Sponsored by

Table of Contents

• What You Want To Watch This Weekend:The Fiasco At …

• Pantoja - Royval 1: A Case Study On Diagonal Contr …

  • Quadrilateral Control → Diagonal Control

• Pantoja - Royval II On Paper

• MMA History Podcast Appearance To Check Out

The Fiasco At Flyweight

Only one fighter at 125 pounds has ever won more than a single UFC title defense. This weekend, another man tries to start a new flyweight title run.

Eleven years and nearly 150 UFCs ago, the organization strapped the inaugural flyweight belt on Demetrious Johnson after he beat Joseph Benavidez. Johnson defended his belt eleven times before losing a controversial rematch to Henry Cejudo. Cejudo would go on to defend his belt against T.J. Dillashaw before moving up to 135 pounds.

After Cejudo vacated the title, Deiveson Figueiredo beat Benavidez for the vacant belt. Figueiredo would keep the belt with a win and a draw before handing it over to Brandon Moreno. Moreno would give it back to Figueiredo before reclaiming it himself, and, ultimately, relinquishing it to Alexandre Pantoja. This weekend Pantoja will put this chaotic belt on the line as he rematches action star Brandon Royval.

Their first fight was insightful and exciting so we’re going to take a look at how that contest went, talk about what they’ve done since, and address how this fight looks on paper. Let’s start by taking a closer look at the hurricane that was their first fight.

Pantoja - Royval 1:
A Case Study On Diagonal Control

Brandon Royval fights like the Tasmanian Devil. He runs into the cage, throws up all types of strikes and submissions, and causes a ruckus. The brawling Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is a throwback fighter. Instead of fighting off takedowns he tries to overwhelm his opponents with offense. He has little regard for getting taken down because he is so good at scrambling and attacking submissions off of his back.

Royval is all offense all the time. It’s like he decided to avoid training takedown defense so he could spam more submissions.

Alexandre Pantoja’s game could be considered equal but opposite to Royval’s. He is all offense like Royval, but Pantoja is much less flashy.

Pantoja goes forward, throws straight punches, and falls into clinches and takedowns. This strategy has been brutally effective.

Pantoja has five submission finishes in his UFC and TUF fights. His submission wins include a rear naked choke over Brandon Royval.

So, we’re left with two fighters that go forward, attack constantly, and get hit a lot. One’s way to win is more direct, but might be considered limited. The other is flashier, but they find themselves in bad positions more often.

You might be wondering, how did the relatively limited Pantoja get the finish last time? Why didn’t the offensive dynamo’s attacks and counters not hold up? Let’s look at two key sequences.

To reiterate, Royval is excellent at scrambling. The entire first round looked like the first sequence with Royval rolling just out of harm’s way as Pantoja tried to climb to rear naked chokes.

So, what’s the difference between the two sequences? A principle known as “diagonal control”.

Quadrilateral Control → Diagonal Control

One of grappling’s first principles is quadrilateral control. Quadrilateral literally translates to four sides, and the principle of quadrilateral control says positions are static to the degree that you can cover and hold the four sides of your opponent proximally. Said another way, you can immobilize your opponent to the extent you can control their centerline on all sides. The easiest access point to do so being at the hips and shoulders on both sides. If you can control your opponent’s hips and shoulders they can’t move. Conversely, your opponent will move and escape towards the side(s) that are least covered.

Lets look at two quick examples:

You hold positions to the degree you can effectively cover and control all four sides near your opponent’s center line. This simple foundational principle can help you understand where your opponent can escape to and why they’re able to do so.

Diagonal control is derived from quadrilateral control. Diagonal control says that if you control someone’s hip and leg as well as their opposite side arm and shoulder, you have control of their spine, and, therefore, the position. Diagonal control exploits anatomy to gives you momentary quadrilateral control.

Because you control your opponent’s opposite side hip and shoulder you put them in an awkward position where they have a free arm and leg, but no real way to use them. Their lack of balance is gives you control.

It’s not like your opponent can just stand up on one leg and hop away. If they can, you’ll need a lot more than jiujitsu to beat them.

In the second round, Pantoja achieved diagonal control which allowed him to fully take the back and get the rear naked choke.

If these principles seem basic, good. These are simple, universal ideas that will help you understand why moves work instead of learning what to do in random situations. If you learn more “whys”, you’ll be able to do more “whats”.

These two techniques above seem completely disconnected but they are both effective because they adhere to the mechanics of the principle of diagonal control. Both techniques allow you to control your opponent’s opposite side hip and shoulder, and, therefore, their spine. Two whats from the same why.

Now, let’s look ahead at Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval’s next fight.

Pantoja - Royval II On Paper

Brandon Royval has been overwhelmingly exciting since losing to Alexandre Pantoja. He took a close decision win, a guillotine finish, and a technical knockout to earn this rematch. To his credit, Pantoja got a neck crank submission from the back before winning the title in a tightly contested fight with Brandon Moreno. After watching all of these fights, it doesn’t look like the dynamics of the match-up have changed.

Pantoja beat Moreno by zombie walking forward behind straight punches to hurt him and get takedowns. In Royval’s fights, he was taken down fairly easily when his opponent went for them. Royval was even dropped by Matt Schnell’s straight punches before Royval capitalized on Schnell’s decision to give up top position and try for a submission. Getting hurt by straight punching and taken down is a giant red flag in a fight against Pantoja.

The best thing Pantoja has going for him is discipline. He might get hurt, but he doesn’t deviate from what works for him. Pantoja has never been finished and he will continue to walk forward with what works until he gets the win or time runs out. That discipline looks disastrous for Royval in the rematch.

So, what is Royval’s path to victory here?

Royval would be best served beating up Pantoja’s legs and body early. Pantoja has never been stopped, but he does get hit a lot as he walks forward. Royval might as well make that hittableness count for something and take away from Pantoja’s stamina in the later rounds. Against Pantoja’s suspect gas tank, Royval’s scrambling, leg kicking, and some early body striking seem to present a glimmer of hope in this rematch. Royval could take a decision win if he invests in hitting the body early.

For Pantoja, this fight seems like a serious case of, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Punch straight, get on top, and get to the back to take Royval out. If there is one place Pantoja could make majore improvements from his last fight, it would be to pass more methodically.

Pantoja sacrificed position in his last fight against Brandon Moreno by getting over eager. Over eager against Royval could mean a lot of work for no reward, and potentially no win.

Because Pantoja wasn’t in a good place to hit in the sequence above, he lost his opportunity to start ground and pounding, let alone get a submission win. When Pantoja does get on top, hitting and holding from half guard could help him chip away at Royval, rack up points, and cement his win.

Royval and Pantoja square off for a second time this Saturday. Ahead of their fight you need to ask yourself two questions. Has something about the two fighters changed enough so that the dynamics of the match-up are different? Or, is Pantoja still likely to exploit Royval’s lack of defense?

MMA History Podcast Appearance To Check Out

I recently joined my friend Kyle on his podcast, Combat Chronicles. We discussed GSP’s fight with Dan Hardy, why he couldn’t finish the fight, and how that fight fits into GSP’s career as a whole.

If you’re interested in MMA history, check out Combat Chronicles on twitter, and give the podcast a listen.

Thanks for reading. We’re working on some larger pieces to end the year so make sure you’re subscribed to get them sent straight to your inbox!