Flying Triangle

Last updated: June 17, 2026

What is a flying triangle?

The flying triangle is the standard triangle choke with an airborne entry. Instead of setting the choke up from the ground, where most triangles happen, a fighter launches off their feet, hooks their legs around the opponent’s neck and one arm while both are still standing, then drags the action down to the mat to finish.

The choke itself works the same way once it is locked. The attacker’s legs form a figure-four around the neck, the opponent’s own trapped shoulder presses into one carotid artery, and the attacker’s leg presses the other. That pressure pinches the carotid arteries on both sides of the neck and chokes off the blood supply to the brain. The clock is short. According to JiuJitsu News, a properly locked triangle can put an opponent out in roughly five to ten seconds, and because it is a blood choke rather than an air choke, it never depends on crushing the windpipe.

What makes the flying version distinct is the entry, not the finish. It belongs to a small family of “flying” submissions that start from standing, alongside the flying armbar and the flying guillotine. The appeal is surprise: the choke arrives before either fighter has hit the canvas.

How the flying triangle works

Picture two fighters squared up on their feet. The attacker grabs control, often a collar or wrist tie, jumps, and throws one leg over the opponent’s shoulder and across the neck. The second leg locks behind the first knee to form the triangle. From there, the attacker uses their weight to pull the opponent down, lands in a bottom guard position, and tightens the angle to finish.

The danger sits in that brief window in the air. A clean entry traps the head and one arm and gives the attacker a choke they can finish on the way down. A sloppy one leaves the attacker hanging off the opponent’s neck with no control, easy to drop or slam.

Power in any triangle comes from cutting the angle rather than from squeezing the thighs together. By turning the body perpendicular to the opponent, the attacker lines the leg flush across the neck and closes the gap their shoulder could escape through. JiuJitsu News notes this is why a smaller grappler can finish a much larger one: the choke runs on leverage and geometry, not arm strength.

Flying triangle vs regular triangle choke

Most people searching this term already know the regular triangle and want to know what the “flying” part changes. The short answer: everything about the setup, nothing about the finish.

A standard triangle is a bottom-position attack. The fighter is usually on their back in guard, the fight is already on the ground, and the choke develops over several seconds of grip fighting and adjustment. The flying triangle compresses that into a single explosive jump from standing.

	Regular triangle	Flying triangle
Starting position	On the ground, usually from guard	Both fighters standing
Entry	Built gradually as the attacker isolates the head and arm	One committed jump
Risk to the attacker	Low; the attacker is already grounded	High; a miss leaves them exposed to a slam or bad landing
How often you see it	Common at every level of MMA and grappling	Rare, especially in the UFC

The takeaway for a fan watching a broadcast: if the commentator says “flying triangle,” look for the jump. The choke locking around the neck is the same picture you would see from a ground triangle, just arrived at a different way.

Flying triangle vs other flying submissions

The flying triangle is one of three flying attacks a fan is likely to hear named. They all start with a jump, but they attack different things.

Submission	What it attacks
Flying triangle	The neck, choking with the legs around the head and one arm
Flying armbar	The elbow joint, jumping to trap and hyperextend one arm
Flying guillotine	The neck, choking with the arms around the front of the head

The quick way to tell them apart is to watch what wraps the opponent. Legs around the neck? Flying triangle. Arms cinched around the front of the neck mean a flying guillotine, while a jump that isolates one straight arm and bends it back is a flying armbar.

Why the flying triangle is rare in MMA

For all its highlight appeal, the flying triangle shows up far more on grappling mats than in the cage. MMaailm describes it as a high-risk, high-reward move that stays rare in the UFC while remaining a staple of regional and grappling highlight reels.

The reasons are practical. Jumping at a standing opponent in MMA hands them the option to catch the attacker and slam them, which is legal in most rule sets and can knock the choke loose or worse. Modern fighters also defend the entry well, keeping their posture and hips back so the legs never settle around the neck. A failed attempt can leave the attacker flat on their back with nothing to show for it.

In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where slams are restricted and the surface is softer, the move has a stronger track record. Black belt Edwin Najmi is one of the best-known exponents, with BJJ Fanatics crediting him with more than ten flying triangles landed at high-level competition. That gap between the grappling mat and the MMA cage is the clearest sign of how situational the technique is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the flying triangle legal in MMA?

Yes. The triangle choke is a legal submission in every major MMA promotion, and the flying entry does not change that. The opponent is allowed to defend by slamming the attacker in most rule sets.

Is the flying triangle effective in MMA?

It can finish a fight, but it is situational. The surprise factor works against an unprepared opponent, while the risk of being slammed or landing badly keeps most fighters from attempting it under cage rules.

Has anyone landed a flying triangle in the UFC?

Triangle chokes are common UFC finishes, but the flying version is rare enough that most examples circulating online come from training footage or regional and grappling events rather than UFC bouts. Treat any specific claim with a quick check against the official record.

Do you need long legs to land a flying triangle?

Long legs make the figure-four easier to lock, but they are not required. The finish relies on the angle of the choke more than on leg length, which is why shorter grapplers still hit it.

What is the difference between a flying triangle and a flying armbar?

Both start with a jump, but the flying triangle chokes the neck with the legs, while the flying armbar attacks the elbow joint with the arms. One ends the fight by strangling, the other by threatening to break an arm.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia. “Triangle choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_choke
2. JiuJitsu News. “The Triangle Choke: Complete BJJ Submission Guide.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://jiujitsu-news.com/triangle-choke/
3. NAGA Fighter. “How to Execute the Flying Triangle Choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.nagafighter.com/how-to-execute-the-flying-triangle-choke/
4. BJJ Fanatics. “The BJJ Triangle Choke” and “The Best Flying Triangle Choke in the World.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/news/the-triangle-choke
   https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/news/the-best-flying-triangle-choke-in-the-world
5. MMaailm. “The Triangle Choke in MMA: The Ultimate Guide to the Signature Submission.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://mmaailm.ee/en/triangle-choke-mma-guide/
6. Submission Searcher. “Flying Triangle.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://submissionsearcher.com/technique-type/flying-triangle/

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