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Watch: Casey O’Neill Pulls Off Insane Armbar Submission At UFC 331
Casey O’Neill turned a difficult opening into one of the UFC’s most replayed submissions at UFC 331, lifting Eduarda Moura from guard and catching an armbar at 3:22 of the first round. The finish earned O’Neill a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus in Los Angeles.
Casey O’Neill gave UFC fans a finish they will be talking about for a long time at UFC 331. The Scottish-Australian women’s flyweight was in trouble early against Brazil’s Eduarda Moura on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Video: Casey O’Neill’s wild armbar finish at UFC 331
Moura put O’Neill under pressure on the ground, worked from top position and threatened an anaconda-style choke after taking her down. Then the entire fight changed in a few seconds. O’Neill created space from her back, placed both feet against Moura’s midsection and elevated her opponent into the air. During the sweep, she controlled Moura’s arm and rolled into an armbar. Moura tapped at the 3:22 mark of round one, ending a sequence that quickly spread online across MMA pages and social media.
The technique has been described as a balloon sweep into an armbar, with elements of a tomoe nage-style elevation. Fans have also called it a “helicopter armbar” because of the way Moura was lifted and turned before the finish. The exact name is less important than the result: O’Neill used her guard to reverse a bad position, isolate an arm and force an immediate tap.
O’Neill says it was instinct
O’Neill later said she did not consciously plan the submission as it unfolded. “I kind of blacked out,” she said after watching the clip go viral. She explained that she has used the sweep in training and in an earlier professional fight, though it had previously led to top position rather than an armbar.
Against Moura, she felt her opponent’s weight shift forward while attempting to pass guard and acted on the opening. Rather than relying heavily on traditional repetition drilling, O’Neill said she prefers a more live, ecological approach to jiu-jitsu training, where athletes solve positions through situational rounds and changing rules.
The finish was especially striking because O’Neill had been defending before she attacked. Moura had the momentum, threatened a choke and appeared close to taking control of the round. O’Neill’s response went from escape to reversal to submission without a pause.
The UFC awarded O’Neill one of two $100,000 Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 331; Arman Tsarukyan received the other. The event’s Fight of the Night bonuses went to Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja after Van’s unanimous-decision title win in the main event.
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O’Neill’s win moved her record to 12-2 overall and 7-2 in the UFC. It was her second consecutive stoppage victory after returning in 2026 from an absence of nearly two years. The submission was also her first UFC post-fight bonus across nine appearances for the promotion.