VIDEO | Crazy Scissor Headlock Takedown Landed in Training Session

There are a lot of ways to get your opponent to the ground in a fight. You might use a single leg or double leg takedown. You might use an ankle pick or a foot sweep. You might rely on judo technique like the harai goshi or ushiro goshi. Or, if you’re a complete maniac, you might attempt a maneuver like the one in the clip above, which is so quick and complicated that it’s hard to give a name. We’ll call it a scissor headlock takedown.

Techniques like these, though rare, do occasionally make their way into mixed martial arts competition. Ryo Chonan, for example, famously caught Anderson Silva in a flying scissor heel hook under the Pride banner on New Years Eve of 2014. Anthony Pettis has also been known to let loose wild, flying attacks – though his are predominantly based in the striking realm.

Generally, however, these techniques are far too risky to be worth the effort in mixed martial arts competition. Send yourself hurtling, legs first towards in your opponent, after all, and you’re liable to end up in all kinds of danger. If you’re inclined to take a fight to the ground, you’re far better off to stick to the fundamentals than to rocket through the air like a spider monkey with rabies.

What do you think of the wild maneuver at the top of this post? Do you think it could be effective in mixed martial arts competition? Sound off, PENN Nation!