- Open Note Grappling
- Posts
- MMA's Best Grappling From 2023
MMA's Best Grappling From 2023
An unforgettable submission and a fight most people missed
William
January 2nd, 2024
First Things First
To kick off 2024 we’re going to take a look back at 2023 to answer two questions:
What was the most exciting display of grappling in an MMA fight?
What was the submission of the year?
Let’s get right into it.
Hey y’all,
Thanks for checking out Open Note Grappling! If this is your first time here, click here to check out the rest of my work and leave your email below to get the next post in your inbox.
Hope you like it! Now let’s get to today’s work.
Table Of Contents
MMA’s Best Grappling From 2023
Before writing this article I asked Twitter, “What was the best grappling performance in an MMA fight this year?” The most consistent names I got were Jon Jones, Alexandre Pantoja, and Diego Lopes. Jones’s submission over Cyril Gane was impressive, Pantoja’s control was sublime, and Lopes’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu was beautiful; but none of those were involved in what I consider the best grappling performance of 2023.
Grappling in MMA is a contentious topic. It’s become something that’s a reward in and of itself, and doesn’t really score. When good grappling works it kind of just hums along in the background.
A good cross face isn’t going to impress anyone other than the masochists that have felt the pressure (sweat and stink) of ultra agro purple belts using their Thursday Brazilian jiu-jitsu session to manage the frustrations that come with their accounting career. These small suffocating techniques certainly don’t impress people more than a good knockout does.
So, when we talk about best grappling performances in MMA, the key word is performance. We’re judging fights based on the entertainment value of the techniques as much as the effectiveness of the grappling. Oddly enough, the most entertaining grappling in an MMA fight came from an event that has largely been forgotten.
The Fight Most Forgot
Before Bellator was purchased by the PFL, two of their fighters went to war on the floor. Mansour Barnaoui and Jay Jay Wilson spent fifteen minutes scrambling all over the cage in an action packed acrobatic affair.
Barnaoui is a bit of a meme fighter. He’s known for weird sweeps and getting robbed in a fight against Islam Makhachev before the Russian made it to the UFC. After winning Road FC’s million dollar tournament, Barnaoui took several years off during COVID before popping up in Bellator again.
Wilson is an up and coming prospect that holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Notably he trains with grappling savant Justin “JFLO” Flores. Flores was a D1 wrestler, Olympic judoka, and coach for Ronda Rousey. Having him in your corner is like holding the ultimate grappling trump card.
Going into their fight, neither Barnaoui nor Wilson had ever been finished. When they squared off they showed every element of MMA grappling; sweeps, passes, submissions, and the integration of striking into all of those.
Now let’s take a look at the best sequences from Wilson and Barnaoui’s performance.
Round 1
Round one was probably the slowest and closest round of the three.
 | Wilson slides into mount. After getting a cross face Wilson looks to start attacking an arm triangle choke. Barnaoui wall walks to sweep Wilson to full guard. |
Wilson wasted no time on his back. As soon as Wilson lost top position he threatened with submissions to steal the initiative. Barnaoui would use the space to gain further position advantage.
 Wilson attacks a triangle choke from closed guard. Barnaoui defends by turning face down and walking over Wilson’s head. After Wilson gives up on the submission, Barnaoui back steps to get an angle toward Wilson’s back. |  Wilson rolls to stop Baranoui from putting his hooks in. Wilson reaches up to pull Barnaoui off his back before rolling again. Barnaoui uses a cross face to stop Wilson escaping by sitting up. Wilson stands from turtle so Barnaoui puts his hooks in. |
Round 2
In round two Wilson started to run away with the fight.
Harai goshi  | Wilson gets an over hook and throws Barnaoui with a harai goshi. Wilson floats his hips over Barnaoui to land in half guard. Barnaoui is sitting up with the under hook so Wilson frames and strikes to keep him down. |
Barnaoui gets away with a lot of janky techniques because of how long and unorthodox he is. Barnaoui can move people around from weird positions, but that often results in him overextending his limbs.
Sweep → Omoplata  | Wilson is trying to pass but Barnaoui sweeps him by bridging, turning, and digging his under hook. Barnaoui leaves his arm extended so Wilson locks up an omoplata to control Barnaoui’s posture. Wilson scoots away to pull Barnaoui down before rolling him over. |
Again Barnaoui reaches in deep to try to reclaim lost position. Wilson uses the space to wrap up an arm for another submission attempt.
 | Wilson slides into mount. Barnaoui digs an under hook and grabs Wilson’s wrist with his other hand to bridge and roll over again. They run into the fence so Barnaoui ends up on top. Wilson attacks an arm bar so Baranoui starts hitting him. |
 | Wilson attacks a triangle before switching to an arm bar. Barnaoui rotates his arm and gives up top position to escape. Barnaoui slips out the back door to try to wrestle up. Wilson turns back into Barnaoui to take his back. Wilson ends by hitting Barnaoui before wrist riding to collapse him. |
Because Wilson had been using upper body submission threats to control the initiative, Barnaoui decided to stand up. More space would mean Wilson could not continue to attack arm bars and triangles.
Wilson intelligently used the newfound space to enter in on a leg attack.
Inversion → 5050 → Heel Hook  | Wilson attacks with a high guard so Barnaoui stands up. Wilson uses the space to invert and roll into a 5050 heel hook. Barnaoui turns face up and kicks the grip off of his heel. Wilson sit up and punches him. |
Round 3
The third round would show how remarkably tough Barnaoui is.
 | Wilson has finished a takedown on the fence and is sitting on Barnaoui’s legs. Barnaoui is working to turn and scoot away so he can build a base. Wilson collects Barnaoui’s wrist to break him down and hit him. |
No Barnaoui fight would be complete without a John Wayne (aka giggler) sweep.
John Wayne Sweep → Kimura → Wrist Ride  | Barnaoui hits Wilson with his meme move, the John Wayne sweep. After working to get back to guard Wilson attacks a kimura. Barnaoui reaches under Wilson’s back to grab Wilson’s arm. Wilson ends by smacking Barnaoui with pitter patter punches. |
Barnaoui and Wilson’s match-up ended with one last dramatic submission exchange.
Arm Bar  | Wilson pushes off the fence to lock up an arm bar. Wilson pulls Barnaoui legs over his head to attack from a better angle. Barnaoui tries to scissor Wilson’s head and stop the submission. Wilson nearly snaps Barnaoui’s arm off by bringing his hand to the mat. Barnaoui would eat the submission. |
Ultimately Wilson would take the judges decision. He looks like an exciting prospect to watch develop and he’s not even twenty-seven.
Now that Bellator has been absorbed by the PFL, Barnaoui joins French African stars Cédric Doumbé and Francis Ngannou on the roster. Seeing Barnaoui on the PFL’s next French fight card alongside the other two seems like an easy strategic win. They could also use their names to make quick inroads with the PFL’s Middle East and North Africa brand.
Submission Of The Year
In one of the most dramatic upsets in MMA history, the UFC got their first Mexican woman champion when Alexa Grasso took out Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso made one of the best reads you’ll ever see by following Shevchenko’s spinning back kick to get behind her and roll into a rear naked choke.
Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko Rear Naked Choke  | Grasso follows Shevchenko’s spinning back kick to grab a seat belt and jump on her back. They fall to the floor and Grasso squeezes Shevchenko’s chin. Grasso uses a palm to palm grip to cinch the choke tighter. Grasso puts the support arm behind Shevchenko’s head before covering the grip with her own chin. |
For my money, those were the two best grappling performances from any MMA fight in 2023. What was your favorite grappling performance?
Citations & Further Viewing
In a rare twist of fate, both of these fights are available for free on Youtube. Check them out below:
Mansour Barnaoui vs JJ Wilson
Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko
If you’re interested in reading more about some of the best grappling from MMA in 2023 check these articles out:
Open Note Grappling is a user supported publication. If you enjoy reading my writing, consider upgrading to the Premium Notebook! A premium subscription gets you:
More content
Access to my full archive
Weekly flowcharts and lesson plans to improve your training
Long form detailed studies of specific athletes and positions
You can upgrade and try the Premium Notebook for free here. What are you waiting for?
What'd you think of today's piece? |