The UFC has a lot of ways for their fights to end. Be it spectacular knockouts or boring decisions, the promotion has a variety of ways a fight can finish. One of the most common ways for fights to end is via submission.RELATED: 10 Fastest Submissions In UFC HistoryWhile the sport has its fair share of regular submissions like guillotines, armbars, and chokes, there are quite a few extremely rare holds that we have seen be fight-enders. These submissions can be just as breathtaking as a sensational knockout, so let's take a deep dive into some of these uncommon submissions that are executed once-in-a-blue-moon in the sport of MMA.
10 Twister
The rare submission everybody has heard of is the Twister. Not only does it sound fun, it is an absolute treat to look at. While the move gained popularity after Chan Sung Jung (The Korean Zombie) became the first fighter to win using the move, it is attributed to UFC Bantamweight Bryce Mitchell, who is the last fighter to pull it off and had 9 attempts of the same move in his next fight.
The twister works the way the name describes it. The attacker locks the defender's body into one place by using their leg to control to the body's positioning. The tricky part is to stretching the opponent's neck in the other direction and the attacker locking the hold in with their hands. It stretched the defender's body into two extremes, causing almost instant tap-outs upon execution.
9 Gogoplata
One of the earliest viral clips of MMA was a bloodied-up Nick Diaz becoming the first American to successfully execute the Gogoplata, a Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu move that has rarely surfaced in MMA.
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The submission requires the attacker to slip one foot in front of the defender's head and under their chin, locking hands behind the defender's head and then choking them by pressing the shin against the defender's throat. Just describing it sounds incredibly painful, but this submission is a flashy and very rare occurence in MMA.
8 Omoplata
If the Gogoplata is mentioned, the Omoplata will always be mentioned alongside it. The sister moves are both on this list due to their incredibly tough execution and success rate. The Omoplata is a juiced up kimura that sees the attacker flip over the defender's arm like a chicken wing while applying pressure to the shoulder and elbow, as compared to just the elbow in an armbar.
The move is hard to pull off but incredibly effective. Not only does it threaten a submission, it allows the attacker to transition into a variety of other submissions like an armbar, a triangle choke, or even a heel hook. If a BJJ wizard has you locked in an omoplata, you are more than likely going to tap soon enough.
7 Imanari Roll
The Imanari Roll is a move most casual UFC fans would also be aware of due to its heavy presence in the UFC video games. It features a fighter covering cage distance by lunging at the opponent's legs and then trying to lock in a heel hook or a kneebar.
It is one of the flashiest BJJ moves in the UFC and is one that leaves the attacker extremely vulnerable. If a fighter can see an Imanari Roll coming, they can create separation and will feast on the fighter who attempted it, as they will be on the ground. We have seen the likes of Tony Ferguson use the move, but it is best associated with grappling sensation Ryan Hall currently.
6 Von Flue Choke
The Von Flue Choke is often referred to as the OSP Lock or the Von Preux Choke in homage of UFC fighter Ovince St-Preux, who has secured wins with the move four times in the UFC. However, the first time it was executed was in 2006 with Jason Von Flue using it, with the choke being named after him.
This choke basically sees the attacking fighter get into position for an arm triangle. But instead of using the forearm to choke the defender out, this move sees the attacker use the top position to put their body weight on their shoulder and press it into the throat of the defender. It is very rare, but the last use of the move came at UFC 260 with Light Heavyweight Alonzo Menifield using it en-route to a win.
5 Peruvian Necktie
The Peruvian Necktie is a guillotine choke with an added level of violence. It has the attacking fighter take control of a fighter's neck and move into position for either a guillotine or a D'Arce Choke. However, defending it as a guillotine or a D'Arce can cause the defending fighter to be vulnerable to giving up their back, where the attacker will place their legs and apply ungodly amounts of pressure.
The Peruvian Necktie has featured in major MMA promotions a few times, with the most recent one coming in 2019 with Misha Cirkunov ending Jimmy Crute's undefeated streak with it. Other notable users have been C.B. Dolloway, Pat Curran, and Bard Pickett. WWE Superstar Seth Rollins has also used it on occasion in the past.
4 Calf Slicer
The former UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira is one of the most gifted submission artists in MMA history. The leader in submission wins in the UFC is also a man who has pulled off one of the rarest submissions wins in the sport.
RELATED: 10 Fastest Knockouts in UFC History
The calf slicer isn't just a move that will secure a win, but a move that sends a message to the opponent. It requires the fighter to perpendicularly lock in the calf of their opponent while applying pressure by holding your leg and pushing down with an arm. The shin bone 'slices' into the calf and it is one of the most painful moves in MMA. It has been executed twice in the UFC, once by Oliveira and the other by Welsh Bantamweight Brett Johns.
3 Flying Scissor Heel Hook
We are in the category of submissions that have only been successfully performed once in a major promotion, and we are talking about one of the four losses Anderson Silva took before his legendary win streak. That loss came against Ryo Chonan at Pride Shockwave 2004.
Chonan trapped Silva in a flying scissor heel hook, a move that has a very scarce history in the sport of MMA. But it's brightest moment came here, as Silva tapped out to the hold in round 3. The move isn't different from the normal heel hook we have seen, except with the massive caveat of catching your opponent mid-air to lock it in. It is incredibly risky and difficult to pull off, but Chonan did it against one of the greatest ever.
2 The Pace Choke
Even though many people call the Von Flue Choke the OSP Lock, Nick Pace is one of the few modern fighters to have a submission named after him. The Pace Choke debuted against Will Campuzano in his UFC debut on The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale in 2010.
The choke is often called the pillory choke, but Pace is the only one to finish a fight using it. The fans that saw it were confounded as it looked like Pace had half a triangle choke locked in. However, he slid his right forearm under his right leg trapping Campuzano and applied pressure to get one of the rarest submission wins in MMA history.
1 The Inverted Triangle Choke
The Inverted Triangle may just be one of the rarest and hardest to execute submissions in the MMA. While there are more niche chokes from the BJJ world that have made occasional appearances in MMA that are much harder to pull off, the inverted triangle is something fans have already seen in the cage.
Toby Imada choked out Jorge Masvidal with the inverted triangle choke in Bellator in 2009. Imada straddled Masvidal's back after being out-struck the entire fight and locked in a triangle while Masvidal was standing with Imada on his back. It is a surreal finish that MMA fans should go out of their way to see, as we have never seen it pulled off since and may never see it again.
