The thinking man’s finish.
Whether it be choking your opponent unconscious, trying to tear their limbs off or hearing that sweet sound of the palm desperately tapping the canvas, a submission victory can be one of the most satisfying ways to finish the fight.
It may not be as glamorous as the brutal knockout win, but purists know that the skill and strategy to execute a submission perfectly, is every bit as exciting as seeing a strike rendering another man unconscious.
While a fighter displaying their BJJ prowess and slowly chipping away at their adversary’s defence to lock in a choke or a hold is impressive, there’s something about catching an athlete off guard early in a fight that really gets the crowd on their feet.
To show are appreciation of the lightning quick submission finish, we have counted down the top 10 quickest in the history of the UFC.
10. Don Frye, UFC 11.5 – 20 secs
Everyone’s favourite moustachioed MMA pioneer just couldn’t lose to Mark Hall. Frye defeated the Cobra in all three of their bouts. After knocking him out at UFC 10, choking him out at U-Japan, Frye arguably saved his best for last with that swift achilles lock that forced the tap at Ultimate Ultimate 2.
9. Scott Morris , UFC 2 – 20 secs
His hairdo may have been business at the front, party at the back, but Morris was a serious threat on the mat. I his first ever professional MMA fight, he caught Sean Daugherty with a sublime guillotine choke that etched his name into the UFC record books, at least for a while.
8. Dennis Hallman, UFC 29 – 20 secs
Everyone expected Matt Hughes to get his retribution over Hallman after losing to the peroxide blonde-haired grappler two years earlier. To Hughes’ credit, he did have a slightly better showing for this bout. He managed to last a whole three seconds longer this time around, but just couldn’t slam his way out of that armbar.
7. Terry Etim, UFC 138 – 17 secs
The English fighter was a heavy favourite against Edward “Too Many Vowels” Faaloloto. He justified the oddsmakers’ decision by squeezing the life out of his opponent with a ferocious guillotine in less time than it takes to figure out how to properly pronounce “Faaloloto”.
6. Marcus Aurelio, UFC Fight Night 13 – 16 secs
Maximus’ head-seeking right straight of doom landed flush and sent Ryan Roberts crashing to the canvas extremely early. The Brazilian flaunted his black belt with some expert ground work to force the tap with that armbar.
5. Frank Shamrock, UFC 15.5 – 16 secs
Want some more armbar action? Well then check out this stunning one from Shamrock against Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Kevin Jackson. This slick submission earned Shamrock the first ever UFC light-heavyweight strap, a title he would go on to defend four times before relinquishing.
4. Joe Charles, UFC 4 – 14 secs
The Ghetto Man had one hell of a professional debut against Kevin Rosier. Despite the promising start of armbaring his opponent after 14 seconds, he went on to have a not-so-stellar MMA career, getting submitted 12 times and finishing up with a record of 6-13.
3. Ronda Rousey, UFC 184 – 14 secs
Cat Zingano is still trying to figure out what happened in this women’s bantamweight title fight. Alpha Cat signed her own death warrant by charging towards Rousey from the opening bell. This game plan backfired completely as the champion locked in one of her trademark armbars in less time than it took Bruce Buffer to introduce her. (That’s actually true)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw7Jt2bZCBU&feature=youtu.be
2. Justin Martin, UFC 12 – 14 secs
In the battle of the Martins, Justin was triumphant. The stunning heel-hook submission loss clearly had a huge impact on Eric as this was his first and only professional fight.
1. Oleg Taktarov, UFC 6 – 9 secs
Two decades have passed and no one has come even remotely close to scoring a quicker submission victory than Taktarov’s guillotine against Anthony Macias. Rumours circulated that Macias was asked to throw the fight in order to ensure his future in the sport. However, a lack of evidence for this claim means that it remains on top of our list.
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