Technique 

Video: Khabib Nurmagomedov Teaches The Mounted Triangle He Used Against Justin Gaethje

Ben Coate

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of the most dominant forces MMA has ever seen. Nurmagomedov retired late last year after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, leaving the sport with a perfect 29-0 record, and he did it all with a wrestling and grappling-dominant approach. Recently, Nurmagomedov released an instruction on BJJ Fanatics covering his favorite top control and submission techniques. Check out a clip from that instructional below, in which Nurmagomedov demonstrates the mounted triangle he used to beat Gaethje.

In the video above, Nurmagomedov demonstrates a classic submission dilemma. Once he has his opponent’s arm isolated in a mounted triangle, his opponent must come on top to avoid the armbar. Once he does that, though, he is coming up into a triangle choke. It was exactly this submission dilemma that Nurmagomedov used to secure a triangle choke on Gaethje early in the second round of their fight.

Khabib Nurmagomedov won the then-vacant UFC lightweight title when he defeated Al Iaquinta in April 2018. He would successfully defend that belt three times, defeating Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Gaethje.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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