What is a scissor sweep in MMA? Explaining rare move by debutant Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 301 that earned Dana White's praise

Mauricio Ruffy made his promotional debut with flying colors as he delivered a brutal TKO over Jamie Mullarkey in the opening round of their early prelims fight at UFC 301. But what caught the attention of many was the elusive scissor sweep Ruffy used during the fight, which even earned Dana White's praise.

The Brazilian was feeling right at home in the octagon from the start of the bout. A little below the one-minute mark of the opening round, the 27-year-old faked a right hand and changed levels with a scissor sweep putting his opponent on the canvas.

A scissor sweep is a fundamental move in jiu-jitsu, where one uses their legs in a scissor-like motion to sweep their opponent off balance and put them on their back.

Scissor sweeps are something every fighter and jiu-jitsu practitioner would benefit from, especially since it doesn't demand overwhelming strength to execute but rather use leverage.

Owing to leverage being the force being relied on to pull off the move, scissor sweeps can be effective against larger opponents, to gain dominant positions over them.

The new blood using the technique at UFC 301 had White impressed. Following the contest, the UFC CEO posted a video of Ruffy's scissor sweep on X, while praising him as one of the best debutants of all time:

"This guy is an absolute BEAST! One of the best UFC debuts of all time by Mauricio Ruffy!"

Watch Mauricio Ruffy pull off the scissor sweep below:

The move can also be used to transition to other advantageous positions or string up submissions. However, it's not a regular sight to see MMA fighters use this move, especially since a failed scissor sweep will leave the aggressor grounded, monetarily making them vulnerable to attacks.

Former UFC fighter Cung Le is one of the few fighters who have mastered using scissor sweeps during fights. However, even he didn't rely too much on the move during his time with the world's premier MMA promotion.

Watch Cung Le effortlessly pull off scissor sweeps during his early career below: