What’s fascinating about the sport of mixed martial arts is that it keeps evolving after all those years. On rare (and sweet) occasions we get to witness a new move being pulled off in an MMA fight, just like in the following footage.

Top Asian MMA promotion One Championship held an event on October 7, 2016 over there in Yangon, Myanmar. One of the bouts on the card featured Russian BJJ ace Yusup ‘Maestro’ Saadulaev and Australian Jordan Lucas.

The bout was fairly contested on the feet until Saadulaev dropped Lucas with a sweet 1-2 combination with two and a half minutes remaining in the first round. Saadulaev immediately followed his opponent to the ground, looking to take advantage of his grappling skills.

Jordan Lucas was now in a world of pain.

The Russian grappler smothered Lucas with accurate and crisp technique. The Australian was no match for Saadulaev on the ground. He tried to weather Saadulaev’s grappling onslaught but was clearly outmatched in the ground department. The Russian kept transitioning and advancing position until he, well, pulled off a choke never seen before in MMA competition.

I’ve seen tons of different names for that choke online, ranging from a ‘Irish bear hug’ to ‘Bear trap neck’. It’s not some unknown choke for sure, though it had yet to be pulled off in an MMA fight. Saadulaev’s choke looks like an inverted rear-naked-choke, and seems very, very painful. Jordan Lucas tapped just seconds after the choke was locked in.

And that’s all she wrote. The Russian grappling ace demonstrated that he’s definitely no slouch on the ground. Better yet, he got creative and came up with a choke that is both aesthetically pleasing AND pretty effective. Props to Saadulaev for an outstanding performance and for reminding us all about the beauty of mixed martial arts.