FIRST THINGS FIRST
Welcome to Open Note Grappling.
Every Tuesday morning I send out a breakdown of the best combat sports action. In less than 10 minutes you'll learn how the top fighters win and anything else fighters, martial artists, and fight fans need to know.
This weekend was filled with quick and weird submissions. We’re going to talk about them and review a prospect we recently identified.
Before we get out of here we’re going to take a closer look at the man headlining the PFL’s trip to San Diego in the paid portion of today’s newsletter.
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Now let’s get into it.
What's In Today's Letter?
WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND:
Weird Submissions All Over
The UFC followed their White House event with a return to the fight content factory we call The Apex. This card was headlined with Kyoji Horiguchi’s rematch against Manel Kape. Kape’s power stole the fight from the older Horiguchi who was out landing him while scoring more takedowns.
That fight deserves a rewatch. Vinicius Oliveira’s fight against Andre Fili and Shane Collin’s fight with Otari Tanzilovi do too. But what stole the show for me was this finish from Murtazali Magomedov.
Magomedov shoots. Melsik backs up. Magomedov throws a right. Melsik falls back. Magomedov gets a rear body lock, pulls Melsik off the fence with a hook, and hops to Melsik’s back. Magomedov gets a body triangle with his outside foot threaded inside. Melsik tries to turn into guard. Magomedov wraps over his head and cranks down to get a spine lock.
Murtazali Magomedov - Melsik Baghdasaryan
This submission is known as a Scottish twister. It’s named after former UFC lightweight Stevie Ray because he hit a few in professional MMA and grappling.
The main difference between the twister and Scottish twister is this variation comes after you’ve taken your opponent’s back with both hooks, lock a body triangle, and they trying to turn back into guard while your outside leg is threaded between theirs. To get a standard twister, also known as a guillotine in wrestling, you only need to figure four one leg.
Below you can see both the Scottish twister and the standard version.
This is the first Scottish Twister finish ever in the UFC. Kind of.
Rei Tsuruya didn’t get a submission finish but he used the position to score fight ending ground and pound.
Tsuruya has a figure four with the outside leg laced between Jiniushiyue’s legs. Tsuruya uses the position to crank Jiniushiyue’s spine. Jiniushiyue turns face down and Tsuruya starts punching. The ref quickly steps in to save Jiniushiyue.
Rei Tsuruya vs Jiniushiyue
This is why the Scottish twister / inside body triangle is so valuable in MMA. It’s a position where you can get a submission and hold a pinning position while freeing your hands for ground and pound. It’s one technique that facilitates every way to win in MMA.
The Scottish twister wasn’t the only weird submission we got from this weekend. KSW 119 provided maybe the most embarassing submission possible.
Vojcak is in top half with a right under hook and left cross face. Wrzosek bridges to shake Vojcak. Vojcak uses the space to lock a figure four grip under Wrzosek’s neck so he can pull his face into his chest. Wrzosek tries to push Vojcak off and turn away. Vojcak slides up to mount to get his finish.
Stefan Vojcak - Arkadiusz Wrzosek
This submission is equal parts smothering suffocation and face crunching pain. If you watch professional grappling you’ve undoubtedly seen “Big” Dan Manasoiu hit it in competition or use it to set up other attacks from mount. But the most famous mother’s milk is probably the most embarrassing one too.
Ramazan is trying for an arm triangle. Musabek gets him back to full guard and claims a right over hook. Musabek pummels his left arm inside, slaps his right arm over the crown of Ramazan’s head, and locks a figure four grip. He pulls Ramazan’s head into his chest to smother him for the submission.
Ernaz Musabek - Saaduev Ramazan
Submissions like these are exactly why I love grappling and MMA. When you think you’ve seen it all you need to get ready for a rude awakening. And if you’re rolling with someone who is confidently taking grips you’re not familiar with, address them before you get added to their highlight reel.
WHAT ELSE YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
Adam Davies Gets Another Submission
Last week I started doing two things:
Moving all my content from the Help Desk to my main website opennotegrappling.com to keep everything together. You can see all the paid articles I’ve moved from the Help Desk here.
Adding a new section to my articles. Every week I’ll be analyzing a fighter outside of the UFC to preview their upcoming fights. It’s a good way to learn about prospects before they pop and study MMA outside of the UFC.
The first one we looked at was Ieuan Davies. He was 7-0 with 5 submission victories so I had to see how he was getting guys out so quickly.
You wouldn’t expect Davies to play the game he does. He’s a 6’1 lightweight that mainly uses his length to push people onto the fence so he can get simple takedowns. When his opponents scramble or try to wrestle up, he somehow always finds a way to get onto their back.
This unconventional style is anything but ineffective.
Brown blocks Davies’s right high kick. Davies follows it up with a right front kick to the body. Davies puts his foot down in southpaw to throw a left and a right. Brown is near the fence. Davies throws a left front kick and a right to hide his double leg. Brown grabs a guillotine. Davies backs up from mount to work his head free.
Ieuan Davies - Omiel Brown
Once Davies’s head was free he was able to get his own submission.
Davies reaches over Brown’s back with his right as he hand fights with his left to pop his head out. Brown starts to wrestle up and Davies jumps on his back. Brown grabs the inside of Davies’s left leg so Davies locks his ankles to trap the arm. Brown is unconscious within seconds.
Ieuan Davies - Omiel Brown
Davies winning this belt should mean the UFC will call him up shortly. I’m intrigued to see how his lanky wrestle-kickboxing works in the UFC. The division doesn’t have as many wrestlers as they used to so he’s good for a few highlight reel finishes at least.
The UFC has best fighters in the sport. It’s inarguable. But the production for events other than UFC White House and their fight at the Sphere has started to look stale for the past few years. The sport is bigger than what TKO is promoting, and, frankly, some of the most interesting displays of martial arts are happening in organizations where people are still trying to make their name.
Looking for fighters like Davies has already reignited my passion for the sport. And that’s why I’m so excited to talk about the man of the next section.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
Salamat Isbulaev’s Scary Ground And Pound
The PFL is going to San Diego this weekend. The card is headlined by their star AJ McKee Jr. and another Kazakh killer, Salamat Isbulaev.
Isbulaev is listed at 5’7” but he looks much shorter than that. They must have crammed him full of concrete or made his bones from mithril because the guy hits like a meteor. Check out his last fight against the PFL’s former Featherweight Champ Jesus Pinedo.
Pinedo beats Isbulaev’s hook with a right jab. Isbulaev steps in to lands a right to the body. Pinedo doesn’t like it so he circles away. Isbulaev cuts him off. Then he throws a right hand into a double to get Pinedo down. Isbulaev stands over Pinedo’s guard and immediately starts punching.
Salamat Isbulaev - Jesus Pinedo
This is why Isbulaev is so fun to watch. He doesn’t sit on his leads. As soon as Isbulaev gets in a position to strike he takes full advantage of it. He is determined to damage.
Isbulaev is in side mount. He has a far under hook. He puts his high shin on Pinedo’s near arm and starts dropping punches, a knee to the body, and elbows until the referee steps in to stop it.
Salamat Isbulaev - Jesus Pinedo
Isbulaev finished a former champ in less than 5 minutes in only his ninth professional MMA fight.
If you want to read more about Isbulaev, access every article I’ve ever written, and support the newsletter click here to upgrade to a paid subscription. It only costs $5 per month and you can cancel whenever you want. Plus you get extra analysis in every article.
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Isbulaev fights McKee in the PFL this Saturday, 6/27. Click here for where to watch it.
LINKS, INSTRUCTIONALS, AND MORE TO WATCH:
Salamat Isbulaev and Scottish Twisters
If you want to learn more about inside body triangles watch this video from Jack Slack.
Almost all of Salamat Isbulaev’s career is on YouTube. I’d start with:
His earlier submission win against Jiayidaer Kaha his mat returns in this fight are so cool
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS (you might have missed)
The UFC’s next antitrust lawsuit is heating up again and John S. Nash has us covered. Johnson vs Zuffa’s defendants submitted declarations from Malki Kawa, Jason House, and Dan Lambert claiming Dana White has not been involved in contract or fighter pay negotiations since 2018. This would directly contradict many fighters and White’s own words.
Ilia Topuria may have had his face rearranged but he won’t need surgery. He only needs to rest his two broken orbital bones. Ouch. Probably not returning until 2027.
Conor McGregor’s fight with Max Holloway hasn’t even happened yet but he claims he already has a date for the last fight on his contract lined up.
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