Glossary
Every term, technique name, position, and rule definition you need to follow the sport — from anaconda choke to walkoff KO.
Striking
- Bolo Punch
- A wide, circular punch that loads with a downward arm pump before snapping up — historically a Filipino boxing setup, occasionally seen in MMA as a feint.
- Calf Kick
- A low round kick aimed at the side of the calf and the peroneal nerve. Compromises the lead leg's mobility within 3-5 exchanges; popularized in the modern UFC era by Pereira, Adesanya, and Volkanovski.
- Flying Knee
- A jumping knee strike, often aimed at the head as the opponent shoots or moves forward. Devastating when timed; high-risk if missed.
- Hook Kick
- A kick that travels in a horizontal arc and lands with the heel — used to attack around an opponent's lead shoulder.
- Jab
- The lead-hand straight punch. The most important strike in striking — used for range, setup, defense, and stopping forward motion.
- Leg Kick
- A round kick to the thigh, calf, or hamstring. Cumulative damage limits opponent mobility and stance integrity.
- Oblique Kick
- A push kick aimed at the opponent's knee or quad to disrupt their stance. Controversial for knee-injury risk. Notably used by Jon Jones.
- Overhand
- A looping power punch from the rear hand that travels over the opponent's lead shoulder. Effective vs a high jab guard.
- Push Kick
- A linear front kick (teep in Muay Thai) used to control distance, disrupt forward pressure, and set up follow-up strikes.
- Spinning Back Elbow
- A 270-degree spin where the rear elbow lands on the opponent's temple or jaw. Made famous in MMA by Anthony Pettis, Jorge Masvidal, and Aljamain Sterling.
- Superman Punch
- A jumping rear-hand strike where the rear leg kicks back to load extra distance and power. Popularized by Georges St-Pierre and Lyoto Machida.
- Switch Kick
- A round kick thrown from the lead leg after a quick stance switch to load power. Adesanya and Volkanovski use it to attack the lead leg with their stronger rear-equivalent shin.
- Walkoff KO
- A knockout punctuated by the winning fighter walking away before the opponent has hit the canvas — confident finish; sometimes criticized as showboating.
Grappling
- Cage Wrestling
- Wrestling exchanges along the fence: body locks, knee taps, single-leg drives, and frame-and-circle defenses unique to MMA (no equivalent in folkstyle/freestyle wrestling).
- Catch Wrestling
- A submission wrestling style emphasizing painful leg locks and neck cranks alongside pins. Influenced shoot wrestling and early MMA via Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, and the UWF.
- Double-Leg
- A wrestling takedown where the attacker drops level, drives shoulders into the opponent's hips, and grabs both legs to drive them down.
- Granby Roll
- A wrestling escape where the bottom fighter rolls under their own shoulder to return to guard or recover hips. Common defense to back exposure.
- Imanari Roll
- A spinning entry to leglocks where the attacker rolls into the opponent's legs, named after PRIDE fighter Masakazu Imanari. Modernized in MMA by Ryan Hall and Dominick Reyes.
- Single-Leg
- A takedown attacking one of the opponent's legs. Higher percentage than double-leg against fighters who sprawl well; common entry in MMA.
- Sprawl
- A defensive reaction to a takedown attempt — the defender throws their legs back and drops weight on the attacker's head and shoulders.
- Stuffed Takedown
- A takedown attempt that is defended successfully — usually via sprawl, frame, or whizzer — without the attacker scoring control.
- Suplex
- A throw where the attacker lifts the opponent vertically and drops them on their head, shoulders, or back. Greco-Roman roots; rare but devastating when landed in MMA.
- Whizzer
- A defensive grip in which the defender overhooks the attacker's shoulder during a takedown attempt to keep their body upright and circle out.
Clinch
- Clinch
- Any close-range engagement where fighters are touching with hands, arms, or bodies — includes Thai plum, collar-tie, over-under, body lock, and underhook positions.
- Dirty Boxing
- Close-range punching from the collar tie or single underhook position. Pioneered in MMA by Randy Couture; relies on overhooking the opponent's posting hand and short hooks/uppercuts to the body and head.
- Foot Stomp
- Legal stomp to the opponent's instep from a clinch or back-control position. Used by Dagestani fighters and Khabib to break posture and force movement.
- Pummeling
- The act of swimming arms inside the opponent's arms to convert from over-under to double underhooks (or vice versa) in the clinch.
- Thai Plum
- A double-collar tie position with both hands behind the opponent's head and elbows pinched together. Sets up knee strikes and off-balancing.
- Underhook
- A clinch grip where the attacker's arm is under the opponent's armpit. Used to control posture, attack the back, or set up takedowns.
Ground
- Anaconda Choke
- A blood choke from front headlock position — the attacker threads an arm under the opponent's neck, locks a Gable grip, and rolls to the side, compressing the carotids with the bicep.
- Arm Triangle
- A head-and-arm choke usually finished from side control or mount. The attacker traps the opponent's arm against their own neck and applies pressure with the shoulder.
- Armbar
- A joint lock attacking the elbow. The attacker isolates the opponent's arm with both legs and hips up to hyperextend the joint.
- Back Mount
- The most dominant position in MMA — the attacker has both hooks (legs) in and chest pressed against the opponent's back, controlling all four limbs and the neck.
- Berimbolo
- A modern BJJ technique where the bottom player inverts from De La Riva guard to take the back. Rare but seen at lighter weights.
- D'Arce Choke
- A reverse arm-triangle variation where the attacker threads the choking arm under the opponent's far armpit and behind their head. Often hit from front headlock or sprawled positions.
- Ezekiel Choke
- A surprise choke from inside the opponent's guard — the attacker grabs their own sleeve to form a choking loop with the forearm.
- Gogoplata
- A submission from rubber guard where the attacker locks their shin under the opponent's chin and pulls down for a strangle. Hit at the highest level by Shinya Aoki and Brad Imes.
- Ground-and-Pound
- Striking from a dominant top position — mount, side control, full guard, or back. Closes the gap between grappling-only and striking-only fighters.
- Guard
- The bottom player's position with legs wrapped around the top player's torso (closed, open, butterfly, half, X, De La Riva, spider, etc.).
- Guard Pass
- The act of getting past an opponent's legs to side control, mount, or back without being submitted or swept.
- Kimura
- A shoulder lock attacking the rotator cuff. Named after Masahiko Kimura, who broke Helio Gracie's arm with it in 1951.
- Mount
- Dominant top position straddling the opponent's torso. Allows ground-and-pound, armbars, triangles, and back transitions.
- Omoplata
- A shoulder lock applied with the legs — the attacker triangles their legs around the opponent's arm and rotates the shoulder.
- Peruvian Necktie
- A choke from front headlock — the attacker traps the opponent's near arm, threads their leg over the back of the head, and pulls down with both hands.
- Rear-Naked Choke (RNC)
- The signature back-mount finish — the attacker wraps a forearm across the front of the neck and locks a figure-four to compress the carotids.
- Top Control
- Dominant top-position grappling — riding the opponent without necessarily passing guard, used to score rounds and accumulate damage.
- Triangle Choke
- A blood choke from guard — the attacker triangles their legs around the opponent's neck and one arm, compressing the carotid against the opponent's own shoulder.
- Twister
- A spinal lock applied from a truck position. Hit in the UFC by Bryce Mitchell (vs Matt Sayles, 2019) and Chan Sung Jung (vs Leonard Garcia, 2011).
Rules
- 10-Point Must
- The standard MMA scoring system. The round winner receives 10 points; the loser receives 9 (close), 8 (dominant), or 7 (one-sided beatdown). Draws are scored 10-10 only when judges cannot pick a winner.
- Knockdown
- When a fighter is dropped to the canvas by a strike but is not knocked out. In some rulesets (ONE) the referee administers a brief grace count.
- No Contest
- Result classification when a bout ends due to accidental foul, injury, or other non-fight outcome before a winner is determined.
- Tap Out
- Submission signal — the fighter physically taps the mat or opponent (or verbally taps) to end the bout.