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While all UFC fans love a brutal knockout, there’s also something alluring about a really slick submission, which it could be argued takes a little more skill to pull off.
The UFC was built on the back of Royce Gracie and his submission skills, and over the years, we’ve seen a countless number of great submissions inside the octagon.
With all kinds of submissions, from leglocks to armbars, seen in the UFC, it’s hard to produce a list of the greatest submissions we’ve seen in the octagon.
After all, how do you compare a title-winning rear-naked choke to a unique tapout in a largely meaningless bout?
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Despite this, some submissions clearly stand out over and above others. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the 10 greatest submissions in UFC history.
#10. Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida – UFC 140
Jon Jones is comfortably the most successful light heavyweight in UFC history, as well as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Despite his reputation being knocked due to a string of positive drug tests, it’s hard to overlook the list of victims dispatched by ‘Bones’ in the UFC.
Jones has won a total of five UFC bouts via submission, but his most memorable was undoubtedly his 2011 finish of Lyoto Machida, a finish that stands as one of the best tapouts in UFC history.
After a difficult first round for Jones, he turned up the heat on ‘The Dragon’ in the second, eventually knocking him down with a left hand. When Machida attempted to get up, Jones snatched him into a modified guillotine choke, and then wrenched him practically off his feet to tighten it up.
Machida fell unconscious almost immediately, and then crumpled lifelessly to the canvas once Jones released him.
The guillotine is one of the more common submissions in the UFC, but fans had never seen it applied this violently and effectively and, to be honest, they haven’t since, either.
#9. Rousimar Palhares vs. Tomasz Drwal – UFC 111
Leg locks are relatively rare in the UFC, largely due to the risks they represent inside the octagon. However, one fighter was more renowned for his array of leglocks than any other – Rousimar Palhares.
‘Toquinho’ came into the UFC in 2008 with a reputation for hurting his opponents with vicious leg locks, usually preferring the deadly heel hook. And in his fifth appearance in the octagon, he showed everyone why.
Faced with Poland’s Tomasz Drwal, Palhares locked up a heel hook after just 45 seconds of the first round, and wrenched it violently, causing ‘Gorilla’ to tap out in agony.
However, for reasons known only to him, Palhares continued to wrench on the hold despite the tapout, doing untold damage to Drwal’s knee. It was an excessively violent submission even by the standards of the UFC and, while it was memorable, it also netted ‘Toquinho’ a suspension and a fine.
#8. Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano – UFC 184
Former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was renowned for her judo-inspired armbar. During her MMA career, she used the hold to submit a total of nine opponents.
‘Rowdy’ pulled off her most memorable armbar victory in 2015 in what would turn out to be the final submission win of her career. Incredibly, it came against arguably her toughest opponent to that point.
Cat Zingano was undefeated in MMA and had destroyed both Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate leading into the fight. She was expected to test Rousey like nobody had done before.
However, ‘Alpha’ came into the fight too pumped up, and made the error of charging at Rousey to attempt a flying knee.
‘Rowdy’ reversed the strike attempt into a throw and, with incredible skill, floated over Zingano’s back to lock in a picture-perfect armbar. Seconds later, ‘Alpha’ was forced to tap out.
The whole fight lasted a total of 14 seconds, making it one of the fastest submissions in UFC history, as well as one of the greatest.
#7. Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – UFC 140
Frank Mir had already broken the bones of two of his opponents in the UFC by the time he faced Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140. But given the Brazilian’s renowned submission skills, it seemed unlikely he’d pull off the feat for a third time.
However, Mir stunned everyone by snapping Nogueira’s arm like a twig late in the first round of their clash, providing fans with one of the most shocking submissions in UFC history in the process.
Mir initially looked set to lose the fight as he was knocked down by a combination and then found himself caught in a guillotine choke. But the former UFC heavyweight champion somehow escaped, and then engaged in a scramble that ended with him clamping onto a kimura.
Nogueira attempted to roll to alleviate the pressure on his arm, but only fell deeper into the hold, and before he could tap out, his arm snapped in a truly jaw-dropping visual.
The submission was one of the most spectacular of Mir’s career, which is saying something given he produced no fewer than eight tapouts in the UFC.
#6. Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely – UFC on Fox 2
Statistically speaking, Charles Oliveira is the most successful submission artist in UFC history, with a stunning total of 14 submissions to his name.
However, while ‘Do Bronx’ has submitted the likes of Jim Miller, Kevin Lee and Will Brooks in his UFC career, the submission that stands out the most for him came over a largely unheralded foe in Eric Wisely.
The fight took place in 2012, and saw Oliveira make history. He became the first fighter to ever win a UFC bout using a calf slicer.
The ultra-rare move happened after Oliveira attempted a heel hook, only for Wisely to defend it excellently, almost twisting his way free. However, his leg was still caught by the Brazilian and, in an incredible move, Oliveira pulled him back into the calf slicer, causing him to erupt in pain before tapping out.
Not only was this a visually stunning submission, but it was also one of the most unique in UFC history, putting it right up there with the greatest.
#5. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor – UFC 229
In terms of sheer dominance, few UFC fighters can touch Khabib Nurmagomedov for what he was able to do with his immense grappling skills inside the octagon.
The former UFC lightweight champion submitted a total of five opponents in the UFC, but while his wins over Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson were more visually impressive, for greatness, it’s hard to top his win over Conor McGregor.
The fight between the two was the biggest in UFC history, producing a pay-per-view buyrate of over two million, meaning the pressure was on ‘The Eagle’ like never before.
But Khabib produced one of his greatest ever performances, dominating McGregor on the ground before submitting ‘The Notorious’ with a neck crank.
The submission was rudimentary at best, but the sight of Nurmagomedov seemingly attempting to twist the Irishman’s head from his body marked an incredible display of dominance. And almost three years on, it remains one of the greatest submissions in UFC history.
#4. Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin – UFC 129
Jumping submissions are few and far between in MMA in general, let alone in the UFC. Which is why, despite being seen largely as a journeyman, Pablo Garza will always possess one of the UFC’s greatest-ever submissions.
‘The Scarecrow’ was faced with kickboxer Yves Jabouin in his second trip to the octagon at UFC 129, and early on, he looked outgunned by the striking of ‘Tiger’.
But undeterred, Garza kept pushing forward, and once he closed the distance and grabbed a clinch, he made his move. He leapt into the air, threw his legs around the shoulder and neck of Jabouin, and locked in a triangle choke.
Jabouin attempted to fight the move off, but ‘The Scarecrow’ was relentless. He tightened the hold and forced Jabouin to tap out moments later.
And not only did Garza produce one of the best submissions in UFC history with his unique move, it was also enough to net him the Submission of the Night honor, giving him a bonus cheque of $129k.
#3. Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar – UFC 81
When the UFC inked former WWE champion Brock Lesnar to a contract in 2008, his octagon debut was always going to be a memorable moment. Unfortunately for Lesnar, the fight turned out to be memorable for him for all the wrong reasons.
Faced with former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, Lesnar started off quickly, taking Mir down and beating him up on the ground. But despite knocking the former champ down, he couldn’t quite put him away.
And Mir, renowned as a submission expert throughout his UFC career, took advantage of Lesnar’s inexperience, swswivelingis hips on the ground and latching onto the right leg of ‘The Beast Incarnate’.
Lesnar attempted to wrench his leg free by pulling Mir across the octagon in a ludicrous show of strength, but it was to no avail. Seconds later, Mir tightened up a nasty kneebar and forced the giant to tap out, producing a submission for the ages that UFC fans still never tire of seeing.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117
Former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva will always be remembered for his incredible striking skills, but ‘The Spider’ was also a more than capable grappler with a number of submission wins to his name.
The most memorable of those stands as one of the UFC’s greatest-ever submissions, as well as one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history too.
Faced with challenger Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, Silva’s title reign found itself in jeopardy. ‘The American Gangster’ continually took the Brazilian down using his wrestling skills, and seemed comfortable in beating him up on the ground.
But with the fight in the fifth round and Silva’s title reign seemingly slipping away, he pulled out a Hail Mary move in the form of an incredible triangle choke.
Sonnen attempted to defend the hold, but within seconds ‘The Spider’ had it deeply locked in, and with less than two minutes remaining in the fight, ‘The American Gangster’ was forced to submit.
Not only had Silva snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, but he’d also done it with one of the greatest submissions in UFC history, too.
#1. Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia – UFC Fight Night 24
We’ve seen plenty of rare submission moves used to great effect in the UFC, from Charles Oliveira’s calf slicer to a downright bizarre choke used by the unheralded Nick Pace in 2011. But none of them quite match up to the Twister used by Chan Sung Jung against Leonard Garcia.
Invented by the grappling virtuoso Eddie Bravo, the Twister, a spinal lock that can leave a victim with a seriously damaged back, always looked like the sort of hold that simply wouldn’t work in the UFC.
But ‘The Korean Zombie’ proved that idea wrong in his fight with Garcia, as he took the back of ‘Bad Boy’ in the second round before transitioning into the twister hold.
Immediately, it became clear that Garcia was in serious trouble, and despite the round having just one second remaining, he was forced to tap out before his spine was destroyed.
The Twister has been used once more in the UFC in the years that have followed, by prospect Bryce Mitchell. But the original remains the best, and ‘The Korean Zombie’ will always be intrinsically linked with this memorable submission.
