10 INSANE MMA Flying Submissions (VIDEO)

Flying submissions are fun to watch, but not so fun when you need to do them… and fail. This is arguably the main reason why people avoid them, but when a few brave ones do them and succeed, then they have something to boast about their entire life. The following 10 MMA flying submissions are nothing short of INSANE!

Insane MMA Flying Submissions

Technique, impeccable timing, and ruthless execution are the foundations of perfect submission. Add in artistic elements to the setup, and you get flying submissions that will remain unforgettable for years to come.

Triangles, armbars, guillotines, heel hooks and Kimuras can all appear out of the blue in seconds.

Fontaine vs. Benchohra (Flying Armbar)

At LFC1 in 2013, Fontaine figured out that his opponent likes to catch his body kicks, looking to counterstrike. He used this to set up flying to rolling armbar finish, which nearly landed them outside of the ring, but did the job and got him an impressive tap.

Pimblet vs. Savvidis (Flying Triangle-Armbar)

The now wildly popular Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblet was always a feared grappler and has two MMA flying submissions to his name inside the cage. The flying triangle he did against Savvidis in Cage Warriors in 2018, though is the stuff of legends.

Paddy used the cage to his advantage, as Savvidis was pressuring him from the clinch to launch an incredible flying triangle that he eventually turned into a triangle-armbar combo attack.

Namajunas vs. Catron (Flying Armbar)

Rose Namajunas has had her fair share of flying submissions and flying knockouts in MMA. The brawling fighter secured a crazy and unforgettable flying armbar finish during her second professional fight at Invicta FC 5 against Catron, using the cage wall similar to Paddy.

Garza vs. Jabuiin (Flying Triangle)

UFC 129 saw one of the slickest flying triangles ever witnessed inside the Octagon. Pablo Garza is the first man to successfully use the move inside the octagon in 2011, when he answered Yves Jabuiin’s lethal low kicks with a flying triangle setup from the clinch, in the middle of the octagon.

The finish was quick, landing Gaza a spot among the pioneers of successfully executed MMA flying submissions during a match.

Ortega vs. Swanson (Flying Guillotine)

Cub Swanson’s title run in 2017 came to an abrupt hold when he ran into a very confident and dangerous Brian Ortega. Known for his triangles, Ortega opted for something slightly different at UFN FN 23 in 2017, hitting a very sneaky jumping/flying arm-in guillotine to tap “Killer Cub” out.

Magalhaes vs. Cleveland (Flying Triangle-Kimura)

One of the most impressive MMA flying submissions ever came in the PFL cage, at PFL 9, when Vinny Magalhaes took on Rakeem Cleveland after getting knocked out in his previous fight. Vinny pressed Cleveland to the cage using a Whizzer and went flying for a triangle, which he got. The tap, however, came when he switched to a reverse triangle, accessing Cleveland’s arm for a brutal Kimura finish.

Chonan vs. Silva (Flying Scissor Heel Hook)

One of the best submissions ever, and the best submission of 2004 in Pride is Chonan’s flying scissor takedown into an inside heel hook against none other but Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Silva was on a three-fight win streak and seemed in control of the fight, until striker Chonan decided to execute a flying submission, cementing his legacy for eternity with the submission of the year award.

Imada vs. Masvidal (Flying Inverted Triangle)

The most impressive among all MMA flying submissions to date, Imada’s incredible, last gasp hail Mary attempt at a submission at Bellator 5 denied Masvidal a chance at Eddie Alvarez’s title.

Despite Masvidal dominating the entire fight, one last forced scramble at the very end opened up a crazy flying inverted triangle entry for Imaad, who used it to choke Masvidal unconscious and win submission of the year in 2009.

Hall vs. Penn (Imanari Roll Heel Hook)

While this is technically a rolling/spinning submission, it is still at the same level of difficulty to execute under pressure, which Ryan Hall did perfectly against BJ Penn in 2018. At UFC 232, the “Wizard” executed a perfect inside Imanari roll into a backside inverted heel hook to beat the legendary Penn in a very quick and impressive way.

Mighty Mouse vs. Borg (Slamming Arm Bar)

One of the performances that made people wonder if Mighty Mouse is actually human was his 11th title defense at UFC 216 in 2017, against Ray Borg. Dominating almost every exchange, Mighty Mouse got a rear body lock at one point and lifting his opponent off the ground, managed to somehow lock in an armbar as he was slamming Borg to the ground. In a move that seemed like something out of a Jackie Chen movie, Mighty Mouse broke al records in the most impressive of fashions to get the tap.