These are five submission holds that we may never see executed inside the cage again!
The only thing in MMA as exhilarating as a devastating knockout has to be the creative, crafty submission that you don’t see coming. Anderson Silva’s submission win over Chael Sonnen in the fifth round by triangle choke is arguably the most exciting of all his wins, which is saying a lot considering his highlight reel of knockouts.
That is why we have gathered the top five submission wins that made us drop our jaw and ask if that really just happened. What would your top five had been? Did we miss any of them? Let us know in the comments below!
5) Frank Mir vs Pete Williams – Mir lock
Frank Mir is known as one of the most dangerous submission artists in the history of the heavyweight division. His submission wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, and Tim Sylvia established that fact, but it was only during his second fight in the UFC when he landed a submission that is now named after him! The hold known as the ‘Mir lock’ is a shoulder crank with devastating consequences if you do not tap.
4) Kenny Robertson vs Brock Jardine – Leg stretch
Kenny Robertson is best known for his unorthodox submission win over Brock Jardine. At first glance it appears to be a modified knee bar, sort of, but upon further inspection there is no hyperextension of the knee. Which leaves the submission hold in a weird gray area with no name, we will just call it the leg/groin stretchy thing from the back until we see it again.
3) Ben Saunders vs Chris Heatherly – Omoplata
The omoplata is not exactly a rare submission hold, but it is certainly rare to see it executed and finished in a mixed martial arts fight. Ben Saunders is a Ricardo Liborio black belt who had recently been studying the 10th planet system under Eddie Bravo, which allowed Saunders to set up the Omoplata using the rubber guard, making the submission even more special than it already was.
2) Chan Sung Jung vs Leonard Garcia – Twister
The Twister (also known as the wrestler’s guillotine) is a controversial technique in the world of grappling and more specifically jiu-jitsu. Some say it is effective while others disagree, but when Chan Sung Jung successfully finished Leonard Garcia with one in the UFC, it re-ignited the discussion. Whether you’re a fan of the technique or not, when it is executed properly, it is a beautiful thing to see.
1) Nick Diaz vs Takanori Gomi – Gogoplata
The historic bout between Nick Diaz and Takanori Gomi is a fan favorite for numerous reasons. It was a back and forth war that was eventually finished via one of the most flashy submissions one can attempt to pull off. To top it all off, Diaz failed the post-fight drug test with levels of marijuana so high that it has been suggested that he could have fought while under the influence of the drug.
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BONUS: Toby Imada taps Jorge Masvidal with crazy inverted Triangle choke
Toby Imada taps Jorge Masvidal with crazy inverted Triangle choke
Ariel Helwani interviewed Imada about the finish and Toby had this to say: “It’s something that I’ve always trained. Whenever I get put in a certain situation, I always want to have a few moves I can execute. It just so happened that I ended up with Masvidal holding the single-leg on me and that’s pretty much a gimme. So right there, I just went for it and he didn’t try to get out; he kind of just stood up. So I locked it up and I finished it, just like I did in training a bunch of times before.” [Source: BloodyElbow.com]
Watch the inverted triangle choke happen here:
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