The 'Twister' and Videos of the 20 Most Painful Submissions in MMA

MMA fighters are some of the toughest, most well-conditioned and flexible athletes on the planet. But every man has his breaking point.

There are wrestlers, boxers, and kickboxers in the sport, but a truly elite submission expert can see his opening and finish a fight in an instant. Whether he sets a trap and forces his opponent into it or uses brute strength, the result is the same with his hand being raised at the end of the fight.

We were recently treated to one of the most painful-looking and rare submissions in the sport when the Chan Sung Jung applied a Twister to Leonard Garcia at the most recent UFC Fight Night event.

But this was just one of the many awful-looking submissions that we’ve seen in mixed martial arts. In this article, we’ll count down videos of 20 of the most painful submissions in MMA.

20. Rear Naked Choke

Starting off our list is one of the most commonly used and highly effective submissions in mixed martial arts, the rear naked choke.

Fight Science did a great breakdown of how the maneuver works in this video, focusing on how it effectively puts an opponent to sleep. If the person applying this submission isn’t well-trained, some serious damage can be done.

The rear naked choke is not the most painful submission, but it may be the most effective in the sport. 

19. Black out Choke

A relatively underutilized submission in MMA due to its complexity, the black out choke is one that is both a fight-ender as well as something that could be pretty painful if applied correctly.

The challenge with this submission, of course, is getting in a position where it can be used without potentially giving up your dominant position.

18. North-South Choke

Jeff “The Snowman” Monson may be MMA’s most consistent user of the North/South choke. In his illustrious career, Monson has used the choke to finish seven opponents.

The North-South choke is one that most opponents don’t see coming and also a submission that is often applied incorrectly by lesser-experienced practitioners. Fortunately, Monson is here in this video to explain his highly effective technique.

This submission can be made significantly more painful if the person applying it has not used deodorant that day. 

17. Triangle Choke

Another one of the most commonly used submissions in MMA is a simple triangle choke.

But this video displays the 2009 submission of the year when Toby Imada caught Jorge Masvidal in one of the most spectacular holds ever seen in MMA. After being smashed around the cage early, Imada applied a ridiculous inverted triangle choke that caused Masvidal to lose consciousness and pass out on his feet.

Though it is not thought of as being one of the most painful submissions, the triangle can be painful and highly effective if done correctly. 

16. Wrist Lock

In this video, legends in two sports met in K-1 as the 480-plus pound Akebono Rowan fought the 180 pound Royce Gracie.

Akebono used his superior size to control Gracie at first, but the former sumo wrestler’s technique on the ground was no match for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend. Royce slithered free and wrapped up his opponent’s arm with an Omoplata.

At first glance, it looks like Royce finishes this fight with the Omoplata, but it was actually the wrist lock that caused his nearly 500 pound foe to submit. 

15. Guillotine Choke

The guillotine choke is almost always applied, or at least finished on the ground. But the former IFL and current UFC fighter, Dan Miller, applied one of the most impressive guillotine chokes of all-time when he submitted Dave Phillips in August 2007.

Watch as Phillips struggles to break free, but eventually passes out in this punishing choke hold. 

14. Ankle Lock (Achilles Lock)

Known for his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mastery, Rousimar Palhares has submitted nine opponents in his 12 professional MMA victories.

One of the most impressive came earlier in his career when he slapped on an ankle lock that completely twisted the foot of Flavio Luiz Moura, causing him to submit at Fury FC 4: High Voltage.

This maneuver causes pressure on two spots. First, the top of the ankle joint where the foot meets the leg. Second, the Achilles tendon. Both can be tremendously painful. 

13. Neck Crank

The older brother of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem, Valentijn Overeem has some nice wins in his career as well.

Most recently, Overeem defeated K-1 kickboxing legend, Ray Sefo. Sefo was handling Overeem in the standup game, but his lack of experience showed when the fight went to the ground.

Overeem applied a basic neck crank just seconds after taking Sefo to the ground, causing a quick submission from a very painful hold. 

12. Americana (Key Lock)

Though this submission can be completed from inside an opponent’s guard, it is far more effective from side control.

When performing the submission, the performer contorts his opponent’s wrist and elbow, causing tremendous strain on his victim’s shoulder.

If the fighter on bottom does not tap out, he could have his shoulder dislocated fairly easily. 

11. Omoplata

You saw the Omoplata earlier when Royce Gracie used it to transition into a wrist lock against Akebono, but the Omoplata itself can be a very painful and effective hold.

From guard, the performer places one leg under his opponent’s armpit and turns while catching that arm with the leg. From there, forcing the arm away from the back causes tremendous pressure on the shoulder.

Depending on how the hold is applied, it can also inflict pain on the recipient’s elbow. 

10. Shin Lock

In this video, watch the expression on the victim’s face as Tony Cecchine merely practices a shin lock using very little force.

The shin lock traps the opponent’s shin to the canvas while cranking up on his foot, causing an excruciating amount of torque on the ankle.

Shin locks are not commonly used in mixed martial arts because they are so often transitioned out of by the opponent, but they are still extremely painful if they do get applied. 

9. Toe Hold

Note: Skip to 5:55 to get to the fight

The toe hold is known in some circles as a “figure four.” It’s not the same as the one you’d see Ric Flair slapping on an opponent in the old NWA pro wrestling days, but the concept is essentially the same.

In this battle between two UFC legends, Frank Mir weathered an early onslaught of punches from Tank Abbott to pull guard and get his heavy-handed opponent on the ground.

Mir attempted a few submissions early off of his back, but eventually locked a hold of Tank’s foot where he was able to apply a toe hold and finish the fight. 

8. Arm Bar

Note: Skip to 7:45 to get to the arm bar

The most commonly used joint manipulation submission in mixed martial arts, the arm bar is something that can be done effectively in any weight class from a variety of different positions.

Though he wasn’t the inventor of the move, Fedor Emelianenko is one of the most famous practitioners of the arm bar.

In this video, Emelianenko faces off against the very powerful wrestler, Mark Coleman. Coleman utilized his ground-and-pound early to take control of the fight, but left himself open for Emelianenko to apply an arm bar that he couldn’t escape. 

7. Kimura

In this video, Kevin Randleman delivers one of the most highlight-worthy slams in the history of mixed martial arts as he drops Fedor Emelianenko right on his head in the middle of their match at Pride Critical Countdown 2004.

Pressure from this submission can be applied to either the shoulder or elbow joint, or both simultaneously depending on how it has been set in. 

6. Knee Bar

One of the most famous submissions in UFC history came in Brock Lesnar’s first fight in the company, when he faced former world champion, Frank Mir.

Lesnar’s massive size advantage was evident early as he crushed Mir with punches and seemed to have the fight exactly where he wanted it. But when the fight was stopped momentarily because Lesnar landed shots to the back of Mir’s head, Lesnar seemed to lose his composure.

With Mir on his back, Lesnar looked for a spot to move in. But the Jiu Jitsu specialist wrapped up Lesnar’s leg and slapped on a beautiful knee bar.

Lesnar didn’t seem too worried at first until Mir used his hips to hyper-extend Brock’s knee, causing an instant tapout. 

5. Calf Slicer

One of the most painful submissions in mixed martial arts is known as the calf slicer.

Though the move has been rarely used in the cage because it is so difficult to apply, once it’s in deep, the fight is over.

This submission can literally snap some of the biggest, strongest bones in the body if utilized to its fullest extent. 

4. Biceps Slicer

The brother of the calf slicer, the biceps slicer has a similar concept, but is significantly less complicated.

What’s great about the biceps slicer is that it can be used simultaneously while raining down punches or elbows in an MMA fight. That said, in a pure submission wrestling contest, the biceps slicer can still cause submissions due to the ridiculous strain it puts on the arm. 

3. Twister

“Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung became the first man in UFC history to finish a fight with the now famous Twister submission.

The move was originally made famous by Eddie Bravo, which is why Joe Rogan makes reference to him after the fight is over.

Watch how Leonard Garcia’s body twists nearly 180 degrees around. The submission is both extremely painful and dangerous as it causes a ton of strain on the recipient’s spine. 

2. Can Opener

One of the most simplistic, yet highly painful holds in mixed martial arts is known as the can opener.

The can opener it is rarely used to actually finish a fight as the recipient usually quickly moves to another position to alleviate the pain. However, it is often effectively used to pass to a superior position.

Of course, if the person receiving the hold is highly inexperienced, he may find himself tapping. 

1. Heel Hook

The most commonly agreed upon painful submission hold is the heel hook.

Made famous in the early days of the UFC by Ken Shamrock, this submission hold twists the recipient’s leg in directions that the human body should not be able to go.

The real danger of his hold is that it is deceptively painful. At first, the recipient is lulled into a false sense of security as it is generally tolerable in the beginning. But once the pressure is applied and the pain is felt, the damage is often done.

This can come in the form of anything from broken ankles to torn ligaments.

Watch as Ken Shamrock applies one of the most vicious-looking heel hooks the sport has ever seen. Even Shamrock himself looks shocked at how much damage he did in such a short period of time.