Tap Out! the 13 Most Difficult Submissions to Defend

In the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighters who had mastered their respective martial arts came together to participate in a tournament to see which martial art was the best.

As most people know, Royce Gracie and his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu reined supreme over all others in the first two tournaments.

It was then that submission fighting became a necessity for all mixed martial artists, and that the sport went from "best in your respective martial art" to "best in all aspects of martial arts" which is the product that we know and love today.

Jiu Jitsu is based off of control of your opponents' stature and ability to manipulate their limbs for submissions and chokes and is the most prominent of all submission fighting techniques around. With that being said, let's take a look at the most difficult submissions to defend.

13. Omoplata/Shoulder Lock

The Omoplata, when set up correctly, can be a very good submission move. It's begun while in full guard and places unbelievable strain on the shoulder and arm. 

12. Gogoplata

Catch somebody in this one and it will be all over very quickly. Done from guard, you can think of it as pushing somebody's throat into a bar.

Would be higher on the list but it's not a submission that is pulled off a great deal. This one by Nick Diaz was worked perfectly.

Master of the move: Shinya Aoki

11. Anaconda Choke

In a nutshell, it's an arm triangle choke from the front headlock position. If you're in position to get caught with this move, it's extremely hard to escape.

10. Twister

Tough to pull off, and even tougher to escape. The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung pulled off the only successful Twister in UFC history.

Done from the back mount, it causes strain on the abs as well as the knee, torso and the neck.

9. Ankle Lock

No, not the one by Kurt Angle, but the one that made Ken Shamrock a submission master. Mostly done while your opponent is on his back, it places pressure on the Achilles and calf to ultimately cause hyperextension in the ankle.

What makes this one tough to get out of is that once you're in it, you just better hope for sloppy technique.

Master of the move: Ken Shamrock

8. Kneebar

What makes this move difficult to counter is that it is hard to see coming. Once Brock was caught in it, it was pretty much lights out.

7. Key Lock/Americana

Done from side control mostly, the Americana or Key Lock is tough to defend because once your arm is compromised, the fight is pretty much over.

Just take a look at the amateur women's fight I've posted.

6. Kimura

Named after Judo Master Masahiko Kimura who snapped Helio Gracie's arm in 1955 with the move. What makes it so hard to defend is that it can be completed from side control, mount, standing, while in guard or even while in someone else's guard.

It's a move that constantly has to be thought of as a threat and if you fall asleep on it, you may hear that not-so-sweet snapping sound.

Master of the move: Frank Mir

5. Guillotine

One of the most used submissions in the game and for good reason: it is tough to defend, has variations standing and flying and can be used off of the back. Oh, the possibilities.

Master of the move: Jon Jones

4. Triangle

From the guard, the Triangle choke is effective in that if you have an aggressive wrestler or grappler on top of you, the tide can be turned with this quick and pretty simple move.

Master of the move: Demian Maia

3. Rear Naked Choke

Aoki vs Gardner

Once your opponent has your back, this is the one thing you have instant nightmares about. This choke is the most deadly in all of MMA and if you don't tap, you have no choice but to go to sleep.

Masters of the move: BJ Penn and Kenny Florian

2. Flying Scissor Heel Hook

This one most likely has the toughest chance of getting pulled off and the toughest chance to defend it. But if it's pulled off, there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. It even caught a spider in its own web.

Master of the move: Ryo Chonan

1. Armbar

WARNING: GRAPHIC

The Armbar. What makes this move so difficult to defend is that once your opponent has position on you, there is very little if anything that you can do about it. And as you can see it, can get pretty nasty too.

Master of the move: Fedor Emelianenko