Brabo Choke

Last updated: June 15, 2026

What is the brabo choke?

The brabo is a blood choke from the arm-triangle family. The attacker feeds one arm under the opponent’s neck and across, so the opponent’s own shoulder presses into one carotid while the attacker’s forearm bites into the other. Cut off the blood to the brain, and the fight ends fast, usually in seconds.

Naming is where things get messy, and it trips up a lot of fans. The word “brabo” is Portuguese slang for tough or aggressive. Brazilian black belt Leonardo “Leozinho” Vieira popularised the gi version in the early 2000s, and the name stuck after his old email handle, “Leobrabo,” prompted coach Kid Peligro to christen it the brabo choke. In the gi, the attacker grips the opponent’s lapel to seal the choke instead of locking their own arms.

Strip the jacket away, and the lapel grip disappears, so a no-gi grappler locks a figure-four grip on their own bicep instead. That no-gi version is what almost everyone in MMA calls the D’Arce. The mechanic is identical. Only the finishing grip changes. For a fan watching a UFC card, “brabo” and “D’Arce” point to the same choke.

How the brabo choke works

Picture a fighter caught in a front headlock with their head down and one arm dangling. That is the brabo’s home. The attacker threads an arm under the trapped arm, in front of the throat, and over the back of the neck on the far side.

Two walls form around the neck. The opponent’s trapped shoulder is one, the attacker’s arm is the other. Squeeze them together, and the carotid arteries close. Because it attacks blood flow rather than the windpipe, a tight brabo gives almost no warning before the lights dim, which is why fighters tap early once they feel it lock.

It shows up most when an opponent shoots for a takedown and gets sprawled on, turtles up to avoid damage, or scrambles out of half guard and leaves the head and arm exposed. The grip is compact, so it works for grapplers who do not have the long limbs a rear-naked choke rewards.

Brabo choke vs D’Arce choke

This is the question that brings most people to the term. The short answer: in MMA, they are the same choke, and the names get used interchangeably.

The split is mostly about the jacket and about geography. Brazilians lean toward “brabo,” Americans lean toward “D’Arce,” and the D’Arce name traces to Joe D’Arce, a Renzo Gracie black belt who made it famous in competition. He did not invent it. Luta Livre sources credit Björn Dag Lagerström, who reportedly found it by accident while messing up an anaconda choke.

	Brabo choke	D’Arce choke
Setting	Often the gi (lapel) version	No-gi figure-four version
Finishing grip	Opponent’s lapel	Grip on own bicep
Common usage	More common among Brazilians	More common among Americans
In MMA	Same choke, names interchangeable	Same choke, names interchangeable

So when a commentator calls a no-gi finish a brabo and the graphic on screen says D’Arce, nobody is wrong.

Brabo choke vs anaconda choke

The brabo gets mixed up with the anaconda too, and for good reason: both are front-headlock blood chokes that wrap the head and an arm. The giveaway is where the lock sits.

In a brabo or D’Arce, the choking arm threads under the trapped arm, crosses in front of the neck, and the grip closes behind the neck. In an anaconda, the arm goes under the neck first, and the grip closes down by the armpit, after which the attacker often rolls the opponent to finish. Watch the lock: closed behind the neck means brabo, closed at the armpit means anaconda.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the brabo the same as the D’Arce?

In no-gi and MMA, yes. Most coaches treat the names as interchangeable, with “brabo” often reserved for the gi lapel version and “D’Arce” for the no-gi figure-four version.

Why is it called the brabo?

“Brabo” is Portuguese for tough or aggressive. It came from Leonardo Vieira’s “Leobrabo” email handle, and coach Kid Peligro turned that into the choke’s name.

Is it a blood choke or an air choke?

A blood choke. It compresses the carotid arteries and cuts blood flow to the brain, rather than crushing the windpipe.

Is the brabo legal in MMA?

Yes. It is a standard chokehold allowed across major promotions, including the UFC, where chokes are legal submissions.

Does it work in MMA?

It does, and it has finished fights in major promotions. Sherdog, for one, records these finishes under the “brabo” label rather than D’Arce.

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Sources

1. BJJ Heroes. “The Brabo Choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.bjjheroes.com/techniques/brabo-choke
2. BJJ Heroes. “Darce Choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.bjjheroes.com/techniques/darce-choke
3. Evolve Daily. “BJJ 101: Brabo Choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://evolve-mma.com/blog/bjj-101-brabo-choke
4. Evolve Daily. “BJJ 101: D’Arce Choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://evolve-mma.com/blog/bjj-101-darce-choke
5. Wikipedia. “Arm triangle choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arm_triangle_choke
6. BJJ Equipment. “Brabo Choke (BJJ): How-To, Tips, History, & More.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjjequipment.com/brabo-choke

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