From all the high level BJJ I have seen, I think Dominyka Obelenyte uses the Americana the best. She will use deep crossface and ezekiel threats as well as skirt chokes to draw the opponents arms into positons to get the sleeve and control the "head in" Americana.
Obviously the opponent will fight to keep the elbow closed. If that happens, you can use that to create an arm in/arm out situation and threaten attacks.
Now, I realize these aren't strictly Americana's. However the threat of the Americana is a large part of a lot of these setups. The "indirect" threat of the Americana is the most valuable part of the technique. If the opponent is forced to over commit to defending one of these attacks or gets careless, this happens...
Again, i'm not arguing that the Americana is a super high percentage technique, I don't personally use it at all. But imo to imply that it is without merit is a little disingenuous.
Position before submission works on defence too, if someone is in a position to submit you, most people will give up position to avoid a submission. If you get the Americana locked and can legitimately threaten it, most people will give up the possibility of their back in order to avoid certainly tapping.
In that aspect the Americana can function like a good straight right in boxing. You might not see it in an entire match or exchange, yet the opponent must circle away from it. If that ends up getting them clipped with a left hook, then it means it provides some value.
