Tyree Durham escapes rear-naked choke with full-body slam knockout at Combat Zone 92

Tyree Durham delivered one of regional MMA’s most dramatic finishes in recent memory at Combat Zone 92 in New Hampshire, escaping a rear-naked choke attempt by launching himself backwards onto Will D’Amico with enough force to knock his opponent unconscious on impact.

The finish carried extra weight given Durham’s history. In his amateur debut back in January, he lost via rear-naked choke. Facing D’Amico and finding himself in a near-identical position, Durham opted for a desperation slam rather than accept the same fate. The move was unorthodox — a significant portion of the impact came via headbutt — but it worked, and D’Amico was out cold before he hit the mat.

Elsewhere across the regional and international circuit, submissions provided plenty of their own highlights. At a Grachan event in Tokyo, Ion Sato coaxed a tap-out from Yuhei Nagamitsu with a move that commentators and record sites have settled on calling a twister, though the tangle of limbs on the mat made it difficult to identify in real time.

An Oktagon show in Hannover, Germany, produced a more textbook finish as Justin Detzel caught Mate Kola with a Suloev stretch in the third round. Kola’s downfall began with a spinning elbow that missed its target, leaving him exposed for a takedown. Once Detzel secured the leg and stretched Kola’s foot over his head, the outcome was not long in doubt.

At an Rkena FC event in Tbilisi, Georgia, Rubik Virabyan added a north-south choke finish over Juan Trujillo to the week’s submission ledger. Virabyan gave his opponent room to work early, but maintained enough pressure to eventually complete the hold and earn the stoppage.