Akram Abbas: How Pixley Beat Meregali at ADCC

Akram Abbas (@akiwurldbjj) breaks down Michael Pixley's win over Nicholas Meregali at ADCC 2024, from the inside tie and slide by to the harai goshi counters, flying knee cut and darce finish. From the video: https://youtu.be/bDzbPG3ocTw

Flow outline

  1. Collar Tie Exchange

    • Meregali initiates a collar tie and Pixley instantly answers with an inside tie.
    • From Akram Abbas (@akiwurldbjj), in the video "How Michael Pixley Shocked the World: Breakdown".
    • Reaction: inside tie the second Meregali collar ties
    • Entry: transition to an over tie
    • Grip: switch from the far hand to the near hand

  2. Slide By Sweep

    • Pixley grabs the inside of the arm with his free hand, slides him by, and tries for a big footed sweep.
    • Grip: grab the inside of the arm with the free hand
    • Entry: slide him by

  3. Snap And Head Pressure

    • Pixley follows the slide by with a snap and keeps constant pressure by harassing the head.
    • Pressure: constantly harassing the head

  4. Harai Goshi Counter

    • When Meregali punches in an underhook, Pixley responds with a heavy wizard, connects hip to hip, and hits a big Harai Goshi.
    • Reaction: heavy wizard to the underhook
    • Checkpoint: connect hip to hip
    • Finish: big harai goshi; Meregali rotates 360 degrees

  5. Front Headlock Snap

    • Meregali does not commit to the single leg, so Pixley snaps him into a front headlock.
    • Grip: chin strap and overhook
    • Finish: snap him all the way to the ground

  6. Darce Attack

    • Pixley instantly goes for a gable grip to start attacking the darce, his strongest submission.
    • Grip: gable grip
    • Reaction: Pixley rotates him to his back, but Meregali times it and they disconnect

  7. Meregali Accepts Bottom

    • Meregali concedes the stand-up and fights from bottom, establishing top and bottom roles.

  8. Disengage And Shove

    • Pixley constantly disengages and shoves Meregali, not wanting to get entangled in his guard.
    • Reaction: back up and keep disengaging

  9. Chest Wrap Snapdown

    • Meregali brings his head too far forward with an unbalanced base, allowing Pixley to snap him down into a front headlock with a chest wrap connection.
    • Reaction: head too far forward from center line
    • Anchor: chest wrap connection
    • Pressure: drag opponent back down when they four point up
    • Reaction: Meregali rolls to his back and Pixley vacates the position

  10. Half Guard Disengage

    • Meregali locks Pixley in half guard, but Pixley continues to back up and disengage, drawing a passivity warning.
    • Reaction: lock Pixley in half guard
    • Reaction: ref issues a passivity warning

  11. Flying Knee Cut

    • Pixley punches an underhook with a collar tie and shoots a flying knee cut through the space between Meregali's elbows.
    • Entry: punch in an underhook with a collar tie
    • Checkpoint: massive space between Meregali's elbows
    • Checkpoint: a signature wrestle-jitsu pass

  12. Turtle And Body Lock

    • Meregali goes to turtle and rolls to his back before Pixley can connect, so Pixley attempts a body lock but disengages.
    • Reaction: Meregali goes into turtle and rolls to his back
    • Entry: attempt to lock in a body lock

  13. Single Leg Counter

    • From headquarters / reverse De La Riva, Meregali snatches a single leg as Pixley backs up, and Pixley counters with a hand on the grip, a collar tie, and weight into his foot to break the grip.
    • Reaction: Meregali snatches up a single leg
    • Grip: one hand on the grip, collar tie with the other so Meregali can't get good head position
    • Weight: put weight into his foot to break the grip

  14. Second Harai Goshi

    • Pixley brings his foot to the outside of Meregali's shin, switches to a wizard, and uses Meregali's pressure against him to hit another big Harai Goshi.
    • Leg Path: bring foot to the outside of Meregali's shin
    • Grip: switch to a wizard
    • Pressure: use Meregali's pressure against him

  15. Darce Finish

    • Upon hitting the ground, Pixley locks up the darce and gets the final tap.
    • Finish: lock up the darce
    • Avoid Posting your arm on big throws. Break fall properly; the video notes Meregali may have tapped from a shoulder injury.

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