In a highly unusual and unorthodox move, an MMA star managed to escape a tight triangle attempt by tickling the soles of his opponent’s feet during their bout last night.
The man, whose name has not been released, found himself trapped in his opponent’s triangle late in the third round of their welterweight contest. With his neck bent at an awkward angle and his opponent squeezing tightly, the man showed suspicious creativity and presence of mind.
Rather than try to force his way out with sheer strength, the crafty man instead used his free hand to lightly tickle and graze the soles of his opponent’s feet. Within seconds, his opponent’s body convulsed with involuntary laughter, loosening the submission enough for the tickled man to slip his head free.
The tickling tactic allowed the man to escape and quickly reverse. Ultimately the ref declared him the winner.
While tickling is certainly an unorthodox technique in MMA, the move was completely legal under the unified rules. Analysts have side eyed the fighter’s quick thinking under pressure, calling his tickle counter “one of the most innovative submission escapes we’ve ever witnessed.”
The video of the unusual ending is already going viral, ensuring this will be an MMA moment that lives on in infamy. No word yet on if tickling defense will become part of fighters’ training camps moving forward.
