Song Yadong's guillotine continues Team Alpha Male's submission legacy

Song Yadong's guillotine choke finish of Deiveson Figueiredo has drawn fresh attention to one of mixed martial arts' most celebrated training camps and the stranglehold system that has defined it.

Team Alpha Male, the Sacramento-based gym founded by Urijah Faber, has long been associated with the guillotine choke, and Song's finish adds to a growing list of high-profile submissions tied to the team's coaching infrastructure. According to verified records, the squad has accumulated more than ten guillotine finishes across top promotions, with three of those coming against UFC champions.

Faber himself, now 47 and retired with a professional record of 35 wins and 11 losses, laid the groundwork for that reputation. The five-foot-six veteran, who fought out of Team Alpha Male, previously used the guillotine to submit both Jens Pulver and Dominick Cruz during his career. He averaged 0.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes across his UFC run, a figure that underscores his grappling aggression throughout his time competing.

Pulver, 51, compiled a career record of 27-19-1 and was a southpaw standing five-foot-seven with a 70-inch reach. Cruz, now 41 and fighting out of Alliance MMA, carries a 24-4 record and built a reputation as one of the sport's most elusive movers, averaging 3.91 significant strikes landed per minute with a takedown rate of 2.82 per 15 minutes.

Why it matters

• Song Yadong's finish links the current Team Alpha Male roster directly to the gym's historic submission lineage
• The guillotine system has now been used to finish UFC champions across multiple eras
• The technique's continued success at the highest level reinforces Team Alpha Male's influence on modern MMA grappling culture