Lateral Drop

Last updated: June 2, 2026

What is a lateral drop?

The lateral drop is a throw used in wrestling and other grappling sports to put an opponent on their back from a standing clinch. Instead of lifting the opponent straight up and over the way a vertical suplex does, the thrower arches sideways and lets gravity and the opponent’s forward pressure do most of the work.

It starts from a tie-up where both fighters have a grip on each other, usually an over-under (one arm under the opponent’s armpit, one arm over the top on the other side) or a 2-on-1 grip on a single arm. From there, the thrower steps in, makes hip-to-hip contact, and falls to the side, turning the opponent over their own trapped arm and shoulder.

Wrestlers reach for it because it ends with the opponent flat on their back, which is where points and pins come from. The throw belongs to the family of upper-body attacks, the same broad group as the body lock and the headlock throw, and it turns up wherever grapplers fight from the clinch instead of shooting at the legs.

How the lateral drop works

A lateral drop has a shape that is easy to recognize. The two fighters are chest to chest, clinched rather than at arm’s length, and the thrower turns and drops to the side instead of hoisting the opponent overhead. Both bodies hit the mat at almost the same moment, with the thrower landing on top across the opponent’s chest.

The throw runs on the opponent’s momentum. When the defender pushes forward into the clinch, the thrower takes that pressure, drives a hip in, and redirects it sideways and down. Hip contact is what makes it work because the hip is the pivot the opponent rotates around. Done cleanly, the opponent travels over the thrower’s body and lands back-first.

Since the thrower commits their whole body to the floor, a lateral drop tends to be all or nothing. Land it, and the position is dominant. Miss it, and the thrower can wind up on the bottom, having handed over the exact position they were attacking from.

Lateral drop vs. suplex

These two throws get mixed up all the time, and for understandable reasons. They start from similar clinches, and both dump the opponent backward. The real difference is direction.

	Lateral drop	Suplex (belly-to-belly)
Direction	Sideways arch	Backward, opponent lifted up and over
Lift	Minimal, the opponent stays low	Opponent lifted clear of the mat, often overhead
Main force	Opponent’s momentum plus the thrower’s drop	Thrower’s lifting power and back arch
Landing	Thrower lands to the side, on top	Thrower bridges backward

A suplex lifts the opponent off the mat and arcs them backward over the thrower’s head or shoulder, which takes real lifting strength. A lateral drop keeps both bodies lower and turns sideways, asking for less raw power and more timing. Some coaches file the lateral drop under the “belly-to-belly” or rotational suplex family, which is part of why the names blur, but that sideways arch is what sets it apart.

Where the lateral drop is used

In competition, the lateral drop lives mainly in wrestling, showing up in folkstyle and freestyle as well as Greco-Roman. Under United World Wrestling rules, it is a legal throw in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. In freestyle, a standing throw that exposes the opponent’s back scores either 2 or 4 points depending on its height and control, and the highest-amplitude throws, the ones that send an opponent’s feet straight over their head, score 5 (United World Wrestling). A 2022 UWW change set all back-exposure turns at 2 points, no matter where they happen on the mat (United World Wrestling).

The throw also crosses into sambo, judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where it works as a clinch takedown. In MMA, it is a legal throwing technique under the Unified Rules, though driving or spiking an opponent down onto the head or neck is prohibited. Fighters with a Greco or wrestling base sometimes use it against an opponent who keeps pressing forward in the clinch, turning that forward pressure into a slam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a lateral drop the same as a suplex?

No. Both send the opponent backward from a clinch, but a suplex lifts them up and over, while a lateral drop arches to the side with little lift. It is sometimes counted as a belly-to-belly suplex variation, which is why people confuse the two.

Is the lateral drop legal in MMA?

Yes. It is a legal throw under the Unified Rules of MMA. What is not allowed is driving or spiking an opponent down on the top of their head or neck.

What position does a lateral drop start from?

A standing clinch, most often an over-under tie-up or a 2-on-1 grip on one of the opponent’s arms.

Is the lateral drop a high-risk move?

It tends to be all or nothing. A clean throw puts the attacker on top in a scoring position, while a failed one can leave them stuck on the bottom.

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Sources

1. United World Wrestling. “International Wrestling Rules.” Accessed June 2026.
2. United World Wrestling. “UWW Implements Scoring Improvements for Freestyle.” Accessed June 2026.
3. Onward State. “Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Rules Guide.” Accessed June 2026.
4. SportsRec. “How to Do a Lateral Drop.” Accessed June 2026.
5. Fanatic Wrestling. “Pinched Elbow Lateral Drop by Georgi Ivanov.” Accessed June 2026.

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