Month: January 2016

The Breakdown: When you talk about names that fly under the radar in BJJ one of the guys that has to be mentioned is Osvaldo Queixinho. Many will recognize him from his many successful battles with Joao and Paulo Miyao this year, but Queixinho has been a dominant force inside the featherweight division for years now. And, the most interesting thing about him may be the diversity in his game.
The Study: Queixinho first leaped onto the radar several years ago with a quick footlock win over UFC star Nate Diaz. Since that time, the young Brazilian has proven himself a top IBJJF competitor to watch. What makes him so much fun to watch is just how well-rounded his game is.
In the matches we viewed Queixinho he had an impressive 73% win rate. His submission rate in those wins ended up being approximately 72%! This is no easy feat. What’s more impressive is that he found a way to get those submissions in 7 different ways. That’s the greatest submission diversity we’ve seen in any of our studies.
Queixinho’s entire game is diverse. We witnessed him employ different strategies for each opponent. In fact, the only technique he successfully used more than twice in the entire study was De La Riva guard. He does a very good job of deflecting and shutting down the berimbolo of his opponents, and even countered with his own on one or two occasions. His sweep to pass ratio was almost dead even (10/9). When he went to sweep, he would often rely on various open guards; with De La Riva being the most popular. When passing, he really kept his opponents guessing. While nearly 80% of his passes were from standing, he varied his approaches considerably. In the study, he was able to execute 7 different styles of passes.

What’s important to keep in mind is that in most of our studies we see a strong prevalence of a “game”. Queixinho seems to tailor some his approach to his opponents. Whether this is done subconsciously or on purpose, his style is dynamic nonetheless. He found success passing, sweeping, and submitting in more different ways than anyone else we’ve studied.
Ultimately, what’s most impressive about Queixinho was how dynamic his submission game was. He was able to nab a lot of different kinds of submissions from many different positions. While many athletes we’ve studied have found success minimizing their toolkit, Queixinho seems to thrive with a broad approach.
Queixinho has yet to win a world championship, but with the exit of Gui Mendes from the division and his recent success over the Miyao brothers, Queixinho has to be a favorite for a 2016 world title. He is certainly an athlete to follow.
Notable Study Stats:
 

• 73% win rate

• 71% of his wins were by submission

• Finished 7 different kinds of submissions
• 7 Different kinds of sweeps were used
• 78% of passes occurred from standing
• 60% of sweeps were from the open guard
• Scored first in 10 of 11 wins

The full study is available in the latest issue of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine.

The Breakdown: There are few women that have made their mark on the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu quite the way Michelle Nicolini has. A mainstay of excellence in the women’s division over the past 7 years, Nicolini is an active and living legend in sport jiu jitsu. Michelle is known for her willingness to explore multiple weight classes, and as an extremely aggressive submission-specialist. She has experienced success on just about every major platform that the sport offers, and continues every year to add to her impressive resume.
The Study: Michelle Nicolini is a powerful ambassador for women’s jiu jitsu, but don’t let her pleasant demeanor fool you, she’s a killer on the mat. There are few we’ve studied with such an impressive submission rate, and even fewer that have hunted down as many feet, ankles, and knees as the female dynamo. Michelle has an extremely aggressive style of jiu jitsu that usually starts from the guard, and rarely gets much further.
In the matches we viewed the Michelle possessed an 86% win rate. Her submission rate for those matches was rate 76%. This means that she submitted her black belt opponent in 3 out of every 4 matches that we observed. It’s hard to do much better than that.
Michelle’s average match length was just over 6 minutes. Most of her matches began with her pulling guard (or her and her opponent pulling guard), and rarely did the match advance much further than those positions. Michelle does her most dangerous work from this position. With a dynamic mix of shin-on-shin, spider guard, and sit-up guard, she is able to throw a brutal mix of leglock, armbar, and triangle attempts at her opponents that is hard to stifle.
Nearly 40% of Michlle’s sweep started in the spider guard, but don’t let those numbers fool you. Nicolini used a diverse mix of different sweeps in the matches we recorded. She was able to execute 1.25 sweeps per match, and used over 6 different positions to do so. Although we did not see Nicolini receive, many chances to pass the guard (the fewest we’ve recorded) we saw her vary her passes quite a bit; with 50% coming from standing, and the other 50% coming from half guard.
When it came to submissions Nicolini was a master of triangles and leglocks. 50% of her submissions were triangles, and 30% were leglock variations. Most of these occurred in her guard; where 70% of her total submissions took place. Her game has proven difficult to escape; as opponents in her guard must battle against being swept and are often forced to concede a submission
Even though Michelle Nicolini has accomplished almost every major title that the sport offers, she continues to compete to this day. She is the figurehead for Checkmat’s growing and impressive womens program, and has become a mainstay of the emerging pro jiu jitsu events. Although it’s likely that Michelle will pass the torch to the next generation in the near future, there is no doubt that she remains one of the most dangerous and exciting competitors in all of Brazilian jiu jitsu.
Notable Study Stats:
 

• 76% submission rate rate

• 70% of submissions came from the guard

• Scored first or submitted her opponent in 12 of 13 wins
• Won 86% of matches observed
• Average match length was 6:08
• 40% of submissions were triangles
• Utilized 6 different guard positions to sweep her opponent
• 35% of sweeps executed were shin-to-shin spider guard sweeps

You can read the full study in the November issue of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine.