There’s nobody who doesn’t enjoy a good, brutal knockout, whether it by a 12-year-old lad after his first sip of Dutch Gold or your Nan popping on a UFC after Winning Streak.
But there’s something more cultured, more technical about the grappling game in MMA. There can’t be a whole lot more satisfactory than actually getting your opponent to give up, to tap our, to yell “I’m your bitch!”
Here’s our list of the top five best submissions in an amazing year of MMA.
5. Paul Redmond def Alexis Savvidis via toe hold
There’s no better place to star this list than right here in jolly old Ireland with Dublin lightweight Paul “Redser” Redmond.
This submission came in August when Redmond was pitted against Greek fighter Alexis Savvidis at Cage Warriors 70.
Early in the second round, the pair got themselves caught in a duel for a toe hold that the 28-year-old Dub went on to win.
Redmond got better purchase on the foot of Savvidis and used one of his trademark moves to hyperextend the ankle of the Greek, forcing him to tap.
4. Ben Saunders def Chris Heatherly via omoplata
This submission isn’t pretty or technical but hey, it’s a first so it has to make the list.
The only element of impressiveness of this submission victory comes by way of the fact that most MMA fighters and Jiu Jitsu players simply don’t believe that it can work in no-gi competition due to the difficulty in attaining any significant leverage on the shoulder.
Saunders’ victory at August’s UFC Fight Night came largely due to his work drilling Eddie Bravo’s rubber-guard techniques and, to use Bravo’s own term, the ‘Dead Orchard’ position.
While the finish may appear clunky and lack the fluid smoothness that appeals to grappling enthusiasts, this is the first time that an omoplata has been completed in the UFC so, screw you, it’s on the list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDXMi2bXdsM
3. Rousimar Palhares def Steve Carl via heel hook (inverted)
Controversial one this if you’re familiar with the name Rousimar Palhares.
If not, let me give you a little bit of a back story . Rousimar Palhares was a serious contender in the UFC middleweight division before gaining a nasty reputation for hanging on to his favoured submission, the heel hook, for too long after his opponents tapped.
This came to a head during his first UFC fight at welterweight against Mike Pierce when the Brazilian continued to sink in the heel hook, despite Pierce tapping at least eight times. He was subsequently cut from the UFC and was signed by the World Series of Fighting.
During his promotional debut, everybody knew that Palhares was always going to be in serious pursuit of the ankles of his opponent but Steve Carl still managed to get caught.
“Toquinho” pushed Carl’s guard higher and higher before latching on to the foot of the American and cranking it until Pierce was forced to tap.
We don’t condone unsportsmanlike behaviour by any means but the submission itself is gorgeous, despite Palhares’ lingering tendencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVvaJumLa3k
2. Eduardo Dantas def Anthony Leone via rear naked choke
It’s the speed with which the then-champion transitioned to the submission to defend his bantamweight belt that makes this choke so impressive.
At Bellator 111 on March 7th, challenger Anthony Leone was showing persistence in his search for a takedown of the champion. He chased Eduardo Dantas’ every move while on his knees before Dantas sensed an opening and allowed Leone’s head to land between his legs.
Dantas then dived to his back while snaking his right forearm under the chin of the challenger and trapped Leone’s left arm with one of his hooks – all done in less than a second.
SLICK!
1. Ovince St. Preux def Nikita Krylov via Von Flue Choke
If you can slap on a choke, improve position and actually send your opponent into unconsciousness before Jiu  Jitsu black belt Joe Rogan can even notice, then the submission has got to be pretty damn elusive.
Our vote for the best submission of the year goes to OSP for this effort at March’s UFC 171 which earned the light heavyweight a POTN honour.
As you can see from the video, St. Preux looks to be the fighter defending a choke as Krylov is (somewhat desperately) hanging on to the front head lock position in the very optimistic hope of securing a guillotine choke from his back.
St. Preux obviously knows what he’s doing from side control though and he snakes his left arm around the back of Krylov and uses a Gable grip with his free right hand to squeeze the neck of the Ukrainian.
It essentially involved shoulder pressure on the throat, combined with the squeeze of the biceps to close off both air and blood to make Kylov go night-night for a few moments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y38u86JnglQ
Honourable mentions: Raquel Pennington, Alex Caceres, Russell Doane, Pat Curran, Charles Oliveira, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Anthony Pettis.
