The best tapouts in UFC history: Part 1: Chokes

#2 Guillotine Choke – Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida – UFC 140 – 12/10/2011

Jon Jones left Lyoto Machida unconscious with a guillotine choke variant

Another common choke variant, the guillotine sees a fighter catch his opponent’s neck from a front facelock position and use his arm to apply a fight-ending choke. The guillotine is regularly used to catch a fighter leaving his neck open when shooting in for a takedown, but there are a number of different variants too, from the arm-in version to variations that use subtle shifts in hand position.

One of those – and perhaps the most memorable of all – was the ‘prayer’ variant used by then-UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Jon Jones to finish off Lyoto Machida in his second title defense at UFC 140 in December 2011. The fight saw Jones have a tough time with Machida’s timing and striking ability in the first round, as the challenger caught ‘Bones’ with a number of clean strikes.

In the second round though, Jones made some key adjustments and was able to hurt Lyoto with a right hand and cut him with an elbow. With Machida rattled, Jones again caught him with a right hand and this time as the challenger scrambled, Jones caught his neck and laced his left arm around it before locking up a standing guillotine – clasping his hands together as if in prayer, which tightened the grip while allowing him to twist Machida’s head at an unnatural angle. Seconds later, Machida passed out.

While it’s not uncommon to see a fighter pass out inside a guillotine choke, the fact that Lyoto was actually standing when he became unconscious in this hold made it even more memorable. Of all of his impressive title defenses, this was perhaps the greatest finish that ‘Bones’ achieved during his dominant run.