Videos

Jordan Johnson joins me on this episode of Santino's World of MMA. Jordan was an Illinois state champion and University of Iowa wrestler under Tom and Terry Brands before he transitioned to MMA, where he went 4-0 in the UFC before signing with the PFL, where he was the runner…

Kamuela and Santino are back after a few weeks off for the holiday break. In the premiere of season two, they talk about their own MMA awards for 2019, which includes fight of the year, knockout of the year, the Gary Goodridge CTE award and the Zoolander's "That Hansel's so…

World champion MMA trainer (trainer of Henry Cejudo, Tracy Cortez, Jordan Johnson, and more), Santino DeFranco, and rising MMA prospect, Kamuela Kirk, talk about the most stacked MMA card of the year, complete with three title fights! Before they break down the title fights, though, they have to talk about:…

One of the UFC's newest signings, Tracy Cortez, comes to the studio where she talks about her UFC debut in Sao Paulo, Brazil, being a woman in a man's sport, and how she built her social media empire before ever stepping foot into the UFC octagon. We finish her interview…

The hype was real at UFC 244 when Jorge Masvidal took on Nate Diaz for the Baddest Mo' Fo on the planet title. Kamuela Kirk and I discuss the fights, the stoppage, the belt, and whether the new Popeye's chicken sandwich lives up to the hype. Sorry, the video goes…

Enzo and I discuss the BMF Belt and give our picks for UFC 244.

Ketamine Clinic director, Sonny Diaz, comes in to talk about how his clinic uses the hallucinogenic, Ketamine, to help people with a variety of disorders: PTSD, Pain Management, Depression, Anxiety and more. We talk about how he came to start the Ketamine treatments, who his first test subjects were (his…

Pro MMA fighter, Kamuela Kirk, joins MMA coach, Santino DeFranco, to discuss the last few UFC cards--breaking down Israel Adesenya, Kron Gracie vs Cub Swanson, Dan Hooker vs Al Iaquinta, Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Michelle Waterson. They talk about how Israel compares to Conor Mcgregor, Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones and the…

Author Josh Rosenblatt was not a fighter. He was a writer and pacifist who didn't think MMA fighting was for him--until he fell in love with it. Josh joins Santino's World where he talks about his new book "Why We Fight" where he (an "everyday guy") decides to train for…

On this episode of Santino's World, I break down the second part of the upcoming Bellator Featherweight tournament. We have Pitbull vs Juan Archuleta, Darrion Caldwell vs Henry Corrales, AJ Mckee vs Georgi Karakanian and Saul Rogers vs Daniel Weichel. In addition to the tournament, we also have Lyoto Machida…

UFC Destined (TV Show) producer, Joe Botazzi, joins Santino's World for the day to discuss the behind the scenes inner-workings of producing a hit TV show for ESPN, and his favorite (and most emotional) parts of following fighters as he gives viewers an inside look into the lives and training…

Kamuela Kirk joins me again as we recap the recent title fight between Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov as well as the co-main event between Paul Felder and Edson Barboza. We also discuss the BMF belt between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, Gaethje vs Cowboy, and the other latest fight…

In life, we focus too much on outcomes, which oftentimes keeps us from accomplishing anything. In this episode, I talk about how to improve performance and reduce anxiety (in any facet of life) by focusing on the task at hand (as opposed to the outcome) and by forgetting about the…

Today I have on up and coming MMA fighter, Kamuela Kirk. We discuss the upcoming Khabib vs. Poirier UFC title fight, the Edson Barboza vs Paul Felder rematch, and the UFC card in China--and how I can't pronounce any of the fighter's names. We break down the fights, make predictions,…

Welcome to Santino's World! This is world renown MMA coach, Santino DeFranco's, podcast. In my inaugural episode, I talk about how I came up with the idea of sharing my thoughts on MMA (and other topics) with the world and I explain my cornering style, which has been the topic…

Here’s one of my favorite counters to a single leg—taking the back via far side head and arm. ⁣ ⁣ This defense can be used in wrestling, mma, and bjj—though one of my guys executed this perfectly in an IBJJF tournament years ago, and the ref gave the other guy…

Here’s another guillotine choke sequence I’ve been using a lot lately. I show this from a failed arm-in guillotine from the guard, but you could set this up from butterfly guard as well. Make sure you dont let go of the grip during your roll/transition to mount. I let go…

IG: @santinodefranco (Please share if you like this) Here’s a choke sequence Ive been using lately. I transition from a head and arm guillotine to an Anaconda choke. Then I roll through and come up on top and either take the back or transition to my Walsh choke (guillotine with…

IG: santinodefranco (Please share if you like this) Taking backs is what I love, so here’s one more variation from the far side head and arm grip. 🥋 The key to this move is keeping a tight grip on the head and arm and jumping far/hard enough to the other…

IG: @santinodefranco (Please share if you like this) This is THE Game changer! Master this, and you will never lose back control again never may be a bit of hyperbole, but you get the point) This move is rightfully named “the game changer” and it really will change your grappling…

IG: @santinodefranco (Please share if you like this) Here’s another back take—this time from side control. Typically, we don’t take the back from side control because we don’t have access to an exposed shoulder, which is, generally, needed for a back take. But, we certainly don’t want to just wait…

IG: @santinodefranco Invicta fighter, Tracy Cortez, and I are working a mitt drill. First of all, I like to mix reactionary drills in with proactive drills. A proactive drill/combo is you punching your opponent—or doing something offensive. A reactionary drill is reacting to something your opponent does to you—this doesn’t…

IG: @santinodefranco (Please share if you like this) Here is another back take from the far side head and arm. This is a great way to break your opponents posture down when he/she has a good base, and you can’t lift them up. The key to making this technique work…

IG: @santinodefranco Please share if you like this. I can’t think of a better technique in all of MMA/BJJ/Sub Grappling than taking the back—and subsequently finishing the rear-naked-choke. Here, I show a common way I like to take the back. Most people try to roll over the head or across…