Are you wondering what an ezekiel choke submission is?
In this article, we’ll look at what an ezekiel choke submission is, how to do an ezekiel choke and its variations, whether an ezekiel choke is effective in MMA, how to defend against ezekiel chokes, and the best ezekiel choke submissions in MMA.
Contents
What Is an Ezekiel Choke Submission in MMA/Bjj?
An ezekiel choke submission, or sode guruma jime, is a judo/Bjj technique of threading an arm around the back of the opponent’s head and using the other hand/forearm across the neck to choke and cut off blood flow to the brain.
An ezekiel choke submission can be secured from both the top and bottom positions and there are many variations to how it can be secured. The ezekiel choke variations are differentiated by the placement of the hand/wrist/forearm on both sides.
Is the Ezekiel Choke a Blood or Air Choke?
The main intention of an ezekiel choke is to be a blood choke by constricting the carotid arteries in the neck, where there’s a pair (4 in total) on either side of the windpipe (trachea).
As the carotid arteries deliver a large supply of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, when they’re compressed a fighter can easily be put to sleep as the supply is cut off.
However, perfect technique and placement aren’t always possible and an ezekiel choke can become an air choke usually when the forearm is used to pressure.
Here, the forearm/wrist can compress the windpipe (trachea) in the lower neck or the larynx (voice box) just above. And while this becomes an air choke, most people on the receiving end tap because of the pain rather than nearly going to sleep.
History of the Ezekiel Choke (Origins)
In Japanese, the ezekiel choke is called sode guruma jime, which translates to sleeve wheel constriction. It’s called this because the ezekiel choke was originally performed with a gi in judo. It’s only recently been performed without a gi since MMA started 30 years ago.
The name ezekiel choke (also spelled ezequiel) was given to the technique when a judoka, Ezequiel Paraguassu, started using the ezekiel choke in 1988 at Carlson Gracie’s gym to submit his opponents when unable to escape their closed guards.
As the Gracie’s could see how effective the ezekiel choke could be, it became widely incorporated in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Gracie jiu-jitsu. Ezequiel Paraguassu started teaching Gracie coaches and students how to execute the ezekiel choke while he was training there before the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
While it’s unknown who invented the ezekiel choke, it’s highly likely to have been the judo founder, Kano Jigoro. This is because the earliest evidence of the ezekiel choke is from a 1955 judo instructional titled The Essence of Judo’, created by Kyuzo Mifune, a former student of Kano Jigoro.
Here’s ‘The Essence of Judo’ video where the sode guruma is demonstrated by Kyuzo Mifune.
How To Do the Ezekiel Choke Submission in MMA (No GI)
Here’s how to do the ezekiel choke submission in MMA step-by-step. For ease of explanation, the right arm will be the reaching arm.
1. In mount, reach through deep around the back of the opponent’s head with a cross-face arm.
2. At the same time, put the right shoulder into the opponent’s chin and put the head and body weight on the left-hand side to stop the opponent from bridging and rolling to their left as the post is gone (the reaching arm).
3. Fasten the right hand on the left bicep and at the same time, slip the left hand through the center under the opponent’s chin and finally under your armpit on the right side (reaching side) which leaves the forearm on the opponent’s neck.
4. Apply pressure by bringing the elbows down and expanding the chest.
5. Scissor a leg or both legs to stop an opponent from moving (especially to side control) and to give more leverage for tightening the choke.
Note: In Bjj, instead of the bicep, the fingers go into the sleeve of the gi for gripping and the choke is tightened by leaning forward onto and over the opponent using body weight.
Here’s a 4-minute video showing how the no-gi variation of the ezekiel choke submission is performed.
What Are the Ezekiel Choke Variations?
There are several ezekiel choke variations.
The most obvious two variations are the different positions it can be secured from, the top and bottom position in either quarter, half, or full mount. But there are also variations to how the ezekiel choke submission can be secured.
Here are the most effective and commonly used ezekiel choke variations. For ease of explanation, the right arm will be the reaching arm.
No Gi Variations:
1. The right arm threads around the back of the opponent’s head and grabs the left bicep. At the same time, slip the left hand through the center under the opponent’s chin and finally under your armpit on the right side (technique mentioned above).
2. The right arm threads around the back of the opponent’s head and the left hand is made into a fist and driven into the opponent’s neck just off-center to the left side. The right reaching arm grabs onto the left forearm/wrist area and the fist and right shoulder are squeezed together to tighten the choke.
3. A slight variation to number 2, the right reaching arm can also grab onto the left bicep instead of the left forearm/wrist.
4. The right arm threads around the back of the opponent’s head and grabs the left forearm. The left hand is sneaked in and made into a fist, which is placed on the opponent’s adam’s apple and your sternum. Arch backward to bring the sternum forward while applying pressure through the fist.
Bjj Gi Variations:
1. Same as the no-gi variation #1, but instead of securing onto the left bicep, place four fingers inside the left sleeve for a tight grip and leverage.
2. With a gi, the ezekiel choke can also be secured from the top position in closed guard. Simply reach around the opponent’s head with the right arm, grab the left sleeve, and drive the left forearm into the opponent’s neck while pushing away from them.
3. With a gi, the ezekiel choke can also be secured from the back. Thread the right arm under the opponent’s armpit and diagonally up across their neck to place four fingers into your left sleeve over their left shoulder.
Thread the left arm to the right behind their neck with the forearm facing down and clenching the fist.
Shrug the shoulders to the ears and pull the right wrist towards you to squeeze and tighten the ezekiel choke across their neck.
Note: Overall, there are various different ways to secure an ezekiel choke submission and it’s all to do with the placement of the hand, wrist, and forearm.
Is the Ezekiel Choke Submission Effective in MMA?
The ezekiel choke submission is effective in MMA for two reasons.
1. Can be secured from the top and bottom
A fighter can secure an ezekiel choke submission win from their back when it seems they’re just holding an opponent’s head as a defense. Even if they can’t secure the win, the ezekiel choke at least gets them out of danger and allows them to get up from the ground or transition to another submission.
It’s effective from the top as most MMA fighters are focused on defending ground-and-pound or scrambling to get up from the ground. This diverted attention opens the door to the arm being threaded around the back of their head to set up an ezekiel choke.
2. Unexpected and sneaky submission
The last thing an MMA fighter expects is to get choked out when they’re in a dominant top position, either full mount, half guard, or quarter guard. For this reason, they’re not often looking to defend against an ezekiel choke and a skilled Bjj practitioner can slip the hand in and secure the submission.
In MMA, the fighter in the bottom position regularly reaches around the back of an opponent’s head to bring them in close and defend against ground-and-pound.
In some ezekiel choke submission victories in the past, fighters have been ground-and-pounding one second and tapping out the next. They believe the arm around the back of the head is a defensive move and they lose focus on how they themselves can stay safe.
As they’re so unexpected and uncommon, it’s only a matter of time before more ezekiel choke submission finishes are seen in the UFC.
On the other hand, the ezekiel choke is ineffective in MMA for two reasons.
1. Dangerous positioning
In order to secure the ezekiel choke from the bottom, the fighter on top needs to be in quarter, half, or full mount.
Often times this means the fighter on the bottom is pulling mount – actively letting their opponent step over as it brings the spines parallel. This creates an opening for the hand to slip under the opponent’s neck and it makes the ezekiel choke much tighter too.
As being mounted in MMA results in ground-and-pound and submission threats from the top, it’s very hard to think about securing an ezekiel choke from the bottom because escaping this disadvantageous position is much more important to avoid being finished or losing the round on the scorecards.
In Bjj it’s less of a worry because they’re not concerned with getting ground-and-pounded to sleep.
2. Too obvious against skilled Bjj practitioners
Most top-level MMA fighters such as those in the UFC understand once an arm has been passed around the back of their head, the opportunity for an ezekiel choke is on.
Therefore, they’ll fight the hands, try to push at the hips, roll the opponent to the side the arm has been threaded from, or scramble any way they can.
As the setup is slow and obvious to them, it’s a submission only working when used by highly elite Bjj practitioners versus strikers with little ground grappling knowledge and experience.
For example, while not an ezekiel choke, the guillotine choke Jon Jones secured against Ciryl Gane is a perfect example. While there seemed to be no danger for a good while, a more experienced Bjj practitioner would’ve known once the arm is around their neck, it was time to move.
How To Defend Against Ezekiel Choke Submissions in MMA
Here are the most effective and common defenses against ezekiel choke submissions in MMA.
From the top position
If caught in an ezekiel choke when in full mount, step off into side control and pull the top of the opponent’s head toward you while driving your body forward to the other side.
You can also step off into side control and put the arm on the same side over the opponent’s elbow and push down with your body weight to create space and collapse their grip.
From the bottom position
If the choke is already in, bump the opponent forward over the top of you by exploding at the hips. This creates space for you to thread the arm upwards on the side which is on the front of the neck.
With the threaded arm, push to the same side while walking in the same direction before bridging to take them over.
Best Ezekiel Choke Submissions in MMA History
Here’s a list of the best ezekiel choke submissions wins in MMA history.
- Hidehiko Yoshida (W) vs Kiyoshi Tamura – Pride FC Total Elimination 2003 – used gi
- Aleksei Oleinik (W) vs Viktor Pesta – UFC FN:103 – No gi
- Aleksei Oleinik (W) vs Junior Albini – UFC 224 – No gi
How many ezekiel chokes in UFC history?
There have only been two ezekiel chokes in UFC history, which have both been secured by Aleksei “The Boa Constrictor” Oleinik (Alexey Oleynik), one of the best Russian MMA fighters of all time.
Aleksei Oleinik has 14 ezekiel choke submissions out of 47 submission wins in his long MMA career and proves the ezekiel choke is a highly effective yet underrated submission in MMA.
Here’s a very short video of Aleksei Oleinik’s ezekiel choke submission wins in the UFC.
The Bottom Line
An ezekiel choke submission is a judo/bjj technique of threading an arm around the back of the opponent’s head and using the other hand/forearm across the neck to choke and cut off blood flow to the brain.
An ezekiel choke submission can be secured with many variations, differentiated by the placement of the hand/wrist/forearm on both sides. The ezekiel choke can be a very effective submission in MMA because it’s very underutilized and many fighters aren’t expecting it.
