Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
MMA Junkie Staff

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for August: Da’Mon Blackshear’s ultra-rare twister

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from August 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for August.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

Nominee: Diego Lopes def. Gavin Tucker at UFC on ESPN 50

Diego Lopes’ (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) octagon debut in May didn’t come under the best circumstances. That bad taste likely is gone after he dispatched of Gavin Tucker (13-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC)

Lopes looked virtually perfect with a first-round triangle-armbar submission of Tucker that came just 98 seconds into the first round of the featherweight bout. It was just the 11th finish of its kind in UFC history.

Nominee: Carlston Harris def. Jeremiah Wells at UFC on ESPN 50

A couple years back in his UFC debut, Carlston Harris (20-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) choked out Christian Aguilera with an anaconda choke. His latest victim with the same reasonably rare finish was Jeremiah Wells (12-3-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).

Harris had to mount a big comeback and almost certainly was on his way to a decision loss to Wells when he pulled off the stunner at the 1:50 mark of the third round in the welterweight bout.

Nominee: Da'Mon Blackshear def. Jose Johnson at UFC on ESPN 51

Da'Mon Blackshear (14-6-1- MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) had one hell of an August, and it started by placing himself in the record books with an extremely uncommon finish of Jose Johnson (15-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their bantamweight bout.

Blackshear pulled off just the third twister submission finish in UFC history at the expense of Johnson, who found himself wrapped up like a pretzel less than four minutes into the opening round and forced to tap out.

Nominee: Karine Silva def. Maryna Moroz at UFC 292

Karine Silva (17-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC) avenged a key early loss in her career, paying Maryna Moroz (11-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) back with a first-round submission of her own.

After being caught in an armbar in the opening round of their November 2014 bout, Silva had the chance to rematch Moroz in a women’s flyweight matchup. She got the job done with a guillotine choke submission at the 4:59 mark of Round 1, becoming the first female in UFC history to win three consecutive fights by submission inside the opening round.

Nominee: Kurt Holobaugh def. Austin Hubbard at UFC 292

Kurt Holobaugh (20-7 MMA, 1-4 UFC) used picture-perfect jiu-jitsu on Austin Hubbard (15-7 MMA, 3-5 UFC) to get his first win in the promotion.

Holobaugh, a black belt, submitted with a second-round triangle choke to win the Season 31 “Ultimate Fighter” lightweight season. Holobaugh and Hubbard were teammates on the show for coach Michael Chandler. The stoppage after a slick pair of transitions came at the 2:39 mark of the second round.

The winner

The winner: Da'Mon Blackshear

Blackshear spoiled the promotional debut of Johnson with just the third twister submission in promotional history.

Johnson found himself in a precarious position shortly after a very nice second takedown from Blackshear. While trying to scramble back to his feet, Johnson gave up his back. Blackshear began working on securing the rare and extremely painful submission hold. At 3:47 of Round 1, the twister was locked in and Johnson had no choice but to tap.

The first twister submission in UFC history belongs to “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, who tapped Leonard Garcia with the technique in 2011. It would be another eight years before another fighter accomplished the feat; Bryce Mitchell pulled off the second against Matt Sayles in 2019.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.