The Korean Zombie and the Future of the Back Mount in the UFC

On Saturday's UFC Fight Night: Nogeira vs Davis, the first match of the main card stole the show.  More specifically, The Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, shocked the MMA world by submitting Leonard Garcia with a "twister."  And the tap came, no less, with just 1 second left on the 2nd round clock!

This is the first time that someone has successfully employed (or even attempted?) the twister in the 18-year history of the UFC.  Jung initiated this grappling maneuver by first mounting Garcia's back.  He then used his legs to trap Garcia's left leg and clamped on a headlock to wrench Garcia's neck in a clockwise direction.  His spine contorted, Garcia was forced to tap out.  It was a thing of beauty.

This is an important moment in UFC history.  Why?  Because the vast majority of the time that a fighter mounts another fighter's back, he only has two weapons at his disposal: punches to the side of the head or, of course, a rear-naked choke.  However, both of these are predictable and somewhat easy to defend.  Now that the Zombie has shown that the twister is a viable attack, more fighters should incorporate it into their arsenal.  This will increase the unpredictability of the back mount and lead to more exciting submissions.

Had BJ Penn been proficient in the twister technique, he may have been able to submit John Fitch in the first or second round of their Feb 26 fight.  Twice Penn mounted Fitch's back.  Twice Fitch, quite easily, defended the rear-naked choke and then spun around into Penn's guard.

I hope BJ Penn took note of the Korean Zombie's victory.  Long live the Twister!