Mount Submissions

The mount position and having someone's back are the most dominant positions in Jiu Jitsu and MMA. If a fight stays in one of these positions long enough, eventually the fight will be over.

Sometimes, however, a fighter is able to defend himself very well in either of these positions. In MMA, if a fighter is able to defend himself well enough from the mount position, the ref will allow the fight to continue. If caught in the bottom position, a fighter immediately begins blocking strikes from the top with his hands and arms. Several people have been in the top position raining down punches but have been unable to finish the fight because the fighter on the bottom is defending so well. This only serves to tire the fighter in the top position.

In a fight, if Plan A doesn't work, you must always have a Plan B that you can resort to. The difference between a good Jiu Jitsu fighter and a great Jiu Jitsu fighter is the ability to transition quickly and smoothly between submissions. When one submission isn't working, switch to another, or another, or another.

So Plan A from the top position would be to finish the fight with strikes. If that doesn't work, here are some options for Plan B.

Americana

You are in mount position.

• Opponent has his arms in tight with his forearms and hands blocking his face.


• If you want to grab his right arm:


• With your right hand (hand that is opposite the arm you are grabbing.)


• Monkey grip his wrist.


• Place your left hand on his elbow.


• Put all of your weight on his wrist and elbow and push down on a 45 degree angle.


• Plant his wrist to the mat.


• Drop your right elbow to the mat beside his head while holding on to his wrist.


• If his face is in the way, drop your elbow into his face and put all of your weight on your elbow so that he has no choice but to move his head.


• With his arm at a 90 degree angle, move your left hand from the elbow and slide it under his arm and monkey grip your right wrist.


• If you can’t fit your hand under his arm, slip it under his wrist. Everyone has a natural gap at their wrist which will allow you to swim your hand under his arm.


• Bring his elbow down to his ribs.


• Lift your left arm so that his elbow is being pushed to the sky.


• Roll both of your wrists, turning your knuckles into the floor, to give you more torque.

Gift Wrap

You are in mount with your opponent blocking his face.

• If one of his arms crosses his centre line (right arm for example.)


• Place your left hand on his right elbow and your right hand on his right wrist.


• Put all of your weight down on his arm, forcing it across his face.


• As soon as his arm is across his face, quickly drop and put all of your weight on the back of his arm, making it very difficult for him to release his arm.


• Take your left hand and slide it under his head and monkey grip his right wrist.


• You now have him in the gift wrap position.


• In one motion:


• Pull on his right wrist and push with your left knee to turn him onto his left side.


• Switch to modified mount position.


• From here his face is exposed to punches and elbows with his left hand unable to do significant blocking.


• From this position you can either roll to your right and take his back or you can keep on pulling on his arm as you did to turn him onto his side, but keep pulling until he is on his stomach and take his back from there.

Finishing a fight before it goes to a decision is always to a fighter's advantage. The more fights you are able to finish, the more the big organizations will take notice. Hopefully these techniques will help when you find yourself unable to finish an opponent from the most dominant position in MMA.