At UFC Fight Night 77 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Clay Guida faced Brazilian Thiago Tavares, in what turned out to be a very short fight on Saturday. At just 39 seconds into the first round, Tavares tapped Guida with a guillotine after capitalizing on a mistake we've seen multiple times in MMA.
The round opened with an active and quick Guida, who deployed several jabs, stayed light on his feet and darted in and out as he moved across the cage. In what seemed to be an attempt to befuddle Tavares, Guida threw a right, two lefts, an inside leg kick and another left in rapid succession before shooting in for a double-leg takedown.
This is where Guida made his crucial mistake; like Cain Velasquez when he fought Fabricio Werdum, Guida was bent at the waist instead of the knees to change levels. This exposed the back of his neck, and his head was completely off center from the get-go as he shot in—so Tavares didn't have to make that adjustment.
To change levels for a double leg, the fighter should bend at the knees while taking a penetration step, as demonstrated here. Instead, Guida dove straight in, and Tavares immediately sunk in the arm-in guillotine structure.
Undaunted, Guida still went for the takedown, lifting Tavares up and slamming him to the mat and ending up in Tavares' closed guard. Guida then started pushing Tavares' left knee with his free right hand, making a brace to try to pull his legs free—which he almost did, nearly pulling his shorts off in the process. But Tavares hiked up his legs to close his guard around Guida's waist again, putting The Carpenter right back where he started.
For his next escape attempt, Guida somersaulted over his shoulder, effectively pulling Tavares into full mount on top of him, with the guillotine position still intact. We can see Guida's forehead, and it's darkened, even looking purplish. Tavares seems to know he has the choke in tight, because when Guida then rolls over sideways into Tavares' closed guard again, and then once more to be in the Brazilian's full mount, Tavares just goes with it.
And sure enough, Guida taps.
That was nasty! Thiago Tavares nearly choked the shorts of Clay Guida (literally) in under :60 seconds #UFCSP https://t.co/ajWEwhbVFJ
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 8, 2015
Tavares pushed his hips forward and kept his back arched to stay tight to Guida; as they rolled, Tavares didn't move at all. Guida's left arm is trapped in the guillotine, and his left hand seems to be caught in between his torso and Tavares. With his left shoulder so immobilized and Tavares so tight around his waist, Guida doesn't seem able to free it. It's possible that's a defense attempt, but the contortion necessary to reach Tavares' grip would likely severely limit Guida's efficacy on that side. And given that Tavares' hands are clasped more to that side of Guida, the grip is further from Guida's free right hand, making it harder than it already was for him to reach for it in defense.
It was, perhaps, a flawless guillotine that left Guida with no real defense, and given how tight Tavares and the technique was, The Carpenter was quickly running out of time to employ one.
Both fighters are longtime UFC veterans who have been fighting professionally since 2003. With this fight, No. 11-ranked Guida's record is now 32-16, while unranked Tavares moves to 20-6.
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