Sonnen, the moment the house came down UFC 117. Photo: publicity
It makes a Jiu-Jitsu lover’s day when a fight in the octagon ends in a submission. Rear-naked choke, kneebar, armbar… In 2010 a number of important UFC fights ended in submissions, with some of the show’s biggest stars tapping out in desistance.
Here are the submissions the promotion elected as the best of the year:
10 – Jim Miller and Charles do Bronx
Black belt Miller put the brakes on the Brazilian’s fourteen-fight unbeaten streak. The kneebar, at UFC 124, came at 1:59 min of round one.
9 – Phil Davis and Tim Boetsch
At UFC 123, Davis nimbly sunk a kimura and notched his eighth win. “Mr. Wonderful” carries on undefeated.
8 – Toquinho on Tomasz Drwal
The heel hook – one of the black belt’s specialties – was so quick (49 seconds) and tight that Drwal ended up injured. Then he claimed the BTT fighter did it on purpose, and Toquinho was punished. “I only let go once the referee steps in,” alleged Toquinho. The fight took place at UFC 111.
7. C.B. Dollaway on Joe Doerksen
At UFC 119, it took Dollaway just 2:13 min to win via guillotine.
Brock submits Carwin. Photo: Josh Hedges.
6 – Brock Lensar on Shane Carwin
After taking a thorough beating in the first round, Brock used the teachings of his coach Rodrigo Comprido and came back to finish with an arm-and-neck choke, at UFC 116. The fight was worth the heavyweight belt.
5 – Mark Bocek on Dustin Hazelett
With seven submissions in nine wins, Bocek took out his black belt opponent with a triangle at 2:33 min of the fight, at UFC 124.
4 – Chris Lytle on Matt Brown
At UFC 116, Chris Lytle landed a sweet armbar that handed Matt Brown his second loss. After that, Lytle even beat Matt Serra at UFC 119, while Brown would lose again, another submission to Brian Foster.
Hughes gets the submission. Photo: Josh Hedges.
3 – Matt Hughes on Ricardo Almeida
Following up on a well-placed punch, Hughes latched on to Cachorrão’s neck, at UFC 117. The choke put the black belt’s lights out at 3:15 min of the opening round. The submission carries even greater weight, as Hughes had come off a win over Renzo Gracie, Almeida’s master.
2 – Cole Miller on Dan Lauzon
Lauzon was coming off an eight-fight win streak, but Miller’s kimura put the brakes on that in the first round, at the promotion’s 108th event. At UFC 22, Cole got another submission, this time on Ross Pearson, via rear-naked choke.
1 – Anderson on Chael Sonnen
In one of the most exciting fights of the year, Sonnen was getting the better of champion Anderson from the start. In the fourth round of the title fight, with 1:50 minutes to go, a double-attack took the American fighter out of the contest – an armbar from the triangle. Well-deserved first place for the Spider.
What about you, reader, do you agree with the UFC’s picks?