Most submissions in mixed martial arts come from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. While the finish likely exists in Judo, what matters is the setup, and those are generally developed by BJJ players, inspired by the desire to learn what works best in a fight on the street or harder still, vs. a trained opponent in the cage. However, there are a number of other great submission traditions including Sambo from Russia, and Catch Wrestling, which was developed in the west, notably England and the USA. A submission from the latter tradition recently popped up in Manchester, England.

The location may not have been a coincidence. Wigan, a town in greater Manchester, was traditionally a center of Catch Wrestling. At Full Contact Contender 19, Jonno Mears slapped a wildly unorthodox Boston Crab submission on Aaron Jones and got the tap early in the first round.

Mears even stuck his tongue out.

There is a long and inadequately understood tradition of pro wrestling influence on the development of MMA. While people from various fighting styles have been cross-competing in combat sports since time immemorial, modern mixed martial arts was born at UFC 1 on ‎November 12, 1993. It was a continuation of Vale Tudo contests in Brazil that had been going on for generations, inspired by the desire of BJJ adepts practitioners to see what really works in a fight.

Thus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is widely acknowledged as the origin of mixed martial arts. However, professional wrestling also played a massive and relatively unheralded role.

While the UFC was founded by Rorion Gracie, if you follow the lineage back, you hit pro wrestling. Rorion learned the art from his father Helio. Helio learned it from watching his older brother Carlos Sr, who in turn learned the basic techniques, from high-ranking Judoka Mitsuyo Maeda. Maeda came to Brazil as a professional wrestler.

Further, before UFC 1, there were mixed rules bouts in Japan with submissions on the ground and KOs from strikes standing, the definition of MMA. Again, the lineage goes back to pro wrestling.

Karl Gotch learned Catch-As-Catch-Can wrestling at Billy Riley’s Snake Pit in Wigan, England. In the 1970s he taught those skills to Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Satoru Sayama, Masami Soranaka, and Akira Maeda, among many others. That group of Japanese athletes was in addition variously skilled in a variety of other martial arts, including sambo, karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Judo.

In 1984, the Universal Wrestling Federation was formed; it showcased a new Strong Style form of professional wrestling, using real technique and real contact, but with a predetermined or worked ending. When the UWF closed, the wrestlers took things in a variety of directions, many of them real combat sports.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara’s proteges Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki founded Pancrase. Satoru Tiger Mask Sayama founded Shooto. Caesar Takeshi founded Shoot boxing. And Akira Maeda founded Fighting Network Rings. Shooto began holding amateur matches with what we would describe as MMA rules in 1986, and pro fights in 1989, several years before UFC 1.

This group produced some of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. The greatest heavyweight fighter in MMA history for example, in Fedor Emelianenko, who got started in RINGS.

While pro wrestling looks comical to the average MMA fan, understand they are extremely tough individuals, with a strong lineage in reality.