Issue 173
December 2018
Aljamain Sterling delivered this rarely seen submission
UFC Bantamweight Aljamain Sterling has experienced many highs and lows since his much touted free-agent signing in 2016. But since his devastating loss to Marlon Moraes in December 2017, “The Funkmaster” has rebounded in a major way, going undefeated in 2018.
His most impressive Octagon display came in his most recent fight against rising star Cody Stamann at UFC 228 when he pulled off a historically slick submission, known as a Suloev stretch, but now coined the “Funk-Strudel”. In a late Submission of the Year candidate, Sterling stamped his name in the UFC history books with this rarely seen modified kneebar.
“It’s an interesting position. It’s a good way to re-secure and re-adjust the back mount control when guys are trying to tripod and shake you off. The easiest way to escape when somebody is on your back is to hit that tripod before they can put their hips in and arch you flat where it’s extremely hard to get your knees back and start rolling to get your back and shoulders for a back mount escape.
I felt bad. He could be out a while depending which ligaments are affected. It was a pretty loud pop. I hope it’s not too bad. It was bittersweet. This is how we make our money. It sucks to miss time. But he was talking so much shit before the fight. He and his brother were shitting on everything about me before the fight. I was like OK, we will find out. They say the proof is in the pudding. Well, we found out.”
STEP 1
FROM FEET TO FLATTENED
“The first time Cody got to his feet I was able to flatten him back out by taking out his wrist. I had to use a good amount of energy to do that. He managed to get back up and I landed a few punches and he worked back up.”
STEP 2
HUNTING FOR THE FINISH
“Normally, I take a hook out and reach underneath with my opposite hand. If I’m grabbing the left leg, I reach with the opposite hand for the right leg and grab by the heel. My body compresses their head and keeps it locked in place.”
STEP 3
ROLL AND PULL
“Now you have the lever point where his hamstring is starting to extend and you're pulling against that muscle. You can roll and pull to the side or catch them while they are standing up and just pull it straight back and get the tap there."
STEP 4
HOOK ‘EM
“For this one I decided to keep both hooks in because I didn’t want to lose control. I kept both hooks in and tried this modified finish. My feet were crossed and I reached underneath because I had the leverage to do it as I had the length.”
STEP 5
DOWN FOR THE STOPPAGE
"As I fell down, Cody tried to stand up and and all of the weight fell on the side of his knee. That’s when I heard the pop. The leg is already fully stretched out and once you add in all the weight, that’s where you get the pop.”
