Most Common UFC Submissions? (with graphs!)

[[Tycho?]]

This is cross-posted from the Zuffa forum. I don't come to this board much anymore, but I think you guys might appreciate some of this info.
*

Ever wonder what submissions are the most commonly used in the UFC? So did I, so I counted em and here are my results in a pretty graph format. Let me know what you think, and ask any questions you want.



Official stuff:

• This study counts submissions as we normally think of them. Tapping to strikes, injury, fatigue or frustration are not submissions. "Technical submissions" as stopped by refs are counted. Submissions are, where possible, counted even if the official result was later overturned to NC, though I can't be sure I caught all of these.
  
• Submissions are listed on the pie graph if they comprise at least 10% of subs from that time period. Otherwise they are listed in "Other".
  
• I chose the names. I usually, but not always use names from BJJ. If you have questions about naming, please ask.
  
• I counted all these manually by looking through records. I counted and added and graphed them using excel. When I had video footage available, which was often, I would view the submission especially if it seemed weird somehow. I usually try to fit a submission into an existing category, unless it seems significantly different. An armbar from guard and an armbar from mount are the same. I didn't originally want to list "Triangle Armbar" as a submission but it turns out they are fairly common, and might be under counted. Because I do not take from the records verbatim, this is an interpretative study, and hence almost certainly contains errors. So don't take this as 100% accurate. But it also means I have complete records, so if you have a question about an individual event or fight I can answer it/check it/correct it.

Every fight and every sub in the UFC's history:

 

[[Tycho?]]

[continued]

*

*

*

*

*

 

[Linthec]

I can't believe there has only been 1 toe hold ever

 

[Vitamin C]

I can't believe there has only been 1 toe hold ever

That's always stirrup surprised me about MMA as well. The low quantity of kimuras also surprises me.

 

[Zankou]

I can't believe there has only been 1 toe hold ever

Toe hold is surprisingly hard to finish people with in a real all-out fight. People will tap in practice, but in a real fight they won't tap, and it's hard to cause fight-stopping injury compared to a heelhook (where tap or not doesn't matter much, you can just keep going easily and rip the knee).

 

[dimmyfinster]

wtf is a "Mr Wonderful"?

 

[SBJ]

wtf is a "mr wonderful"?

 

[JudoYourDayUp]

Nobody has ever finished an Omaplata in the UFC?

I wonder how many omaplata sweeps have been hit.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Thank you for this.

I was going to start a thread on how often RNC finishes the opponent. It seems like 1/3 of the time is a lot. I have always been a proponent for the turtle, but this seems very bad for the turtle.

Do you know how often the backmount ends with a successful RNC? Or how many wins a person has correlated with how many times he takes the back?

 

[KneeShield]

I'm surprised there have been that many Achilles locks actually, Does anyone know what fights they were in?

 

[King Creatine]

ONE freaking North South Choke? What??? Come to think of it, I never see them, but this is hard to believe. That choke is money for me, but I am a grappler and not a fighter.

Do MMA rules prevent the N/S Choke?

Also, thanks for the breakdown!

 

[[Tycho?]]

Thank you for this.

I was going to start a thread on how often RNC finishes the opponent. It seems like 1/3 of the time is a lot. I have always been a proponent for the turtle, but this seems very bad for the turtle.

Do you know how often the backmount ends with a successful RNC? Or how many wins a person has correlated with how many times he takes the back?

I have no data for this, but as a fan I'd say the backmount results in an RNC a very small amount of the time, 5% or less. Everyone knows how to defend the choke, and the big gloves, and lack of space against the cage make it even more difficult.

A very large majority of RNC finishes that I can think of have come when a fighter is hurt. He might be dropped from a punch, mounted, gives up his back and there you are. Guillotines also seem to happen when a fighter is hurt, and not too often otherwise.

Really, submission defense has gotten very good over the years.

 

[Rivet L]

Toe hold is surprisingly hard to finish people with in a real all-out fight. People will tap in practice, but in a real fight they won't tap, and it's hard to cause fight-stopping injury compared to a heelhook (where tap or not doesn't matter much, you can just keep going easily and rip the knee).

I think it depends on which variation of the toe-hold is being used. I've never been taught a toe-hold the same way twice. Many styles of toe-holds lead to a really nasty-cramp and a few minor tendons popping (not good, but well within the adrenaline pain-threshold). Some variations of a toe-hold feel just like an inverse heel-hook and start tearing knee ligaments.

But slipperiness and the cage does change the dynamic of getting a stable leg locking position.

 

[[Tycho?]]

ONE freaking North South Choke? What??? Come to think of it, I never see them, but this is hard to believe. That choke is money for me, but I am a grappler and not a fighter.

Do MMA rules prevent the N/S Choke?

Also, thanks for the breakdown!

Two! There were two North South chokes! Monson got one (of course) and... someone got the other, I forget who.

People don't really go for them in the UFC, I'm not sure why. N/S may not be quite as stable as side control but it is very safe, and a good place to transition from.

 

[Wild Mushroom]

Two! There were two North South chokes! Monson got one (of course) and... someone got the other, I forget who.

People don't really go for them in the UFC, I'm not sure why. N/S may not be quite as stable as side control but it is very safe, and a good place to transition from.

The other one was Rani Yahya submitting Josh Grispi. Im not totally sure, but I think north south choke is one of those submissions that is really hard to hit unless you are really good at them (like Monson or Yahya) and thats why we have not seen them.

 

[Gabicho]

The other one was Rani Yahya submitting Josh Grispi. Im not totally sure, but I think north south choke is one of those submissions that is really hard to hit unless you are really good at them (like Monson or Yahya) and thats why we have not seen them.

The gloves don't help, either.

And the N/S choke is not that common of a submission in BJJ/Submission grappling, either.

Other than Monson and Marcelo Garc

 

[KarateFist]

Low amount of leg locks as well

 

[BJJArsenal]

Cobra choke?
Pillory choke?
Suloev stretch?

Sorry if these things are really obvious, but I have no idea what they are.

 

[Shemhazai]

The other one was Rani Yahya submitting Josh Grispi. Im not totally sure, but I think north south choke is one of those submissions that is really hard to hit unless you are really good at them (like Monson or Yahya) and thats why we have not seen them.

Yeah, the North-South choke takes a while to get the hang of, but once you get the hang of it, it's money. It's not as much of an 'instant gratification' technique as other subs, though, which is probably why many abandon it early. (In addition to thinking it doesn't work in the gi, and therefore only practicing it in the odd no gi class.)

I'd also like to point out that this kind of statistic is going to favor the most commonly used/learned moves. If there are, say, ten times as many armbar attempts as brabo choke attempts, you can bet there will be more armbar finishes than brabo finishes. Doesn't mean the armbar is more effective than the brabo, though.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

So basically if you want to trane teh UFC, work on your rear nekkid choke.