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Mixed Martial Arts Glossary
Mixed Martial Arts has its own vocabulary. If you're new — or just curious about what your coach is yelling — here's an A–Z reference.
- ADCC
- Abu Dhabi Combat Club — the most prestigious no-gi submission grappling tournament. Held every two years.
- Armbar
- A submission that hyperextends the elbow with the legs.
- Bantamweight
- A weight class — 135 lbs in UFC men's; 135 in women's.
- Body lock
- A clinch position where you wrap both arms around the opponent's waist for control or takedowns.
- Cage control
- Pressuring the opponent against the fence to limit their movement. A scoring criterion.
- Cauliflower ear
- A permanent thickening of the outer ear caused by repeated trauma — common among wrestlers and BJJ practitioners.
- Clinch
- Close-range fighting where both fighters have grips on each other.
- Cross
- A straight punch with the rear hand.
- Cut
- A laceration that bleeds during a fight, often caused by an elbow or headbutt against the bone of the brow.
- Cut weight
- Dropping body weight in the days before weigh-ins to make a lower weight class.
- Decision
- A fight outcome decided by judges' scorecards rather than a finish.
- Double-leg takedown
- A takedown grabbing both of the opponent's legs and driving through.
- Featherweight
- UFC men's 145 lbs division.
- Flyweight
- UFC 125 lbs (men's) / 125 (women's).
- Front kick
- A linear kick with the ball of the foot or instep.
- Ground and pound
- Striking from a dominant top position on the ground.
- Guard
- Bottom grappling position with legs around the opponent. Pulling guard is rare in MMA due to the points loss.
- Hook
- A horizontal punch in a circular arc.
- Inside leg kick
- A low kick to the inside of the opponent's thigh — used to disrupt balance and posture.
- Jab
- The lead-hand straight punch. The most-used strike in MMA.
- Knee bar
- A leg submission that hyperextends the knee.
- KO
- Knockout. Loss of consciousness from a strike.
- Lay and pray
- Pejorative for spending a round controlling on top without offense, hoping to win on points.
- Leg kick
- A roundhouse kick to the thigh — the most damaging strike over the course of a fight.
- Lightweight
- UFC men's 155 lbs division.
- Liver shot
- A punch or kick to the right side of the body, just below the rib cage. Often a fight-ender.
- Middleweight
- UFC men's 185 lbs division.
- Mount
- Dominant top position sitting on the opponent's torso.
- Octagon
- The trademarked eight-sided cage used by the UFC. Generic MMA cages are usually called cages.
- Open guard
- Bottom guard position where the legs are not crossed around the opponent.
- Overhand right
- A looping power right thrown over the top of the lead jab.
- Pound for pound (P4P)
- A ranking of the best fighter regardless of weight class. Subjective and constantly debated.
- Rear-naked choke
- A submission applied from the back with an arm around the neck.
- Sambo
- A Russian grappling art with strong leg-lock focus. Influential in modern MMA.
- Sandbagging
- Competing at a lower experience level than you really are.
- Scramble
- A chaotic transition where neither fighter has dominant position.
- Spinning back kick
- A power kick thrown by spinning the body and driving the heel into the opponent.
- Sprawl
- A defensive movement against a takedown — drop the hips and shoot the legs back.
- Submission
- A choke or joint lock that forces the opponent to tap out.
- Switch hit
- Changing stance during a fight (orthodox to southpaw or vice versa) to confuse the opponent.
- Takedown
- Any technique that brings the opponent from standing to the ground.
- Teep
- A push kick (front kick) used to control distance.
- TKO
- Technical knockout. The referee stops the fight to protect a fighter who isn't defending themselves.
- Triangle choke
- A submission with the legs in a figure-four around the opponent's neck and one arm.
- Welterweight
- UFC men's 170 lbs division.
- Wizzer (whizzer)
- A wrestling control with an overhook on the opponent's arm to stop a takedown or single-leg.
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