From striking specialists to ground game experts; well-rounded combatants to one-dimensional brawlers; the UFC has seen it all.
Regardless, when you think about the UFC’s grappling realm, names such as Royce Gracie and Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum come to mind–legendary fighters who’ve trained their bodies in a manner which allows them to compete akin to a living, walking, talking submission machine. They strangulate foes, break opponents’ bones and force their adversaries to tap out with the myriad of submission holds in their arsenal.
Much like the knockout, the submission too serves to provide a strange sort of thrill to the viewer–something that is undoubtedly violent yet elegant to witness. The sight of a grown man or woman submitting to a superior male/female grappler on the given night of competition is a sight to behold.
A stoppage victory in any form of combat sporting competition is awesome and should be said, victory come by way of a highly-technical submission, the end result is, even more, sweeter as it serves to solidify the fact that the victor is indeed an expert in the grappling genre of martial arts.
Today, we take a look at some of the best UFC submissions of 2018–
#5 Tatiana Suarez vs. Alexa Grasso
The Women’s MMA landscape comprises several deadly grapplers who can submit anyone on a given day.
While the recent advent of elite strikers in the WMMA scene has added a new layer of intrigue to the combat sports business, submission finishes are far more prevalent in WMMA than KO/TKO stoppages. Tatiana Suarez is yet another name in the stellar list of female combat sports athletes who just so happen to be decorated grapplers.
Suarez took on heavy-handed boxing specialist Alexa Grasso earlier this year and finished the fight in the very first round. Doing battle with one another in Santiago, Chile, Suarez and Grasso had a few brief exchanges on the feet.
Nevertheless, Suarez–being the highly intelligent fighter that she is–took the fight to the mat. This young fighter truly deserves to be commended for her fight IQ, particularly considering how most others would’ve let their ego take over, and tried to stand and trade with Grasso who is an extremely dangerous boxer.
As soon as the fight hit the mat, Suarez took control of the proceedings. She stayed true to the basics of BJJ; adhering to the theory of “position before submission”.
Suarez took Grasso’s back, and worked the hooks in, looking to secure the Rear-Naked Choke. While Grasso deserves credit for valiantly fighting until the very end, Suarez had the choke under the neck; forcing Grasso to tap out.
#4 Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Bobby Cooper
Mackenzie Dern took on “ABC” Amanda Bobby Cooper in a bout which turned into a grudge match after Dern missed weight.
Cooper strongly asserted her anger towards Dern, owing to the latter missing weight by a significant margin.
Regardless, come fight night, ABC came out swinging wild–something which worked to Dern’s advantage as she knocked down Cooper with a huge right hand.
Dern swiftly proceeded to take Cooper’s back; securing a nasty Rear-Naked Choke and forcing ABC to tap.
What made the win so very impressive is the speed and fluidity with which the aforementioned choke was locked in and successfully completed.
Dern–being the highly regarded BJJ specialist that she is–showed off her impressive submission grappling skills once again–this time around against a dangerous striker in Amanda Bobby Cooper.
#3 Ilir Latifi vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Ilir Latifi is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining fighters to have ever competed in the sport of MMA.
Win or lose, Latifi always looks to finish the fight–be it by way of KO/TKO or submission. Latifi faced perhaps one of the biggest tests of his career, at least on paper, against Ovince Saint Preux.
Latifi went on to dominate the fight–both in the striking as well as the grappling realms. He scored a knockdown on OSP–tagging the latter with a huge overhand left.
Latifi followed up with ruthless aggression–going berserk with OSP against the fence. He then locked in a standing guillotine choke on the latter; putting Saint Preux to sleep.
Latifi’s standing guillotine choke is being hailed by many as one of the slickest, most beautiful submissions of the year thus far.
#2 Marion Reneau vs Sara McMann
Marion Reneau is perhaps one of the most underrated grappling specialists in the UFC today. Reneau took on highly-decorated former Olympic wrestler Sara McMann earlier this year–with their fight playing out in a rather intriguing fashion.
The bout transpired in the classic BJJ fighter vs. wrestler clash–with McMann getting top position on the mat. Interestingly, the second round of this bout witnessed her getting a tad careless with her top control–something which Reneau detected almost immediately.
Reneau caught McMann in a beautiful triangle choke from the bottom position. It wouldn’t be an overstatement at all, to say that it was the sort of choke which would earn you high praise from your BJJ instructor if you happen to apply it in the step-by-step manner in which Reneau did.
McMann tapped, and Reneau was ecstatic in the aftermath of the highly-technical bout and her incredible win against a dangerous fellow grappler.
#1 Paul Craig vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Paul Craig pulled off what’s being hailed as the latest finish by way of submission in a 3-round matchup UFC history.
Craig was soundly beaten for most of the three-round bout–outclassed at the hands of Magomed Ankalaev. Regardless, it was at 4:59 of the final round that he forced Ankalaev to tap out courtesy a triangle choke.
Craig was on his back–badly losing on the scorecards–when out of nowhere, he happened to have slapped on the triangle on Ankalaev.
The squeeze was so very good and in the right position, that Ankalaev had no choice but to tap out. Craig’s submission once again reiterated the belief that in the sport of MMA it’s not over until the very last second!
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