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As we move on to 2012, we'll take a look back at the year that was in 2011 with MMATorch's 11 of 11. For the first 11 days of 2012, several MMATorch writers will be providing top 11 lists in a number of different categories regarding the year of MMA in 2011. Today we continue with Jamie Penick's top 11 submissions of 2011.
Like the knockouts in 2011, the year in submissions provided some exciting, rarely seen holds, as well as some vicious and brutal finishes causing broken bones and unconscious victims. This is another list that is highly subjective, and while there will be plenty of exciting finishes that don't make my particular list, others will feel differently, so feel free to send in your own top 11 list to MMATorchEditor@gmail.com. The finishes that made my list do so again by a combination of technical acumen, the actual visual of the finish, the importance of the fight, and personal preference. With that said, here are my top 11 submissions of 2011:
11.) The Guillotine - Urijah Faber def. Brian Bowles - UFC 139 - November 19:
The only true guillotine choke to make my list, this one is a bit more the setup and execution to get to the hold than for the submission itself. The second round of this number one contender fight between Faber and Bowles saw Faber manhandle the former Bantamweight Champ in a way he had never been dominated before. After dropping him with a knee and working on the ground, Faber opened Bowles up for the submission hold with a relentless attack, then locked on the guillotine as soon as he had an opening. It was a brilliant performance, and a great win for Faber.
10.) The Kimura - Joe Lauzon def. Curt Warburton - UFC on Versus 4 - June 26:
Joe Lauzon dominated Curt Warburton for the first of two highly impressive submission wins in 2011. After dropping him with strikes, he latched onto Warburton's arm, wrenched it for a kimura and threw up his legs for a triangle choke to back up the hold. There was a ridiculous amount of torque on Warburton's arm, but Lauzon wasn't in the position to do as much damage as another kimura we would see later in the year.
9.) D'Arce Choke - Dustin Poirier def. Pablo Garza - UFC on Fox - November 12:
The D'Arce choke is becoming a more common submission, but it is still fantastic to see it pulled off when it does happen. After a solid and even first round with Garza, Poirier took control in the second. After landing a big right, he locked up the D'arce in impressive fashion, cinched it on tight, and forced Garza to tap. Excellent win for Poirier to put him into title contention in 2012.
8.) Flying Triangle - Pablo Garza def. Yves Jabouin - UFC 129 - April 30:
Prior to the loss to Poirier, Garza had his own fantastic submission moment, and did it on the biggest stage. As the first bout on the UFC's historic UFC 129 event at the Rogers Centre in April, Garza used his extremely tall and lanky frame to jump into a triangle choke submission. Had it ended almost immediately after he locked on the flying hold, this would have contested for the best submission of the year, but it took a bit of time to get it fully locked on to force the submission. Still, it was a beautiful setup, and Garza picked up a big win to get the crowd of 55,000 into a frenzy from the start of that event.
7.) Inverted Triangle - Rich Hale def. Nik Fakete - Bellator 38 - March 26:
Rich Hale's inverted triangle wasn't even the first inverted triangle in Bellator history, but the visual was still fantastic and the story behind it even better. Hale learned the move the day before his fight with Nik Fakete in the Bellator season four Light Heavyweight tournament, and to pull it off the day after was fantastic. It's just such a unique and interesting finish to a fight that anyone pulling one off will be in consideration for lists like these.
6.) Triangle Choke - Marloes Coenen def. Liz Carmouche - Strikeforce "Feijao vs. Henderson" - March 5:
Coenen was on the wrong end of a finish that nearly made the list when she was submitted by an arm triangle by Miesha Tate in June, but her come from behind win over Liz Carmouche in March still stands out as a fantastic finish. Down three rounds to none and at risk of losing her women's title, Coenen locked on the desperation hold, held onto it tight and forced Carmouche to tap out.
5.) The Armbar - Diego Brandao def. Dennis Bermudez - TUF 14 Finale - December 3:
Nate Diaz had a fantastic armbar win against Takanori Gomi in September, but Brandao's Ultimate Fighter winning armbar was an incredible ending to a crazy one-round fight. He had already knocked Bermudez down in the round, then got nearly finished himself before locking on the armbar, rolling through and forcing Bermudez to tap. It was almost out of nowhere, and brought a huge reaction from everyone watching that night.
4.) Mounted Gogoplata - Vinny Magalhaes def. Viktor Nemkov - M-1 Challenge XXV - April 28:
One of the least seen submissions of the year, Magalhaes pulled off one of the more unique submissions in the game with his mounted gogoplata over Viktor Nemkov in April. Fighting for the vacant M-1 Global Light Heavyweight Championship, Magalhaes took Nemkov down in the third round against the ropes. He moved to the mount, and immediately looked to set up the hold. He moved his right leg up the side, then brought his left arm over to pull the leg over Nemkov's head. He then wrenched Nemkov's head back towards him to cut off the blood to his head, and forced the tap. It's a beautiful submission that everyone should seek out.
3.) Modified Guillotine - Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida - UFC 140 - December 10:
The guillotine choke is not at all an uncommon submission, but the way Jones applied this standing guillotine against Machida at UFC 140 last month was an incredible sight. After rocking him with a jab, he rushed forward with a headlock, and instead of pulling up his left arm for a normal guillotine attempt, Jones used his right arm to push up on the left. The resulting hold cranked Machida's neck in nasty fashion, and put him unconscious before he even knew what was happening. Then Jones dropped him to the mat and walked off. It's a finish that will not be soon forgotten.
2.) The Twister - Chan Sung Jung def. Leonard Garcia - UFC Fight Night 24 - March 26
Speaking of unforgettable finishes, Chan Sung Jung pulled off the first ever Twister submission inside the Octagon this year. Taking Leonard Garcia's back, he hooked just the left leg, then reached around Garcia's head and torqued his body back. The hold looked excruciating live, and it most certainly was as Garcia quickly tapped out. Not only was it a fantastic visual, but the fact that it was a first in the UFC had many feeling it would be impossible to top in 2011...
1.) The Kimura, Part 2 - Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - UFC 140 - December 10:
...but then Frank Mir came along. Already the owner of one of the most devastating submissions in UFC history - when he broke Tim Sylvia's forearm with an armbar - Mir one-upped himself in Toronto with the single most devastating submission hold the UFC has ever seen. After being nearly knocked out, Mir recovered, snatched Nogueira's arm, rolled through Nogueira's attempted counter and then wrenched the hold. Nogueira had never once been submitted in his entire career, and he has been considered the heavyweight division's greatest submission fighter for years, but Mir may have taken both of those things from him as he kept torquing the hold until Nogueira's humerus bone snapped. Nogueira tapped immediately after the break, and then simply stared at the dangling right arm and the damage that had been done. Mir became the first person to knock out Nogueira and only person to submit him with the win, while Nogueira needed a titanium plate and 16 screws in surgery to begin getting his arm back together. For all of those reasons combined, not to mention the image of Nogueira's arm snapping that will be burned into the eyes of fans everywhere, this was my submission of the year.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
