Ground
Submissions, positional advancement, ground-and-pound.
A keylock submission applied from side control or mount, rotating the opponent's arm forward to attack the shoulder.
A blood choke from front headlock — the attacker threads an arm under the opponent's neck, locks a Gable grip, and rolls to compress the carotids.
A head-and-arm choke usually finished from side control or mount. The attacker traps the opponent's arm against their own neck.
A joint lock attacking the elbow. The attacker isolates the opponent's arm with both legs and hips up to hyperextend the joint.
The most dominant position in MMA — chest pressed against the opponent's back with hooks (legs) in.
A reverse arm-triangle variation where the attacker threads the choking arm under the opponent's far armpit and behind their head.
Striking from a dominant top position — guard, half-guard, side control, mount, or back. The technique that closed the gap between grappling-only and striking-only fighters.
The act of getting past an opponent's legs from inside the guard to a more dominant ground position — side control, mount, or back.
A leg lock attacking the knee by rotating the heel. The fastest-damaging submission in MMA — opponents who tap late often have torn ligaments.
A shoulder lock attacking the rotator cuff. Named after Masahiko Kimura, who broke Helio Gracie's arm with it in 1951.
A leg lock attacking the knee by hyperextending it. Functions similarly to an armbar applied to the leg.
Dominant top position straddling the opponent's torso. The most-scored position on the judges' cards alongside back control.
The signature back-mount finish. Forearm across the front of the neck, figure-four lock, compression of the carotid arteries.
A top-position pin where the attacker is perpendicular to the opponent, chest-to-chest with their head controlled.
A blood choke from guard — the attacker triangles their legs around the opponent's neck and one arm, compressing the carotid against the opponent's own shoulder.