If you asked a thousand random BJJ practitioners then it’s unlikely that any of them have ever seen a competitor break their own arm while attempting a rear-naked choke. Until now, that is. That’s exactly what happened during one match at Cage Fury BJJ 15 though, as one grappler managed to fall victim to that incredibly cruel twist of fate during a live browdcast. Amanda Mazza was very clearly winning her match with Emily Hansen and got just about as close to the victory as anyone possibly can; as she took her opponent’s back and sunk in the choke, ready to squeeze.
As Mazza started to apply pressure with the choke, all of a sudden there was a visible jolt in her arm and she released Hansen immediately. Both women appeared to be confused about what had just happened, as presumably they felt and maybe even heard the break itself. The referee hadn’t called the fight off and there was no visible damage though, so they went back to grappling. That only lasted for a few seconds though, and Mazza can be seen holding her arm and clearly realising that something is wrong. The referee then steps in and starts motioning to medical staff, leaving even the commentators confused as to what’s going on.
Mazza later confirmed in a social media post that she had broken her forearm on Hansen’s chin. It’s not entirely unprecedented either, as competitors have broken their own arm while attempting a buggy choke or their ankle while attempting a triangle choke in the past. As with most of these incidents, this highlights a risk that the vast majority of practitioners would never really have considered. Most people would imagine that attacking the neck is fairly risk-free, but this just shows that applying chokes over the jaw isn’t necessarily the same. One things for certain, BJJ practitioners around the world are going to be a lot more careful about squeezing chokes over the next few days.
Amanda Mazza shared footage of the moment that she managed to break her arm while applying a rear-naked choke in a recent post to her official Instagram account:
