The most graceful finish in all of combat sports, the submission win can come in a number of ways.
The most graceful finish in all of combat sports, the submission win
can come in a number of ways, but the end result is always the same – a
victory for the man pulling off the move, and a look of ‘what
happened?’ from the victim. 2010 has had its share of memorable wins by
way of submission, and here are the best so far.
5 – Lesnar Finishes Carwin
After taking a hellacious beating in the first round, Brock Lesnar’s
odds of making it out of his corner for round two, let alone winning
the fight, were slim. But the heavyweight champion showed his warrior’s
heart by roaring back, taking down a winded Carwin, and finishing
matters with a memorable arm triangle.
4 – Double Trouble - Lytle Surprises Foster and Brown
When you’ve been around the fight game as long as Chris Lytle has, you
develop more than a few veteran tricks. At UFC 110 in Australia and UFC
116 in Las Vegas, Lytle pulled off two of his best as he made everyone
and their brother, most importantly opponents Brian Foster and Matt
Brown, think he was going to engage in a toe-to-toe slugfest. Both were
fine with that, but when the end came, neither got what they expected,
as Lytle finished Foster with a kneebar and Brown with an armbar. A
crafty one, that ‘Lights Out.’
3 – Thiago Sleeps Swick
After going 1-1 against teammates Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, you had
to wonder if American Kickboxing Academy had something against Paulo
Thiago when it was announced that Mike Swick would be the next AKA
standout to face the Brazilian. But if it bothered Thiago, it didn’t
show, as he put on a stellar performance against Swick, with a second
round knockdown of the American being followed by a D’arce choke that
put him to sleep moments later.
2 – Dunham Comes From Behind to Finish Escudero
After eating a knee and getting sent to the canvas by a right hand from
Efrain Escudero at UFC Fight Night in January, Evan Dunham’s unbeaten
record looked to be in jeopardy. Yet slowly but surely, Dunham worked
his way back into the match, and after breaking free from an early
third round guillotine choke, he forced the gutsy Escudero to tap from
an armbar, and somebody’s “0” had gone, but it wasn’t Dunham’s.
1 – Miller tells Lauzon to pick his poison
You don’t get to see an inverted reverse triangle / kimura combination
too often, but when you do, it’s a thing of beauty – well, it is for
anyone watching, not for the one on the receiving end of it. So when
Cole Miller showed off his mat wizardry against Dan Lauzon, New
England’s “Upgrade” had no choice but to tap. In the process, Miller
pulled off the most impressive submission of the half-year, and it will
be a tough one to top over the next five-plus months.
Honorable Mention - Leben-Akiyama, Cro Cop-Barry, Guida-Gugerty,
Pellegrino-Camoes, Palhares-Drwal, Florian-Gomi, Dos Anjos-Etim,
Doerksen-Lawlor, Belcher-Cote, Jensen-Forbes
