, you big silly. Learn a little bit about the anaconda choke/gator roll vs the Brabo/D’arce choke by watching Jay Bell show a transition from the former to the latter. The difference is subtle, but you should be able to pick it up with a little instruction.

There, now you won’t look like such a douche at the bar when you’re trying to figure out which arm triangle choke variation you’re looking at.

Although changing into a CP shirt would have helped a lot. Just sayin’.

[RX]

While searching for a video of Matt Horwich discussing how the flow of positive and negative energies affect the success of rubber guard (because some of you asked for “crazy shit”), we came across a few highlight videos of flying submissions. That’s interesting, we thought to ourselves, and it would no doubt keep you jerks arguing for hours about how flying subs are a waste of time. (They totally are, by the way, because they never ever ever ever work, no matter what that highlight video shows.)

So we find one guy who has an entire series of “How to do the perfect _______”, with a focus on exotic quick kills like the flying triangle and the rolling kneebar.  These two jokers take turns jumping onto one another’s necks for some kind of crazy shoulder lock called an “omaplata”, which has got to be a made-up word.  And yeah, it looks cool and all, but wouldn’t grapplers be better served learning something useful like wrestling?

But then, that would ignoring the entertainment value of breaking down one of these mythical “flying submissions”. So for your edu-tainment, check out GracieAcademy‘s walkthrough of a flying triangle.  They’re good people over there at Gracie Academy, even if they do wear their pajamas when they work out.

If you ever hit one of these loony flying gimmicks in competition, we’ll buy you a beer. Hell, we’ll buy you a few.  And if you hit one in a streetfight ….well, we’ll drive you to the hospital.  Because we’re good people, too.

[RX]

Mondays. Do we need to tell you that Mondays are the worst day of the week? This was scientifically verified, by the way, because scientists always study things that are self-evident to most people with some damn sense in their heads. I expect scientists to jump right on the phenomenon of videos featuring Joanne Spracklen and Hillary Williams and their massive popularity.

Hey brainiacs: it’s because these are two well-educated women discussing BJJ; one of whom is a world champ and an effing genius, while the other knows her roll (see what we did there?) and has an adorable South African accent. There’s no mystery here. Go figure out why it’s 2011 and we still don’t have hoverboards.

Make your Monday a bit better by checking out this video, in which Williams demonstrates how to turn that pesky defending arm into a victim of hyperextension. It’s a slick transition from one side of the body to the other, and a perfect example of turning your opponent’s strength into a weakness. Watch it twice, and then go practice in your garage.

[RX]

VidProps: JoslinEnt/YouTube

We asked yesterday if the Potato Nation was interested in seeing more technique videos, and the answer via Facebook was a resounding affirmative. Which is good, because we were going to start sharing these anyway, because we were interested ourselves. Also because it’s easy to post videos and let you entertain yourselves, sort of like buying your kid a game console so you don’t have to talk to them so much.

What? We’re great parents. Except Ben; his kid always tries to interrupt when we’re taping The Bum Rush. (True story.)

Anyway, we had one fan who’s a CIA agent, and he requested some stuff from catch wrestling. Since we happen to enjoy the homegrown American flavor of submission grappling (and we don’t want to be erased by the government), we are happy to oblige with this video from catch wrestling icon Erik Paulson. Check out his counter to the chicken wing from guard (AKA kimura attack from guard), and try it on your small child tonight. Just don’t break anything. And don’t mention our names when Child Services shows up.

[RX]

VidProps: PhuketTopTeam/YouTube

Since some of you seemed to enjoy our last technique video, we thought we’d throw another one at you and see what happens. Rather than BJJ, though, we’ve decided to drop some Sambo knowledge on you bastards.

(For those of you who are questioning my Sambo credentials: first, asking for my bona fides while i’m trying to learn you something is disrespectful. Second, i studied under 33rd Degree Combat Sambo Master Zangief, and i accept your apology.)

The video comes to us from Silviu Dorin Vulc at Phuket Top Team, a name that may become more familiar to you if this whole OneFC thing takes off. Sambo, as you no doubt are aware, is a Russian hybrid martial art developed by the military that incorporates judo and folk wrestling styles, and has become something of a big deal in Russia. It’s the background of choice for famous commies like Oleg Taktarov, Andrei Arlovski, and the experimental military cyborg the Emelianenko (both “A” and “F” series).

What we found interesting was the interplay and transition from a common standing clinch position (even more familiar to the Muay Thai guys that Vulc trains) to a submission on the ground. At the risk of sounding edumacated, it’s a microcosm of the development of our sport: assimilate everything, use what works, and discard what doesn’t. If only a famous, charismatic fighter would articulate that for us.

[RX]