Submission (combat sports)
A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat. The submission - then also referred to as a "tap out" or "tapping out" - is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or the opponent with the hand or in some cases with the foot, to signal the opponent and/or the referee of the submission. In some combative sports where the fighter has cornermen, the cornerman can also stop the fight by "throwing in the towel", which may count as a submission.
Technical submission
A technical submission may occur when the referee or doctor stops the fight because a fighter has sustained an injury or is rendered unconscious while in a submission hold. An example would be a fighter's arm breaking in an armbar, or a fighter passing out in a choke hold. In both cases the fighter is unable to tap out, and an official decides that the fighter cannot safely continue to fight. Such a match outcome may be called a technical submission or a technical knockout (TKO) depending on the rules of combat used for the match. In UFC, a technical submission is recorded as a submission, and any submission to strikes counts as a technical knockout.