Video: Mateus Santos pulls off strange toe-hold submission while countering omoplata

Well, 2021 has been a wild year in MMA and it seems to be getting crazier.

This year has been packed with many unexpected moments in the sport and things just got a lot more wild with Mateus Santos’ submission win at Open Fighting Championship 2 in Russia.

The Brazilian picked up a strange first-round submission over Alexander Volodin while defending a tight omoplata from Volodin. Santos (15-6 MMA) put Volodin’s right leg behind his head, grabbled Volodin’s foot, then put his head to the canvas and pulled on Volodin’s right foot. The maneuver hyperextended Volodin’s foot, causing a strange toe-hold submission.

The video quickly picked up traction online. It’s definitely one of the weirdest submissions seen this year and maybe even in MMA history.

With the result, Santos snapped Volodin’s seven-fight winning streak and bounced back from a loss in September. Santos is now 4-1 in his past five performances.

Below is Santos’s odd submission win at Open Fighting Championship 2:

Still waiting for the expert breakdown of this absurd submission from Matheus Santos yesterday pic.twitter.com/DIjjmm81py

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 21, 2021