With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from December 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for December.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Jared Gooden def. Wellington Turman at UFC on ESPN 52
After a first round that leaned in favor of Wellington Turman (18-8 MMA, 3-6 UFC), the second frame was all Jared Gooden (20-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) . He initially caught Turman with a punch. Noticeably buckled, Turman tried to stay upright, but Gooden poured on the pressure. Turman was rocked multiple times and once dropped down to his knees.
Eventually, Turman couldn’t withstand the punishment on the feet. Gooden tossed him down, mounted him, and eventually got the tap with a rear-naked choke to end the welterweight bout.
WHAT A COMEBACK BY JARED GOODEN 😳 #UFCAUSTIN pic.twitter.com/9hSQYY8yC9
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 2, 2023
Nominee: Tim Elliott def. Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 233
Tim Elliott (20-14-1 MMA, 9-11 UFC) earned one of the more impressive wins of his career when he defeated Su Mudaerji (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) on just five days’ notice.
According to Laura Sanko on commentary, Elliott had just two training sessions to prepare for the bantamweight bout. It didn’t look like it in the octagon as Elliott landed some good strikes on the feet, got Mudaerji to the mat then locked in an arm-triangle choke that led to the technical submission.
ON SHORT NOTICE 🤯@TElliott125 gets a big win and ends it in the first round!#UFCVegas83 pic.twitter.com/QMgDS6iOUE
— UFC (@ufc) December 10, 2023
Nominee: Ariane Lipski def. Casey O'Neill at UFC 296
Ariane Lipski (17-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) is nicknamed the “Queen of Violence” for a reason and it showed with a gruesome submission of Casey O’Neill (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in their women’s flyweight bout.
From top position, Lipski pounded away. The arm presented itself and Lipski grabbed hold. She leveraged until O’Neill’s arm was bent in the wrong direction, at which point O’Neill tapped. The referee didn’t see the tap, but in a classy move, Lipski let go.
THE QUEEN OF VIOLENCE DOES IT AGAIN @Ariane_lipski gets the tap and her third win in a row at #UFC296! pic.twitter.com/KPhgUXHBPb
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
Nominee: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Stephen Thompson at UFC 296
The welterweight title picture became even more crowded after Shavkat Rakhmonov’s (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) performance against Stephen Thompson (17-7-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) to stay undefeated and keep his 100 percent stoppage record intact.
In one of many tough positions, Thompson could not escape danger as Rakhmonov remained on top and controlled the position. As time ticked away in the second round, Thompson turned his back and Rakhmonov slapped on a rear-naked attempt. Shortly after the 10-second clapper sounded, Thompson tapped.
ANOTHER NIGHT, ANOTHER FINISH FOR SHAVKAT RAKHMONOV 😤 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/RkQjzNgTRl
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 17, 2023
The winner
The winner: Sean Brady def. Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN 52
Sean Brady (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is known for his strong wrestling game and it was on full display once again against Kelvin Gastelum (18-9 MMA, 12-9 UFC) – but with a highlight-reel ending.
Brady followed two rounds of blanketing Gastelum with a nasty kimura submission. The tap came at 1:43 of Round 3.
Brady’s dominance in the opening 10 minutes was strong, but met with boos from the fans who wanted more action. Brady mounted Gastelum at times, but was unable to finish off the job. Damage was minimal.
In Round 3, though, Brady as he picked up his third UFC submission. Brady isolated the right shoulder, stepped over Gastelum, readjusted, and found the tap.
Brady, 31, bounced back from his first career loss, a TKO defeat vs. Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 in October 2022. Brady was booked twice after that, but both fights fell through.
