Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in the area of leg locks. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more – find more of his leg lock articles and resources at www.BJJLegLocks.com
There are some moves so obscure, so rare, so ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ that you can never picture an actual scenario in an MMA fight where someone will actually be able to utilize the move. For a while, that infamous move was arguably The Twister, a move no one saw in the UFC until Chan Sung Jung and Leonard Garcia waged war.
The next move to be the “unicorns of submissions” had to be the calf slicer. A rare move, it was something I hardly ever heard about until I saw it in action! Allow me to introduce you to Charles Oliveira. The young Brazilian had made waves in the UFC and MMA as the “next big thing” but after hitting a snag in his career—two losses and a no contest—Oliveira re-designed himself as he dropped to featherweight. Upon doing so came the highlight of his career.
The Scene of the Crime
Entering UFC on Fox 2 in January 2012, Oliveira felt the heat picking up. He knew he would be on the chopping block with a loss given he had gone 0-2-1 in his previous three bouts after red hot start.
Facing a seasoned veteran making his UFC debut, Eric Wisely, Oliveira was facing a man with a wide range of skills.
Known to be a striker with solid ground skills, Wisely could take the fight anywhere and Oliveira was well aware of this.
Given all the possibilities Wisely brought to the cage, Charles did not give him a chance to display any bit of skill and made sure people knew that he was back in old form (“old form”, sorry I find this funny seeing Charles is JUST 23 YEARS OLD!)
Slicing Calves!
To say this move was super-slick would be a slap in the face of Charles Oliveira! This was AMAZING! It seemed as if Wisely was looking to isolate the arm of Oliveira, but upon doing so Charles began attacking for a heel hook.
Unable to apply this move, Wisely began to escape to safety. Abandoning the heel hook, Oliveira applied a leg lock on to the left leg of Eric Wisely and then reached for the waist when he saw Wisely trying to escape. Here, he simply hugged him and pulled him backwards as if he was sitting down into the lap of Oliveira.
With the triangle locked on firmly, just above the calf muscle, Oliveira leaned backwards while still holding on to Wisely. From here, he squeezed his legs exerting dangerous force on the calf of Eric Wisely! The look of pain you see on Wisely’s face is grueling even just to watch! He had no choice but to tap out.
The fact it was such a smooth transition almost masks the brutality of the move and the pain that Wisely must have felt. Something so poetic, so graceful is also something that is just pure devastation. No matter what the future holds for the young man from Brazil, Oliveira, it’s a certainty that this move will live on in UFC lure.
Keep it LOCKED here at OTM for more FootlockFriday action.
-Daniel Faggella
Dan Faggella is a BJJ Academy Owner, No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in the area of leg locks. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more – find more of his leg lock articles and resources at www.BJJLegLocks.com