UFC’s rarest submission artists fight on the same card in Abu Dhabi

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UFC Abu Dhabi is a stacked Fight Night event, and while fans can look forward to the middleweight title eliminator main event, there's plenty to anticipate on the undercard.

Notably, the Abu Dhabi undercard plays host to a pair of fighters who belong to a very exclusive club. These are Bryce Mitchell and Da'Mon Blackshear, two bantamweights who wouldn't be remotely linked if not for an exceptionally rare finish on their respective records.

Da'Mon Blackshea
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UFC Abu Dhabi features 2 of the 3 Twister submission aces in promotional history

So what do Mitchell and Blackshear have in common? They've both finished fights by Twister, an extremely rare, yet flashy submission that torques the victim's neck and spine in a 'twisted' fashion.

'The Korean Zombie' Chang Sung Jung became the first man to secure a Twister in his UFC debut in 2011. Another one wouldn't come around for almost a decade.

Mitchell joined Jung by securing a Twister against Matt Sayles in 2019, and he very nearly did it again in his next fight against Charles Rosa.

Four years later, Blackshear scored the third-ever Twister finish against Jose Johnson in the UFC APEX. It's a finish that gets little appreciation given the arena.

Mitchell fights Said Nurmagomedov this weekend in the Abu Dhabi featured prelim, while Blackshear takes on Davey Grant on the night's prelims. They could well be on a collision course.

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with half a decade of digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on Bloody Elbow, The Fight Fanatic, and Heavy on UFC. He runs Warrior Tribune and can be contacted by his Muckrack profile.

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