Dustin Poirier was slotted to face three different opponents at several points in the lead up to UFC 143. Finally after a rash of injuries, UFC rookie Max Holloway was the man across the cage from Poirier. Holloway, while an interesting prospect and exciting striker, is fairly inexperienced on the ground. On the other had, Poirier is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under TUF veteran Tim Credeur. While that might not sound impressive to the modern MMA fan, who is used every fighter sporting a black belt, the purple belt is the first of the 'upper' belts. The gap between a purple belt and a black belt is in the details, but the difference between a white belt and a purple can be a chasm.

More Bloody Elbow UFC 143 Judo Chops
The Striking And Grappling Technique Of Nick Diaz | Fabricio Werdum Striking Analysis
The Instep Roundhouse Kick Of Stephen Thompson | Carlos Condit Lands A Flying Knee KO

That chasm is mainly due to the fact that purple belts have learned to think two or three moves ahead, while white belts are thinking in the moment, putting them at a disadvantage. Anticipating submission openings in transitions is a skilled acquired by years of grappling, and this includes transitions that come after escaping a submission. Known as chaining, experienced grapplers often can make one submission flow into another by taking full advantage of the transition created by escaping from one submission attack.

Dustin Poirier attacked transitions to perfection against Max Holloway and the result was something akin of quick sand. Each time Holloway made an attempt to save himself or escape all he did was sink himself deeper and deeper into danger.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

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(This is a collaboration between KJ Gould and Fraser Coffeen. Main text and diagrams by KJ Gould, additional insight by Fraser Coffeen where stated.)

South Carolina's Stephen Thompson made his debut at UFC 143 last night where he displayed his Kempo Karate skills on a world stage. His unorthodox stance and movement bewildered opponent Dan Stittgen who could only remain flat footed while throwing haymakers in an attempt to catch the undefeated Mixed Martial Artist and Kickboxer.

Fraser Coffeen gives his insight into the Kick and setup used by Thompson:

When you really break it down, this is essentially just a straight roundhouse kick. Because Thompson comes from a karate background, he chooses to land the kick with the instep of his foot as opposed to the shin, as you more commonly see with fighters from a Muay Thai background, but aside from that small change, what you have is a roundhouse kick.

Where Thompson really shines is the set-up. He has two nice elements to his set-up – one common, and one that is a bit more unique. First, he hides the head kick by beginning it as a leg kick. If you watch his thigh, you can see that he is at first aiming towards the leg, but then brings it up to the head at the last minute. This is a relatively common technique in various kickboxing styles, as it lulls your opponent into letting their head defenses down a bit. You don’t see it as much in MMA, and Thompson does it very well here.

The second way he sets it up is by brilliantly incorporating it into a combo. The kick comes fast behind a right cross. That punch turns Stittgen’s body and head slightly to his own right, away from Thompson’s right side. With Stittgen turned aside, he doesn’t even see the kick coming or know to defend it, and as a result he completely drops his left hand down to his waist. Thompson brings the kick over Stittgen’s shoulder, landing clean on his now totally exposed head, and that is that. Really great timing and combination work from Thompson to use the punch in order to move his opponent into position to properly set up the kick.

After the jump, a closer illustrated look at the setup and kick that ended the fight and netted Thompson the $65k Knock Out of the Night bonus.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

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At UFC 143, former UFC/Pride/Strikeforce fighter Fabricio Werdum returns to the Octagon for the first time in over three years. He's facing Roy Nelson in a fight that, on paper, looks to be a grappling showdown. But in this sport of MMA, we often see two closely matched ground specialists chose to decide the fight on their feet, and given these two men's histories (especially Nelson's), there is a strong chance we'll see more stand-up than ground action on Saturday night.

So in anticipation of Werdum vs. Nelson, let us take a detailed look at the striking of Fabricio Werdum. Werdum is your classic high level jiu jitsu practitioner, with a pile of world class grappling and submission accolades. But over the years he has trained with Mirko Cro Cop and progressed his stand-up. So where do his striking skills now stand, and how will they hold up against Big Country? Let's break it down.

DEVELOPMENT

I'll start off by talking about development, because for Werdum, this is perhaps the biggest part of his striking game. His striking progress over the years has been phenomenal. When he first started in MMA back in 2002, he was undeniably a submission specialist. His striking in those early fights is rudimentary at its best - terrible at its worst. Watching his early fights you see a very sloppy fighter with terrible technique just winging wide punches with no form at all. He showed no defense, keeping his chin way up, his hands way down. You can see this in this early fight with Gabriel Gonzaga.

Against Ebenezer Fontes Braga in 2004, he scored a win with a big overhand right, which in some ways showed promise for his game, but also hurt his stand-up. After the Braga fight, he became too reliant on this huge right, and would swing it wildly, overextending himself and falling off balance in the process.

But by 2005, and in particular his Pride 30 fight with Sergei Kharitonov, that began to change. It was during this time that Werdum and Cro Cop began training together - ostensibly to help Cro Cop with his ground game, but you can also see the K-1 veteran's handiwork in Werdum's striking. He tightened up his defenses and got his wildness under control.

Today, Werdum is still primarily a ground fighter, but he is now comfortable on his feet, and has made great strides to become an all around MMA fighter.

Strengths, weaknesses, and more in the full entry.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

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There's something great about a flying KO. Flying kick, superman punch, jumping elbow - they are all glorious. But for me the quintessential flying KO move for MMA remains the flying knee. There's no shortage of flying knee KO highlights in MMA, but one of the best comes from UFC 143 headliner Carlos Condit. The last time we saw Condit in the Octagon, he was standing over the prone body of Dong Hyun Kim - the victim of a nasty Condit flying knee at UFC 132.

In this Judo Chop, we'll get ready for UFC 143 and Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz by breaking down Condit's big KO over Kim and see how Condit's technique compares to other famous flying knees. And don't forget to take a look at the other side of this weekend's main event with Kid Nate's Judo Chop covering Nick Diaz's boxing and grappling techniques.

Let's start by examining the basics of the flying knee. There are a number of different variations on this move depending on which leg you strike with, where you position your hands, and the direction your movement travels in. For example, kickboxer Chris Ngimbi is well known for his beautiful flying knees, which he often delivers by jumping straight up, bringing his knee up like an uppercut. But the most common kind of flying knee seen in MMA is the one essentially used by Condit.

Assuming a fighter is standing in orthodox stance (meaning his right leg is in the rear power position), start by jumping both up and towards your opponent in a sort of diagonal. In mid-air, bring that right leg forward, with your foot aiming down and your knee in the lead. If you time it right, you'll drive the point of your knee into your target - ideally your opponent's chin. It's a great move because it quickly closes the distance, so can land from what your opponent perceives to be outside of striking range, and because the knee is such a hard striking surface. By giving it that forward and upwards momentum and driving all of your momentum into the point of your knee, you can easily score a KO if landed clean.

Here's a somewhat goofy video explanation courtesy of Human Weapon (why do the models have to be naked?) that captures the basic idea:

More breakdown, with gifs, in the full entry.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

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Nick Diaz fights Carlos Condit at UFC 143 on Saturday for the UFC interim welterweight championship. Diaz is a favorite here at the Bloody Elbow Judo Chop headquarters both for his very technical Jiu-Jitsu and also for his unique "pitter shatter" approach to boxing for MMA.

Heading into UFC 143 we wanted to refresh everyone's appreciation for Diaz' technical acumen with a review of our past Judo Chops on the fighter. Enjoy these previous Judo Chops:

• Nick Diaz's Ground Game by Ben Thapa
• Nick Diaz Gogoplatas Takanori Gomi by Kid Nate
• The Unconventional MMA Boxing of Nick Diaz by Kid Nate

Diaz' style of boxing resembls some of the techniques used in old London Prizefighting ("bareknuckle") matches. Now I doubt he and Gracie went out and studied old Jem Mace fights but because grappling played a part in those fights (clinching and throwing your opponent to the ground was a big part of the game, and many fighters depended more on a good wrestling game than their striking ability. If one looks at Ed James's 1878 The Science of Boxing half the techniques shown are headlocks, throws, and trips.) and Diaz doesn't have thunderous power they have stumbled into a style for him that greatly resembles the proven techniques of yore.

And don't miss John Nash's brilliant Nick Diaz, Daniel Mendoza, and the Sweet Science of Bruising which compares Diaz striking to the pre-Marquis of Queensbury rules boxer whose style most resembled Diaz. It's really spectacular.

More from John Nash plus a bunch of animated gifs in the full entry.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

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Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum are Brazilian jiu jitsu black belts. The years of dedication, practice, competition and travel between gyms have allowed them to refine their grappling skills to the point where we expect greatness of them if a fight goes to the ground.

However, we are about to watch them in a mixed martial arts bout at UFC 143 - not a submission grappling event. The rules and the traditions of the cage are different and they are not conducive to grinding an opponent into submission. Remaining hopeful as to the appearance and quality of the potential grappling that could be on display is the best approach though.

Andrew Keller of MMA Mania has a good quick look at two of the better moments in the public eye in the careers of Nelson and Werdum: Nelson's Grappler's Quest match against Mir in 2003 and Werdum's submission of Fedor Emelianenko in 2010.

The Bloody Elbow crew has Judo Chopped the Fedor triangle before with the help of Seph Smith, a Fifty/50 instructor under Ryan Hall. Werdum himself explained the dramatic submission through video in typical hilarious fashion.

Keller likens both fighters to patient arachnids, setting multidimensional traps for their opponents and pulls it off:

Watching an experienced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) player set up a submission is a lot like watching a spider weave its web. If one is not careful, one will wander right into their own demise.

Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum are two of the best web-spinners in the fight game today, and grappling fans have the pleasure of watching them square off this Sat., Feb. 4, at UFC 143: "Diaz vs. Condit." Just as if two well-known knockout artists were facing off, I suggest as little blinking as possible during this potential grapple-fest.

Here's why: [Go read the article, as it has plenty of GIFs and Keller's take on the moves.]

My own complimentary thoughts after the jump:

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In the fourth fight of the UFC on Fox 2 card during the Fuel TV preliminaries, Charles Oliveira made UFC history by submitting Eric Wisley with a calf slicer. The pain and discomfort Wisley experienced was apparent on his face and the bout was called to a halt as he tapped out at the 1:43 mark of Round 1. Oliveira earned the $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus and widespread acclaim for his exciting style. Our Grappling Team leader, Patrick Tenney, breaks down this rare submission and we discuss the details of the compression lock.

As a preamble, the background of the calf slicer needs to be explained. This compression lock is an attack upon the leg that causes the calf muscle of the opponent to be painfully forced against and potentially split over the tibia of the person applying the submission. This pressure upon the calf muscle is the cause of the name "compression lock" and hurts like few other submissions. Despite being primarily a pain compliance move, the calf slicer can operate upon the knee and wrench certain tendons and ligaments out of alignment. The leglock is banned in certain grappling tournaments and is often utilized as a no-gi or sambo move.

Besides being the sole calf slicer finish in UFC history, Oliveira managed to impress a very large audience. Vinny Magalhaes, ADCC gold medalist and M-1 light heavyweight champion, tweeted the following:

To further show how much this affected the MMA-viewing public, look at how some joker edited the Wikipedia page for the UFC on Fox 2 page:

Below the jump, cogent analysis by Patrick Tenney, fantastic GIFs by Grappo and a video of the other memorable calf slicer finish in MMA history - Ivan Menjivar's victory over Joe Lauzon at APEX: Undisputed in 2005.

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The unique differences between humans allows for a stunning array of specialists in athletic activities. The physical differences between elite NFL players and marathon runners are easy to point out, yet both sports allow for the individual athlete to focus mostly on doing one or two things. Mixed martial arts, by its intrinsic nature of combining striking with grappling and clinch work, tends to force a broader focus from its athletes and we see less and less true specialists as the sport evolves before our eyes. However, Rousimar Palhares has been doing his level best to buck that trend as an incredibly effective submission grappler.

What makes one defensive lineman more successful at pressuring the quarterback than another or one swimmer faster than another is harder to tell. Jevon Kearse is an absolute physical specimen as he was 6'4", nearly 270 pounds and gifted with speed and athleticism that NFL coaches dream about. However, the 5'10", 240ish pound Elvis Dumervil might end up the far better player due to his incredible motor and leverage. The immense torso, somewhat diminutive legs and rubber-like ankles of Michael Phelps allow him some advantages over most of his competitors, but his drive, admirable stroke technique and work ethic are what puts him on Olympic medal podiums and American cereal boxes. Phelps is built and trained to swim like a merman. These examples show that developing and optimizing both the mental and physical aspects is what defines success (which brings the desired fame and fortune) at the elite level. During his chase of professional success and fortune, Rousimar Palhares has worked hard to combine his attributes into a dangerous limb-breaking attack that has shown to be extremely difficult to slow or shut down.

More Rousimar Palhares Judo Chops

The Leg Lock Set Ups of Rousimar Palhares | Rousimar Palhares' Slamming Takedown Clinic

While working his way out of impoverished conditions most of us will never experience, Rousimar built an unusual physique with an immense amount of muscle packed onto a smaller-than-usual-middleweight frame and tailored a submission grappling game that works perfectly for his physical attributes. In creating and refining his MMA game, Palhares has built a road of wrecked limbs violently seized upon and arranged carefully to point towards the middleweight title shot he desires. The right leg of Mike Massenzio is the most recent addition of that road and Palhares seized the submission in impressive fashion at UFC 142 - and in a time barely encompassing two minutes of action.

Below the jump, an examination of how Palhares clamped upon and exerted such torque on the leg that Massenzio, a JuCo national champion and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, was left helpless and tapping will be laid out for your perusal. Also, the Gracie Breakdowns are extremely fun and technical, but Ryron and Rener missed a couple of details in their look at this particular leglock.

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