Submission Week: New Generation Sub Hunters

Elisabeth Clay: The New Generation Leg Locker's Best Finishes

See how Elisabeth Clay became one of submission grappling's best leg lock artists, with tons of her finishes against elite competition

Jun 20, 2023 by Joe Gilpin

Elisabeth Clay: The New Generation Leg Locker's Best Finishes

There may not be a better leg lock specialist among the new generation of black belt competitors than Elisabeth Clay. The Ares competitor has finished an astonishing 80% of her victories by submission, with over 65% of those being leg locks, and used them to beat world-class opposition in important matches. What really stands out for Clay is her ability to use different leg attacks to get the win at black belt, including so far in her career;

10 toe holds
7 straight ankle locks
5 outside heel hooks
4 kneebars
4 inside heel hooks
and an Estima lock

Once you look at the variety of finishes, something notable is how Elisabeth favors some of the more traditional leg locks compared to others. Most talented leg lockers are constantly working for the inside heel hook, since its generally considered the strongest lower body submission. Instead, Clay only has 4 to her credit, instead focusing on outside attacks like the toe hold, straight ankle lock, and outside heel hook.

This is partly because of Clay's willingness to compete in the gi and no-gi competition, where those holds stay legal regardless of style. This is also partly because of her game - she gets to the toe hold better than anyone else right now, and uses that to force transitions into kneebars. If they don't roll, she locks into the outside ashi and keeps the angle in the leg needed for the tap. Instead of pursuing avenues to 50/50 or cross ashi, she keeps to these leg locking strategies and sees enormous success.

Take a look at some of Elisabeth Clay's best submission wins and see the aggressive submission chains that have helped make her a champion.