5 rarest submissions in the UFC

In the UFC, certain techniques are rarer than others. While a knockout with a left hook is a fairly common occurrence, a fighter claiming victory over his opponent by landing a spinning heel kick is an event witnessed by few. The same principle applies to grappling sequences.

Once a fight is on the ground, it is subjected to far more phases than striking. If a fighter misses a punch, many of which can end a bout, they can simply throw it again with few preceding steps required. However, if a fighter hopes to secure a triangle choke, they must first successfully take their opponent down, then advance to half-guard to be in a position to attempt the submission.

If the fighter fails, a scramble ensues and the opponent might find their way back to their feet, forcing the mixed martial artist in question to redo every step. Ending a fight with a submission requires more steps than ending a fight with strikes. Thus, fighters typically resort to submission maneuvers with high success rates from secure positions.

That, however, does not mean that rare submission maneuvers are not attempted. This list looks at 5 of the rarest submissions in the UFC.

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#5. Ovince Saint Preux, Von Flue choke

One of the largest light heavyweights on the roster, Ovince Saint Preux is an athletic fighter with great height, reach and punching power.

Despite the threat he poses as a striker, 'OSP' is no slouch in the grappling department. In fact, the light heavyweight standout is responsible for consistently implementing the exceedingly rare Von Flue choke in the UFC. 'OSP' has successfully submitted foes a total of 4 times using the maneuver, most recently at UFC Fight Night 160.

Devised as a counter-submission against the guillotine choke, the Von Flue choke involves hooking one arm around the back of an opponent's neck before clasping both hands together and pressing one's shoulder deep into the foe's neck.

Ovince Saint Preux uses the submission to great effect, pressing his entire bodyweight into his opponent's neck to either force the tap or choke them unconscious as Michał Oleksiejczuk recently learned.

#4. Chan Sung Jung and Bryce Mitchell, Twister

Only two fighters in UFC history have managed to finish a fight with a twister. Curiously, both fighters are featherweight contenders.

The first was two-time title challenger Chan Sung Jung in his UFC debut when he defeated Leonard Garcia in the very last second of the 2nd round at 4 minutes and 59 seconds. Meanwhile, the undefeated Bryce Mitchell secured a twister in his 3rd UFC fight against Matt Sayles in the 1st round.

The submission in question involves hooking one's legs over one of the opponent's legs to hold it in place. Meanwhile, the opponent's arm is pinned under the back of one's neck or upper-back while wrapping one's arms around the opponent's face and cranking their head towards the side opposite of the one the opponent's trapped leg is facing, thereby twisting the spine to an excruciating degree.

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#3. Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Brett Johns, Calf Slicer

Long before the legendary 11-fight win streak that most recently saw former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira defeat Justin Gaethje, the Brazilian was a weight class below.

Making his featherweight debut, Oliveira was booked to lock horns with Eric Wisely. It did not take 'Do Bronx' long to reveal the depth of his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, as within a minute of the 1st round, Oliveira trapped Wisely in a compromising position.

After trying to escape the kneebar, Wisely exposed his back, allowing Oliveira to secure a rear-bodylock before triangling one of Wisely's legs. Keeping his leg behind his foe's knee, the Brazilian pulled him back, applying immense pressure to Wisely's calf until it was pressed against the bone.

Brett Johns, a formerly undefeated bantamweight, used the same submission against former bantamweight title challenger Joe Soto.

#2. Alexey Oleynik, Ezekiel choke

The only UFC fighter in history to win a fight using the Ezekiel choke, Alexey Oleynik is an unorthodox threat on the ground.

An exceptionally skilled grappler with 47 submission wins, Oleynik is also the owner of the most MMA victories with the Ezekiel choke, having used it to claim victory 14 times, with 2 of those wins coming in the UFC.

The last sighting of the submission came at UFC 224 when 'The Boa Constrictor' faced Júnior Albini.

In the 1st round, Oleynik secured what initially seemed like a standing triangle choke of sorts. Quickly pulling guard, the Russian kept his right arm hooked behind his foe's neck, grasping the bicep of his left arm as he slid his left hand under Albini's chin against the throat.

Wasting nary a second more, Oleynik tightened the squeeze by raising his arms until his opponent could no longer endure it and tapped out.

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#1. Frank Mir, Toe Hold

When discussing the greatest grapplers in heavyweight MMA, it is difficult to discount Frank Mir's accomplishments.

Back in 2003, however, Mir was not yet the legend he is now revered as. Instead, he was a young MMA fighter taking part in his 4th UFC bout with the intention of extending his record to 5-1. Mir faced MMA pioneer Tank Abbott at UFC 41.

The future heavyweight champion needed less than a minute to secure a victory. The fight quickly hit the mat, enabling Mir to trap one of Abbott's arms with a figure-four leg-lock. With his foe's arm out of the equation, Frank Mir quickly hooked his arm around Abbott's ankle, while grabbing his wrist as his alternate hand seized his opponent's toes and twisted until the torque applied was too much for Abbott's ankle to bear.