Penick's Take
PENICK: 2013 Year-End MMA Awards - Submission of the Year
Jan 2, 2014 - 10:30:14 PM PENICK: 2013 Year-End MMA Awards - Submission of the Year

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

There were a ton of fights in 2013, which led to a very large amount of finishes to sift through for the annual year-end awards. The year was filled with fantastic knockouts and submissions, along with some excellent fights in general, some really fun fight cards, and some hugely successful fighters. We're breaking it all down over the next several days, and we continue tonight with the 2013 "Submission of the Year."


2013 Submission of the Year: Michael McDonald's flash triangle choke over Brad Pickett - UFC Fight Night 26 - August 17

This was my favorite display of submission action in MMA this year. McDonald had already nearly knocked Pickett out in the first round of this fight, then in the second, he pulled off one of the slickest triangle chokes ever. In a flash from the bottom, McDonald threw his legs up to lock on the hold. It came in so rapidly Pickett didn't know what happened, and he was forced to submit a short time thereafter.


The Best of the Rest


Ryan Bader over Vladimir Matyushenko - UFC on Fox 6 - 1/26/13

Bader pulled off a highly impressive submission early last year, catching Matyushenko in a modified choke that was closer to an inverted arm triangle than a guillotine. Catching an arm above Matyushenko's head, Bader latched on the hold and forced the submission in impressive fashion to kick off what wound up being a roller coaster year.


Kenny Robertson's straight leg bar over Brock Jardine - UFC 157 - 2/23/13

Robertson wrapped Jardine up from behind, grabbing his leg and out-stretching it while he had his back. It was a nasty looking hold that damaged Jardine's hamstring with the leg out-stretched and forced him to yell out in pain.


Rose Namajunas' flying armbar over Kathina Catron - Invicta FC 5 - 4/5/13

It's not often that a highlight from outside of the major organizations gets recognition in these types of awards, but there's no denying the unfailing awesomeness that was Rose Namajunas and her flying armbar 12 seconds into her fight with Kathina Catron at Invicta FC 5. There's not much to say about how it came about, because it all happened so quickly. Namajunas, the entertaining girlfriend of UFC heavyweight Pat Barry, rushed Catron with strikes into a clinch on the cage, and then leapt into the armbar. As entertaining as the hold itself was, her post-fight celebration was equally entertaining, and it was just simply one of the most entertaining submission finishes of the year.


Demetrious Johnson armbar over John Moraga - UFC on Fox 8 - July 27

The UFC Flyweight Champion scored a rare fifth round stoppage, taking what was a one-sided fight and putting a stamp on it in the final frame. This gets extra points simply for Johnson continuing to go for the finish in the final round despite being well ahead on the scorecards. It was just one of a number of highlights for Johnson in 2013.


Anthony Pettis armbar over Benson Henderson - UFC 164 - Aug. 31

For the first time in nine years, a UFC Champion was dethroned with a submission. That it happened against a high level jiu jitsu fighter in Henderson - not to mention a fighter who had proven to have Gumby-like limbs in the past - made it all the more impressive. Pettis captured the title in decisive fashion in front of a hometown crowd, and it was a fantastic hold to force the verbal submission.


Justin Wilcox comeback RNC over Akop Stepanyan - Bellator 99 - Sept. 13

This is one of those fights that seems to be heading a clear direction, only to be turned around in the unlikeliest of fashions. Stepanyan was beating Justin Wilcox up from pillar to post, but Wilcox found a way to transition to the back in the second round, then caught him in the choke, where Stepanyan went out cold. No one watching the first round expected that finish, and it's elevated because of that.


Steve Carl triangle choke over Josh Burkman - WSOF 6 - Oct. 26

Burkman's win over Jon Fitch could have been the start of his career resurgence; instead, it's just a random high point for him. The follow-up against Steve Carl did not bring him the WSOF Title, and instead found him unconscious from a triangle choke late in a fight that really picked up in the second half. It was a huge win for Carl and a very exciting finish.


Nick Newell standing guillotine over Sabah Fadai - WSOF 7 - Dec. 7

Congenital amputee Nick Newell continues to find ways to show he's not at the disadvantage some may think he is. His standing guillotine finish over Fadai actually showcased an advantage he might have, as he was able to work an angle he might not have been on the standing guillotine had he both of his arms. It was an excellent finish, and hopefully he gets the look he deserves from the UFC in the next couple of years.


Urijah Faber guillotine over Michael McDonald - UFC on Fox 9 - Dec. 14

McDonald had my favorite submission of 2013, but he was on the wrong end of another. For as good as McDonald looked against Pickett, Faber's performance on Fox showed how elite he remains. He knocked McDonald down with a flurry and pushed him to the ground, where he locked on a sick guillotine and rolled through to force the tap.


Ronda Rousey armbar over Miesha Tate - UFC 168 - Dec. 28

That Rousey secured yet another armbar win wasn't surprising in the least. But it came in a fight where she showed her dominance in every facet of the game, then still locked on a roll through armbar. And she finished it without even having her leg across the face. It was incredible from the atmosphere to the reaction, and the finish secured Rousey's spot at the top of the ladder.


Honorable mentions

*Urijah Faber rear naked choke over Ivan Menjivar (UFC 157)
*Jacare Souza arm triangle over Chris Camozzi (UFC on FX 8)
*Antonio Braga Neto kneebar on Anthony Smith (UFC on Fuel 10)
*Fabricio Werdum armbar over Antonio Minotauro Nogueira (UFC on Fuel 10)
*Jorge Masvidal D'Arce choke over Michael Chiesa (UFC on Fox 8)
*Sergio Moraes triangle choke over Neil Magny (UFC 163)
*Chael Sonnen guillotine choke over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (UFC Fight Night 26)
*Zak Cummings D'Arce choke over Ben Alloway (UFC Fight Night 27)
*Piotr Hallmann kimura over Francisco Trinaldo (UFC Fight Night 28)
*Ron Keslar RNC over War Machine (Bellator 104)
*Tony Ferguson D'Arce choke over Mike Rio (UFC 166)
*Adriano Martins straight armbar over Daron Cruickshank (UFC Fight Night 32)
*Donald Cerrone triangle choke over Evan Dunham (UFC 167)