The Submissions from Bellator 247: The Scorpion Crunch Explained
Bellator 247 lost its main event but the show went on and brought some great submission victories. One was a rare one fight fans have never really seen and quite honestly doesn’t look like much but can be very painful when applied properly. It’s been the “scorpion rib crunch” on social media and in grappling circles can be called the “teepee body crunch” or “super-guard” according to veteran retired referee turned commentator, John MacCarthy. Again, it does not look like much but the pain does come quickly, especially in a fight where damage has already been dealt.
Bellator 247 had a total of six submissions altogether and most of them are pretty common in today’s MMA. triangle chokes, rear-naked chokes, and a nice knee-bar. However, it would be the first match of the night between Monika Chochlikova and Jade Jorand that would produce the unique submission.
There’s a first time for everything!
🎙 @JohnMcCarthyMMA says he’s never seen the "superguard" (🦂 aka scorpion crunch) pulled off in #MMA & Monika Tochlikova made it happen at #Bellator247.
We are live now on YouTube!👇
▶️ https://t.co/rTzaAC8ttR#Bellator247 pic.twitter.com/m1cSSNwbSC— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 1, 2020
Both women had a background in kickboxing and this fight was their MMA debut but it would be Chochlikova who would show her transition to all that encompasses MMA and was well prepared. The first round showed Chochlikova had the counterpunching and power advantage on her feet and it seemed like Jorand was going to take it to the ground so she could take advantage there. Jorand even forced the takedown around the midway point of round one where Chochlikova had to defend from the closed guard and it looked like that only laid out the plan of where she could secure the submission.
Round two, had Jorand force the ground game again and seemingly control the fight through ground-and-pound until Chochlikova saw Jorand’s trunk was mostly stable and flat on top of her. So, she would raise her guard to Jorand’s lower rib cage or the floating rib area, and with ankles crossed and legs extended she would wrap her arms behind her knees and squeeze. The submission compresses the ribs or floating ribs and while your body expands ribs on their own when you’re breathing, having them moved involuntarily by this submission can be painful and can even cause them to break.
The counter is somewhat simple; if the person does not mind giving up a dominant position. Just turn your trunk sideways, but then that opens up a back take and requires awareness of the move coming.
Bellator 247 aired the prelims on their Youtube channel and if you missed them, you can view the prelims with this first fight in its entirety below:
