Top 10 greatest submission wins in UFC history

#2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117

Anderson Silva produced a true Hail Mary finish to submit Chael Sonnen with a triangle choke

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.

I can't believe it's been 10 years since Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. Until Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, this was my favourite fight of all time. The build up was epic and the fight it self was drama of the highest order. pic.twitter.com/4xwK8bgyiM

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 7, 2020

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.

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#1. Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia – UFC Fight Night 24

Chan Sung Jung produced the UFC's first ever twister to submit Leonard Garcia in 2011

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.

Mar26.2011The Korean Zombie showcases the diversity of his attacks,when he finishes Leonard Garcia with the first twister in UFC history pic.twitter.com/YQqtbQVW7j

— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) March 26, 2020

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.