After years of hearing Joe Rogan perk up whenever someone pulls rubber guard in the Octagon, I finally decided to head to Borders and fork over some cash for Eddie Bravo’s Mastering The Rubber Guard. Aside from the book being too big to fit on any normal shelf, it was well worth the money I spent.
While reading through the book, I came across a section called “Go-Go Plata to Loco Plata,” and I was shocked. Shocked, not only because I recognized Bravo’s demonstration partner, Laurence, from an episode of “Millionaire Matchmaker,” but also because the move seems to be the embodiment of Bravo’s other-worldly-pot-smoking creativity.
The idea of wrapping the instep of your foot around someone’s throat and then gripping your toes with your hand is literally a pipe dream in and of itself, but reinforcing with the foot is even more outlandish. So, I simply brushed it off as something clever Eddie came up with and continued to read his book.
Now imagine my surprise on Sunday night when, after WEC 40, I flipped over to “Bully Beatdown” just in time to see Conor Huen tapping out some chump with the very same move, and it started from the top no less.
Now don’t get me wrong. This wasn’t on the level of Nick Diaz tapping Gomi or Aoki pulling off a go-go from the top. After all, this was still an opponent whose biggest accomplishment was pantsing some kid. However, Huen’s submission is still significant.
Before Aoki and Diaz proved that go-go plata could be effective in MMA, people thought that it is pointless to even go for the move. Now, the move is a well known submission and has even been pulled off by heavyweight Brad Imes on two occasions.
The loco plata comes about when someone properly defends the go-go plata by grabbing the foot. Whoever is administering the hold will gain wrist control and then reinforce the foot around the chin with his other foot. As more and more people become familiar with the go-go plata they will learn how to defend it, which will open up many more opportunities for the counter hold.
Conor Huen should be celebrated, and not just because he beat up a bully, but also because the sport can not evolve without fighters willing to take chances and go for things outside the box. If Aoki had not gone for the go-go plata against Joachim Hansen, it may still not be considered a viable move for MMA. With more and more go-go platas popping up everyday, it will not be long before we see a loco plata pulled off in a MMA fight.
By: Richard Mann