5 best submissions in MMA history

The sport of MMA is rife with feats of incredible strength and agility—not only on the feet but also on the mat.

While everyone loves a violent knockout or a systematic beat-down in a bout that goes the distance—the grappling department of fighting has gained newfound respect and admiration after the surge in the popularity of Mixed Martial Arts over the past few decades.

When the UFC first came into existence, the rule-set was rather vague, however, the fights as a whole were modelled after Vale Tudo—a sport which is heralded as the original version of MMA, and is one that has existed for a long time in Brazil.

Regardless, the wonderful art of BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) reigned supreme in the early UFC contests, as fighters from other disciplines such as boxers, kickboxers, wrestlers and combatants of the sort failed to comprehend the mysterious BJJ techniques.

This, in turn, led the martial arts world to gravitate towards the art of BJJ as well as submission wrestling aka Catch-Wrestling—Following which, a butterfly effect ensued, and the grappling arts broke through as a vital part of MMA competition.

Today, we witness several beautiful submission stoppages in top MMA promotions the world over—which brings us to the 5 best submissions in MMA history. Buckle up, folks!

---

#5 Brian Ortega vs. Cub Swanson

It was at UFC Fight Night 123 late last year, that up-and-comer Brian “T-City” Ortega faced veteran Featherweight contender Cub Swanson in a bout which was scheduled for five rounds.

Swanson—hailed by experts as the better striker of the duo—achieved decent success in Round 1 against Ortega. Regardless, the latter kept his composure and began firing back towards the end of the round.

The second round of this amazing matchup produced one of the best submissions, not only in UFC but in MMA history.

Ortega caught Swanson with several beautiful strikes which appeared to have surprised the latter—what with the fact that T-City had always been considered a BJJ specialist who possesses rudimentary striking.

Ortega then latched on to a standing guillotine choke and changed his grip mid-air to strangle Swanson—ending the fight in Round 2.

#4 Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano

“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey defended her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against “Alpha” Cat Zingano at UFC 184 back in 2015.

The buildup to the bout was rather intriguing as Zingano was coming off a hard-fought TKO victory over Amanda Nunes all while dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s suicide.

Regardless, despite being emotionally-challenged at the time—generally, a strict no-no in a fight—Zingano was viewed by many as a serious threat to Rousey’s title as “Alpha” possesses great grappling coupled with deadly Muay Thai skills.

Nevertheless, the bout ended in the fastest submission finish in a UFC Women’s Bantamweight title fight, when Zingano opened up with a flying knee right off the bat. Rousey caught her foe and rolled with the momentum, subsequently transitioning to a straight armbar and getting the tap.

In the aftermath of the fight, experts hailed Rousey’s grappling instincts and technique as key factors that led to the amazing stoppage win. By submitting a dangerous grappler in Zingano, Rousey once again proved that she can end a fight from any and every position with her armbar.

#3 Ben Rothwell vs. Josh Barnett

At UFC on FOX 18 back in 2016, Ben Rothwell faced grappling legend and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett in a highly-anticipated clash of styles.

While both fighters had their moments on the feet, the most awesome sequence of the bout transpired in the grappling sphere. Rothwell caught Barnett in what he and his team call a Go Go Choke.

While Barnett’s head initially seemed to be stuck in what appeared to be a five-finger choke from Rothwell, the latter rubbished all talk of his choke being a five-finger one.

In fact, after becoming the first fighter to submit Barnett in an MMA bout, Rothwell sang praises of the Go-Go Choke and proceeded to cut a rather hilarious post-fight promo.

#2 Chael Sonnen vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

The one, the only—“The American Gangster” Chael Sonnen—faced Brazilian legend and former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 26 in 2013.

The matchup was fairly brief and witnessed Sonnen stun Rua by catching the latter in a tight guillotine choke. The American Gangster had the choke deep and squeezed on Rua’s neck with all his might.

Sonnen walked away with the submission victory on the night and sent shockwaves throughout the combat sports community with the stunning submission stoppage of Rua.

A key lesson that was further solidified in this excellent submission win is that the theory of going for sub-attempts early in the fight—with the lack of greasiness from sweat and blood early in a fight—does indeed aid the application and success of a submission manoeuvre.

#1 Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko

Fabricio Werdum became the man to hand MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko his first defeat in about a decade when the duo faced off at a Strikeforce/M1 Global event back in 2010.

The bout was rather intriguing, so to speak, as Fedor knocked down Werdum early in the fight.

Regardless, Fedor followed his foe to the ground, only to get caught in a triangle armbar after a reckless ground and pound sequence.

Werdum’s submission of Fedor is till date regarded as one of the most iconic images in MMA history—beautiful, technical and violent.