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Saulo-Style Pressure Pass

PassFundamental pressure passBelt: blue+Risk: lowIBJJFADCCNo-GiSub-OnlyMMA

The Saulo-Style Pressure Pass is a fundamental standing guard pass that uses heavy chest-to-chest pressure and precise grip work to systematically flatten and control the opponent, neutralizing their guard retention. This pass is renowned for its reliability in both gi and no-gi, especially against flexible or dynamic open guards.

Start
Standing vs open guard
End
Side control
Prerequisites: Cross-face control · Establishing an underhook · Hip switching from standing · Stapling opponent's leg

Steps

  1. 1
    Initiate standing engagement
    From standing, use a staggered stance with your lead knee splitting their guard and your hands controlling their shins or pants (C-grip in no-gi, pant grip in gi), keeping your hips back and posture tall.
  2. 2
    Staple the near leg
    Step your lead foot outside their knee and drive your shin across their thigh, pinning (stapling) their leg to the mat while maintaining a grip on their ankle or pants.
  3. 3
    Establish cross-face and underhook
    Drop your chest forward, threading your far arm under their far armpit for an underhook, while your near arm cross-faces (forearm across their jaw, palm cupping the far shoulder or triceps).
  4. 4
    Sink your hips and flatten their torso
    Slide your hips low and heavy, chest-to-chest, driving your weight through the cross-face and underhook to flatten their shoulders and prevent hip movement.
  5. 5
    Walk your hips around the stapled leg
    With your staple in place, walk your hips in a wide arc around their pinned leg, keeping your head low and pressure constant, aiming to clear your hips past their knee line.
  6. 6
    Clear the knee and windshield wiper your leg
    Once your hips pass their knee, windshield wiper your stapling leg to the mat, freeing it while maintaining chest pressure and head position low by their far shoulder.
  7. 7
    Settle into side control
    Release the staple, switch your base if needed, and transition your grips to classic side control: underhook, cross-face, knees tight to their hips and shoulders, weight distributed through your chest and toes.

Key details most people miss

  • The cross-face must be deep, with your shoulder driving their chin away and pinning their far shoulder to the mat to kill their ability to turn in.
  • Your underhook arm should be palm-up and tight to their ribs, not reaching too high, to prevent them from reguarding or framing.
  • Maintain a low head position, almost touching the mat by their far shoulder, to maximize pressure and minimize exposure to frames or guard recovery.
  • The staple must be active: your shin should compress their thigh, not just rest on it, to prevent their knee from re-entering.

Common mistakes

  • If you allow your hips to rise during the pass, opponent can insert a knee shield or recover guard.
  • If your cross-face is shallow, their far shoulder lifts and they can turn toward you, creating space for frames.
  • If you neglect the underhook, opponent can pummel for their own underhook and initiate a reversal or guard recovery.
  • If you try to clear the knee before flattening their hips and shoulders, opponent can shrimp and re-guard.

Counters & responses

They try: Opponent frames hard against your cross-face with their near-side arm
You do: Switch your head to the far hip and redirect your staple to a knee-cut pass, then re-attack the cross-face as you clear the frame.
They try: Opponent bridges and turns into you as you pass
You do: Drive your cross-face deeper, drop your weight through your shoulder, and sprawl your hips back to flatten them before continuing the pass.
They try: Opponent recovers guard by inserting their knee under your chest
You do: Adjust your staple higher on their thigh, sprawl your hips lower, and use your free hand to block their knee as you walk around.
They try: Opponent pummels for an underhook as you pass
You do: Switch your underhook to a whizzer (overhook), flatten their shoulder with your chest, and use your free hand to block their hip from turning in.

Drill prescription

Perform 6 rounds × 2 minutes each, alternating top/bottom with a partner offering 40% resistance; goal is 5 clean passes per round with full staple, cross-face, and underhook established before side control.

How the masters teach it

Videos are still being curated for this technique. AI suggests these instructors:
Saulo Ribeiro — Pioneered this pass, emphasizing relentless chest pressure and systematic staple mechanics to neutralize open guard.Xande Ribeiro — Adds dynamic hip switching and uses a lower, more mobile base to adapt the pass for no-gi and MMA contexts.Bernardo Faria — Focuses on exaggerated cross-face and deep underhook to maximize flattening effect, especially against flexible guards.Lucas Lepri — Incorporates precise grip transitions and head positioning to make the pass nearly unstoppable in high-level competition.
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