Breaking The Guard Podcast

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Episodes

A Mixed Martial Arts talk show featuring Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts David Avellan (creator of the Kimura Trap System and ADCC 2009 Bronze Medalist) and Robert Drysdale (2005 IBJJF World Champion, ADCC 2007 Absolute Champion, co-founder of Zenith BJJ). Both of them have extensive backgrounds in MMA and BJJ as students, competitors, coaches, and school owners - pulling on their combined experiences to discuss the mental aspect of training, proper preparation, championship mindset, and more.

Episodes

Dec 22, 2025

BTG 170 - When to call it quits

Dec 22, 2025

28 min

We had a strange mix of crossover fight sport events, from MMA to boxing and BJJ to wrestling, with a crossover of ages of 20-30 year old competing with 40+ athletes. Oddly enough, the older athletes were winning, which leads one to ask when is the right time to stop?

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DavidMMA.com - David Avellan's new website, where he is posting new articles daily, new courses being posted frequently, covering techniques, news, fitness, breakdowns, and much more. You can join as a guest for free to see what the site has to offer.

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Dec 15, 2025

BTG 169 - I'm done playing with you

Dec 15, 2025

24 min

There comes a time where even you favorite moves get put on the shelf to sit and collect dust. Today's podcast discusses when and why that should happen, talking about shifts in both the mental and physical landscape.

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Dec 8, 2025

BTG 168 - Revenge

Dec 8, 2025

38 min

We had several notable rematches in combat sports this weekend, one in WNO between Felipe Pena vs Luke Griffith, the other in UFC 322 with Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan. I talk about the challenge of overcoming a previous defeat, the rest of the fights in UFC 322 main card, and recap my holiday travels with a note about yielding.

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Dec 1, 2025

BTG 167 - The most neglected skillset of champions

Dec 1, 2025

53 min

If there is one aspect that is neglected in training, it's what I'm going to be talking about on this episode. Whether you are a hobbyist, a competitor, or a professional athlete, most ignore this key aspect that defines all champions.

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Nov 24, 2025

BTG 166 - Lighter divisions taking the spotlight

Nov 24, 2025

39 min

UFC Fight Night Qatar's main card was filled with great action - lots of KOs and a submission. But now that the dust has settled, the lightweight and welterweight divisions are looking far more promising compared to the dismal state of the heavyweight division.

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Nov 17, 2025

BTG 165 - Dominance can be boring

Nov 17, 2025

34 min

UFC 322 was a great night at fights, but the ending left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. There were plenty of hard fought matches, KOs, and submissions, but the co-main and main events where shows of complete dominance without finishing pressure.

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Nov 10, 2025

BTG 164 - Private Lesson Mastery

Nov 10, 2025

30 min

Can you learn martial arts purely from private lessons?

Yes, but highly unlikely and not a desirable way of doing so in my opinion. I give my reasons and what I believe is the best approach to using private lessons and instructional courses.

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Nov 3, 2025

BTG 163 - Rigged Fights

Nov 3, 2025

20 min

UFC Fight Night 263 had a bunch of finishes in the forms of KOs and submissions, but the things people are talking about are more eye gouges and a potential fixed fight. I'll give my take on that and discuss Polaris 34 and the continued leg lock revolution.

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Oct 27, 2025

BTG 162 - Is Tom Aspinall Cursed?

Oct 27, 2025

40 min

UFC 321's Heavyweight Championship main event, Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane, was supposed to be an exciting match. Instead, we got the most anti-climatic finish I can recall in UFC heavyweight history. Besides being the champion, Tom doesn't seem to be having any luck with making a legacy. Worse yet, some people are blaming him for what happened.

I also briefly recap the recent WNO absolute tournament, and then talk about Renato Canuto's second pro MMA fight and how I would structure his career.

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Oct 20, 2025

BTG 161 - Quitting on the Stool

Oct 20, 2025

42 min

The top three fights of UFC Fight Night 262 had a lot to comment about, with one of the fighters quitting on the stool and unable to continue fighting. I give my take on that and how fouls should be scored.

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