Great Mixed Martial Arts Submissions

Even today, there is still a lot of prejudice and misconceptions about what is known as "mixed martial arts." After all, it has gotten a lot of bad publicity over the years. But during this time it has also matured, evolving from what as basically a no-holds-barred fighting competition into a true sport that requires strength, speed, technique, and strategy.

In the early days of "Ultimate Fighting," not much was known about "mixed" martial arts, with fighters instead tending to be experts in only the one style they knew. This, along with limited rules regarding the safety of the fighters, made for some violent competition. However, two major factors helped shape MMA into what it is today. First is the introduction of rules to make fighting safer, fairer, and even more exciting to the viewers. Second is the development of fighters into real "mixed" martial artists - instead of being a better brawler, it became important to have a broad martial arts knowledge, ranging from kickboxing to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

In particular, Brazilian jiu-jitsu was important to the sport's development, as it added a completely new level of ground fighting and submissions. Great fights can be all out 15 or 25 minute wars or can end in brutal knockouts, but these can tend to turn off people who aren't already into MMA. Submissions, however, I feel are more accessible and can actually be really beautiful. So as a tribute to submission fighting, here are some of my favorite submissions in MMA history.

(Note: I will try to explain things in "layman's" terms, so if you're already knowledgeable about MMA, bear with me... or just watch the videos. I also realize that some might want to skip straight to the submission, so I'll also include a timestamp of where to skip to.)

*****

Fedor Emelianenko armbar on Mark Coleman

PRIDE Total Elimination 2004

To skip straight to the submission, go to 3:00.

Fedor Emelianenko - one of the top fighters in the world - has a game complete with excellent striking, great speed and accuracy, and submission technique. Such a complete MMA arsenal is seldom seen, especially in the heavyweight division (> 205 lbs.) and to see a heavyweight pull off a move like this is incredible.

Fedor is stuck under the "king of ground-and-pound" Mark Coleman, and while Coleman tries to land some powerful hits from the top, Fedor employs the "guard," in which he wraps his legs around the opponent, to try to use his hips to exert control from the bottom. Coleman is giving Fedor some room, so basically out of nowhere, Fedor comes out with an armbar, in which he gets one leg across Coleman's shoulders and is able to slip his other leg and his hip out to the side. An excellent display of speed and technique from arguably the best heavyweight in the world.

*****

Demian Maia triangle choke on Chael Sonnen

UFC 95

To skip to the submission, go to 3:45.

Demian Maia is one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists (though the other aspects of his game are somewhat lacking), and his groundwork is downright elegant, as he is able to transition from position to position faster than I can even think. The beauty of this submission starts from before the submission itself.

Maia, after getting his opponent Chael Sonnen against the wall, performs a judo-like throw and immediately is able to transition into the "mount" position - a very advantageous top position where it is much easier to land uncontested blows to the opponent's head. However, from this position, Maia instead opts to slip his right leg underneath Sonnen's neck, which sets up a "triangle choke," which is basically a choke using the legs (note that most effective chokes work by blocking blood flow to the brain, not by blocking the breathing of the opponent).

*****

Frank Mir shoulder lock on Pete Williams

UFC 36

The fight is short. Watch the whole thing!

Frank Mir is one of the top Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists in MMA, and seeing him move his legs while on the ground is amazing, especially considering that he is a heavyweight. In this case, Mir gets his opponent to the ground (note: Mir is on the bottom; he is perfectly comfortable fighting from underneath, in the guard position) and grabs a hold of Williams's right arm, neutralizing it as an offensive weapon. As soon as Williams makes a mistake, Mir capitalizes by bringing his arm in, twisting Williams's shoulder. And once Mir is able to slip his hips out for extra leverage, it's all over.

*****

Shinya Aoki gogoplata on Katsuhiko Nagata

DREAM.4

To skip to the submission, go to 4:45.

Shinya Aoki is one of the top lightweights in the world (I'd like to see him come to the UFC), and perhaps his biggest weapon is his flexibility. His ability to contort into unique positions allows him to pull off some rarely-seen submissions, like this "gogoplata." He starts off mounted on his opponent, which is already an advantageous position. From here, he is able to put his right leg across the front of his opponent's neck. Once he gets in the right position, he is simply able to pull Nagata's head towards his own leg, which results in a quick tapout.

*****

Toby Imada inverted triangle choke on Jorge Masvidal

Bellator V

To skip to the submission, go to 0:25.

Here's one you don't see everyday. It looks like Masvidal was going for a single-leg takedown, though the footage starts a little too late. Anyway, for some reason, instead of taking Imada down, Masvidal lifts him up. With Masvidal's neck right between his legs, Imada goes for a triangle choke from behind... while he is upside down in the air. Imada smartly grabs onto Masvidal's leg so that he can't easily be shaken off, then proceeds to choke his opponent out completely. I feel like Masvidal could have played things more intelligently before and during the choke - but this is worthy of a highlight tape nonetheless.

*****

Rumina Sato flying armbar on Charles Taylor

Shooto Devilock Fighters '99

Submission fighters dream of doing flying armbars, but nobody really ever tries the risky technique. Rumina Sato and his flashy style have enough guts though, and once he grabs a hold of his opponent's arm, he jumps straight into an amazing armbar. This leads to one of the quickest finishes in MMA history, which you basically never see happening with a submission.

*****

Ryo Chonan flying scissor heel hook on Anderson Silva

PRIDE Shockwave 2004

This submission is especially significant because it is done on Anderson Silva, who is arguably the number one fighter in the world. This was Silva's last "real" loss, as the only loss after that happened when he got disqualified for a kick that knocked out his opponent but was deemed illegal (though the fact that it is illegal is completely ridiculous).

Anyway, Ryo Chonan had actually been winning this fight, but the submission that put it away made the fight immortal. I have never, ever seen this move done other than in this video. Chonan drops down for a scissor sweep, taking Silva down, then immediately putting him in a heel hook. The heel hook, in which Chonan basically twists the heck out of Silva's ankle (you can see how it works in the final frame of the video), is one of the most painful holds - and so it can force very quick tapouts (though it also leads to injury at a higher rate than other submissions). Indeed, once the heel hook is in place, Silva taps out right away. Incredible.