Issue 141

May 2016

Capitalize on a dominant position by tapping your opponent with a painful keylock

Greg Jackson

The most in-demand coach in MMA demonstrates the best techniques for the cage, with help from UFC flyweight John Dodson

1 - Greg has the crucifix position. He uses his legs to pin John’s right arm and isolates John’s left with his head and shoulder.

2 - John’s head is also isolated and unprotected so Greg can throw elbows to the face, which could finish the fight.

3 - John bumps Greg with his hips, which allows him to free his left arm. John uses a crossface to disturb Greg’s posture and ground ‘n’ pound.

4 - Greg laces his left arm inside John’s to regain control, then begins to push the arm towards the mat.

5 - Greg takes a figure-four grip by grabbing John’s wrist with his left hand and supporting his own wrist with his right. 

6 - Greg pulls John’s arm towards his hip, pushes down on the wrist and raises the elbow to finish the submission. 

Top Tips

Amateur

Keep your weight on your opponent when applying the keylock so they can’t escape.

Semi-Pro

Rotate your opponent’s wrist away from you to apply extra torque on the arm.

Professional

You could step over your opponent’s head from the crucifix and triangle your legs instead to choke your opponent and pull their shoulder out of place.

In Action

You can finish a fight from the crucifix position like Jackson-Wink fighter Jon Jones, who crushed Vladimir Matyushenko with elbows in 2010.