With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Submission of the Year.”
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Honorable mentions
Aviv Gozali def. Eduard Muravitskiy at Bellator 225
It only took Aviv Gozali (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) 11 seconds to imanari roll his way into the fastest stoppage victory in Bellator history against Eduard Muravitskiy (9-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).
The 18-year-old Israeli fighter started out the bout with one move on his mind – a heel hook. As the opening bell sounded, Gozali rolled towards opponent Muravitskiy and snatched a leg. A few adjustments, and Gozali forced the tap by heel hook for a third consecutive win to open his career.
4. Ovince Saint Preux def. Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 18
Ovince Saint Preux (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) added to his legend with another one of his signature submission wins, this time at the expense of Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.
A rough first round looked like it was going to lead to a bad night for Saint Preux. When the second round arrived, though, Oleksiejczuk was the more fatigued fighter, and when Saint Preux got on top, he wasted little time securing the Von Preux choke to tie the all-time submission record at 205 pounds.
3. Patrick Mix def. Isaiah Chapman at Bellator 232
Patrick Mix (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) achieved a first in Bellator history when in his bantamweight fight he managed to force Isaiah Chapman (9-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) to tap out with a rarely seen submission.
After just a few minutes of action, Mix found himself on Chapman’s back during a grappling exchange. He went after the leg and got in position to secure the Suloev stretch, which he fully locked in to become the first in Bellator to win with the technique.
2. Brent Primus def. Tim Wilde at Bellator Europe 2
After losing his Bellator lightweight title in lopsided fashion to close out 2018, Brent Primus (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) got back in the win column in resounding fashion with a finish of Tim Wilde (13-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who never saw it coming.
It was a matter of moments before Primus started working of for the finish. After finding himself on his back, Primus maneuvered his legs into position for a gogoplata. Such attempts rarely bare fruit, but Primus was able to get his shin under Wilde’s neck and force the tap just 80 seconds into the match.
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Winner: Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7
Bryce Mitchell pulled off an all-time submission in just his third UFC appearance.
Facing off against Matt Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout, Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off a rare twister submission at the 4:20 mark of the first round.
As the fight wore on, Mitchell and Sayles became tangled on the ground. With his opponent’s leg locked, Mitchell swung his head under the arm of Sayles.
UFC HISTORY
@ThugnastyMMA records the second twister EVER in the Octagon!
Action continues on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/vN85j7AAxC
— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2019
From there, Mitchell wrapped his arms around Sayles’ neck. One grip adjustment was all it took. Clearly in pain due to the torque on his torso, Sayles was forced to tap.
The submission was only the second of its kind successfully executed in UFC history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung pulled off a second-round twister submission in a rematch against fellow WEC alum Leonard Garcia.
“It’s something I do in practice a lot,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen Eddie Bravo doing it on YouTube and I practiced it, practiced it, and practiced it. I remember every step that he told me. I even know the Peruvian twister – it’s the tighter version. I really paid a lot of attention to that video. Shout out to Eddie Bravo. Yeah, that’s where I got it from.
“If your opponent doesn’t know how to defend it, if they don’t know how to defend, then it’s going to be a one- or two-step process because they will just give you the arm. But if they defend, then it’s like a six-step process, so it takes time. I think that’s why it’s so uncommon because people don’t know all the steps and how to do it.”
Also see:
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Fight of the Year’: Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year’: Geoff Neal
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Coach of the Year’: Eugene Bareman of City Kickboxing
- MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Year’ for 2019: Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Breakout Fighter of the Year’: Jorge Masvidal
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Robbery of the Year’: Polyana Viana’s vigilante justice
MMA Junkie's 2019 'Submission of the Year': Bryce Mitchell's twister
