Top 10 submissions since UFC 100

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The submission is both graceful and devastating at the same time. It doesn’t look like much until you pay attention to the limb being manipulated. And if the opponent doesn’t tap out, he or she will either be asleep or find their limb broken.

It’s not as flashy as a knockout but a submission is arguably a worse way to go out. Sometimes it comes as a surprise when a fighter least expects it. Other times it is inescapable when a fighter is trapped in the cage with a jiu-jitsu expert who cannot wait to bend someone’s body in ways that it was never meant to bend.

From Ronda Rousey’s graceful 14-second armbar to Brock Lesnar’s brute-strength choke, here are the best submissions in the UFC since UFC 100.

10. Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon (UFC 108)

When Cole Miller fought Dan Lauzon, the lanky Miller decided that two submissions being slapped on at the same time would be more threatening than one. Miller started off by attacking Lauzon’s arm but then coiled his legs around his opponent’s neck to form an inverted triangle. As Lauzon’s attention went to protect his neck, Miller went back to attacking the arm and formed a combination of an inverted triangle and a kimura. Lauzon had to pick his poison at this point and submitted before it got any worse.

9. Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin (UFC 129)

When Garza took on Jabouin at UFC 129, the 6-foot-1 fighter decided to end things in style when he pulled off a very rare flying triangle choke on the unsuspecting Jabouin. The risk vs. reward factor plays a significant role because if Garza were to fail to get the choke, he’d find himself in prime position to get his face punched in. However, it came off like a thing of beauty and forced Jabouin to tap out perhaps out of surprise more than anything else.

8. Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch (UFC 123)

Mr. Wonderful pulled off a submission so unique that he had to name it after himself. In the second round of his fight against Tim Boetsch, Phil Davis took his opponent down and attempted to work a kimura from the top position. However, he couldn’t get his other arm around to trap Boetsch’s limb so he got creative. He turned it into a one-armed hammerlock that looked so unique that commentator Joe Rogan was at a loss for words when trying to figure out what to call it. So Davis just pegged it as his own.

7. Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida (UFC 117)

The consummate wrestler did consummate wrestler things against Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117. In a classic showdown between wrestler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, Hughes proved which discipline reigned supreme on this night when he slapped on a good ol’ front headlock choke that trapped Almeida. It was nothing but sheer strength that caused the BJJ black belt to go to sleep after being unable to find a way out.

6. Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (UFC 116)

In this battle of behemoths, Brock Lesnar wrestled himself free from the clutches of defeat by enduring a massive beating in the first round at the hands of Shane Carwin. Somehow, Lesnar regrouped and charged his fading opponent to score a huge takedown. “The Beast” swiftly transitioned to a full mount, but instead of finishing Carwin off with a menacing display of ground and pound, Lesnar slapped on a head-and-arm choke that squeezed out whatever fight was left in Carwin.

5. Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida (UFC 140)

The elusive Lyoto Machida was expected to give Jon Jones all kinds of problems. But Bones showed off his versatility and ability to adapt to any situation as he put together a dominant performance against the former champion. Jones systematically broke Machida down and trapped the karate expert in a standing guillotine choke. As Jones cinched the hold in tighter, it was difficult to tell whether or not Machida was conscious. But once the referee decided that Machida was out, Jones let go and Machida’s unconscious body collapsed to the canvas is one of these most stunning visuals you will ever see in the UFC.

4. Frank Mir vs. Minotauro Nogueira (UFC 140)

The battle of heavyweight submission specialists produced one of the more squirm-inducing moments in UFC history. Mir has broken an arm before in a fight when he snapped Tim Sylvia’s forearm like a stubborn twig. But against “Big Nog” he had something else planned. Certainly not be design, Mir was dropped by Nogueira in the first round and looked ripe for the taking. But Mir endured the drubbing and somehow managed to get top position while snatching Nogueira’s arm in the process. Mir cranked a kimura and Nogueira, being the prideful fighter he was, refused to tap out. But as the saying goes: “Tap or snap.” The Brazilian opted to not do the former and suffered the latter when Mir torqued the arm until it snapped.

3. Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano (UFC 184)

The legend of Ronda Rousey grew immensely when she faced what was supposed to be her toughest test to date in Cat Zingano. In a matter of seconds, Rousey fended off Zingano’s flying knee and transitioned into a headlock. Rousey then rolled and took Zingano’s back, isolated her right arm and applied a straight armbar. All of this happened in a UFC title-fight record 14 seconds. Most people cannot even think about how to pull off a submission like that against elite competition in so little time. But when it comes to armbars, Rousey is unlike any other fighter on the planet.

2. Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia 2 (Ultimate Fight Night 24)

The twister is a submission that’s hard enough to put on someone who isn’t fighting back. But when your opponent is constantly trying to punch your face in, it becomes that much more difficult to pull off. “The Korean Zombie” is known as a brawler and the expectation for his rematch with Garcia was a blood-and-guts slugfest. So you can imagine the surprise of everyone – including Garcia – when Jung pulled off Eddie Bravo’s “Twister” late in the second round to score a shocking submission with one second left in the round. The move had never finished a fight up until that point.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (UFC 117)

The submission that tops this list comes from the fight that delivered the best comeback in recent memory. Chael Sonnen had dominated the then-best fighter on the planet, Anderson Silva, in shocking fashion for four-and-a-half rounds. The wrestler continuously grounded Silva’s vaunted striking and it looked as if the mouthy Sonnen’s prophecy would come to fruition. But in a flash, it all changed when Silva slapped on a triangle choke/armbar from virtually out of nowhere to elicit the tap and retain his middleweight title.

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