Peruvian Necktie

Last updated: June 20, 2026

What is the peruvian necktie?

The Peruvian necktie belongs to the family of front headlock chokes, the same group that includes the guillotine and the D’Arce. What sets it apart is the legs. Most head-and-arm chokes finish with the arms alone, but the Peruvian necktie throws a leg over the opponent’s back and uses it as a lever, so all four limbs end up working the neck at once.

It usually shows up against a turtled opponent or one caught on all fours, often right after a failed takedown when the attacker has sprawled into a front headlock. From there, the attacker sits back, the leg presses down, and the opponent’s head gets pushed toward their own chest.

That downward angle is why people describe the move as a hybrid. According to BJJ World, it sits somewhere between a choke and a neck crank: the arm across the neck restricts blood flow through the carotid arteries, while the head being folded forward adds a cranking pressure on top. The result taps fast, which is part of why fans of grappling and MMA recognise the name even if they have never trained it.

How the peruvian necktie works

Picture an attacker holding a front headlock on a turtled opponent. One arm wraps under the chin, and the hands lock together. Then, in the move’s signature step, the attacker swings the leg on the choking-arm side up and over the opponent’s back.

The leg is the engine. As Evolve MMA explains, the hamstring lands behind the neck and creates the downward force that brings the chin toward the wrist locked underneath. Fight Encyclopedia describes the same idea in mechanical terms: the draped leg is a lever, so the weight of the leg plus hip extension generates far more compression than the arms could manage on their own.

The finish comes from sitting back and falling toward the choking side rather than straining to squeeze. Because the head is driven into the chest at a sharp angle, the strangle and the crank arrive together. A reader watching a match can spot it by that single detail: a leg thrown across a turtled opponent’s back while the head is pulled under.

Peruvian necktie vs other front headlock chokes

Almost every search for this move comes from a moment of confusion, because three submissions launch from the same front headlock and look alike to a new viewer. The table below sorts them out.

Submission	Defining feature	Leg over the back?
Peruvian necktie	Front headlock plus a leg draped over the back to drive the head down	Yes (its signature)
Guillotine	Arm wraps the neck from the front; finished standing, in guard, or off a sprawl	No
D’Arce	Choking arm threads under the near armpit and across the neck, finished with shoulder pressure	No

The guillotine is the loosest comparison. It wraps the neck from the front and can be finished standing, in guard, or off a sprawl, with no leg required. The D’Arce, as BJJ Fanatics describes it, threads the choking arm under the opponent’s near armpit and back across the neck, then finishes with shoulder pressure rather than a leg.

The Peruvian necktie is essentially a modified guillotine, and BjjTribes calls it a cross between a guillotine and a D’Arce with one signature change: the leg goes over the head and back to add weight. Fighters often hunt it when a guillotine or D’Arce stalls and the arm cannot thread through. There is also a whole set of cousin techniques, including the Japanese necktie, that share the front headlock entry but change the grip or the angle of the finish.

Where the peruvian necktie comes from

The submission is named after its creator, Tony DeSouza, a Peruvian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who competed in the UFC during the 2000s. He learned his grappling under John Lewis and André Pederneiras of Nova União, and several accounts, including Grapplezilla, credit Pederneiras with helping refine the technique into its current form.

DeSouza developed it in the mid-2000s as a modification of the guillotine, and the name stuck because of his Peruvian heritage and the way the locked grip wraps the neck like a tie. The move reached a wider audience when C.B. Dollaway submitted Jesse Taylor with it at UFC Fight Night 14 in July 2008, a finish Wikipedia and Sportskeeda both record as one of the more memorable applications in the promotion. It remains a rare sight at the highest levels, which is part of its appeal when it does land.

Is the peruvian necktie legal?

In most grappling rule sets, yes. Fight Encyclopedia, citing the current rule books, lists the Peruvian necktie as legal under the IBJJF at all belt levels in both gi and no-gi, legal in judo as a shime-waza (strangulation technique), legal under ADCC, and legal under the Unified Rules of MMA. The main exception is Sport Sambo, which bans all chokes.

The technique still carries the risk that comes with any neck crank, and most instructors treat it as an advanced finish because the head pressure can build faster than a defender expects to tap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Peruvian necktie a choke or a neck crank?

It is both. The arm across the neck cuts off blood flow like a choke, while the head being folded toward the chest adds a cranking pressure, which is why it can finish so quickly.

Who invented the Peruvian necktie?

Tony DeSouza, a Peruvian UFC veteran and BJJ black belt, developed it in the mid-2000s as a modification of the guillotine choke, with help from his coach André Pederneiras.

Why is it called a necktie?

The name comes from DeSouza’s Peruvian heritage and from the grip itself, which wraps around the opponent’s neck in a shape that resembles a tie.

How is it different from a guillotine?

A guillotine can be finished in many ways with the arms alone. The Peruvian necktie adds a leg over the back as a lever and requires the attacker to fold the opponent’s head down toward the chest to lock it in.

Why is the Peruvian necktie considered dangerous?

Because it blends a choke with a crank and tightens quickly, it gives a defender little time to react, so coaches usually teach it as an advanced submission and drill it with care.

---

Sources

1. Wikipedia. “Tony DeSouza.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_DeSouza
2. Evolve MMA. “Here’s How To Execute The Peruvian Necktie In BJJ.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://evolve-mma.com/blog/heres-how-to-execute-the-peruvian-necktie-in-bjj/
3. Fight Encyclopedia. “Peruvian Necktie.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://fightencyclopedia.com/techniques/submission/choke-and-strangle-lock/front-headlock-choke/necktie-lever/peruvian-necktie
4. BJJ World. “Peruvian Necktie: A Tight Choke And A Brutal Neck Crank.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjj-world.com/peruvian-necktie/
5. BjjTribes. “Meet the Peruvian Necktie, one of the slickest chokes around.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjjtribes.com/2021/06/03/peruvian-necktie-chokes/
6. Grapplezilla. “The Peruvian Necktie for Beginners.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://grapplezilla.com/peruvian-necktie/
7. BJJ Fanatics. “Distinguishing the Guillotine, D’Arce and Anaconda Chokes.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/news/distinguishing-the-guillotine-darce-and-anaconda-chokes
8. Sportskeeda. “What is a Peruvian Necktie and which UFC fighters have pulled it off?” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-what-peruvian-necktie-ufc-fighters-pulled-off

Related MMA Terms