10 Most Unique Submissions In UFC History

While knockouts are often the biggest crowd-pleaser in the savage world of Mixed Martial Arts, people certainly shouldn't forget about the brutality of submission holds.

Unlike a one punch or kick finish, a submission is torturous to the opponent, grinding and tearing at their muscles and limbs with the sole purpose of pain, followed swiftly by surrender.

A fighter can control an opponent's body and contort it to their own will.

While there are a lot of common ways to earn a submission finish, like the Guillotine or Triangle Choke to name a couple, every now and then a fighter is forced to think outside the box.

Sometimes, a fighter can find themselves innovating when they have a free arm or leg in their grasp.

In the history of the UFC, there's been barely a handful of times when someone has come up with something completely out of left field, a submission hold that has people watching both amazed and confused at the same time as to what is actually going on.

Grappling isn't everyone's cup of tea when a fight goes to the mat, but the constant chess battle of offensive and defensive position can throw up some incredible moments.

Wrestling through counters and mounts just to get a foot trapped or an arm in an unusual position brings about the unexpected.

And as with nearly any sport on the planet, the incredible and unexpected is usually the best remembered.

Who: Aleksei Oleinik vs. Viktor Pešta and Júnior Albini

When: UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn and UFC 224

42-year-old Russian Aleksei Oleinik holds a unique spot in the UFC history books.

He is not only the first, and only, fighter to win via an Ezekiel Choke in the company, but he's actually done it twice!

Just to make the whole thing a little bit more ridiculous, across his 57 career wins in MMA, he has a further EIGHT wins through the same submission outside of the UFC, including a ridiculous string of three in a row that happened - and I can't make this up - all in the same night on his way to a tournament victory.

Oleinik has become a master of the rare counter-into-submission manoeuvre throughout his career and, even at his ripe age, has picked off both Viktor Pešta and Júnior Albini with the move in the last three years.

The rarity of seeing a fighter force a submission from on their back, and usually with their opponent on top in a full mount, is beyond impressive.

The fact he is the only man to ever achieve the Ezekiel Choke victory is testament to that.

Even the commentators were unsure of how or why Pešta had tapped out the first time the move was busted out to finish a fight.