With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from June 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for June.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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Nominees
Nominee: Kevin Holland def. Michał Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302
Kevin Holland (26-11 MMA, 13-8 UFC) returned to the middleweight division for the first time since 2021, and nearly took home the arm of his opponent Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC).
Holland overcame an early knockdown scare, but as Oleksiejczuk attempted to finish the fight, Holland slapped on an armbar. Holland rolled Oleksiejczuk over, and cranked. In fact, he appeared to hesitate to want to snap the limb. However, Oleksiejczuk didn’t want to tap, so Holland cranked harder, and sure enough, the arm appeared to crack, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
Nominee: Raul Rosas Jr. def. Ricky Turcios at UFC on ESPN 57
Raul Rosas Jr. (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) proved he possesses the superior rear-naked choke game, as he outworked Ricky Turcios (12-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) on the mat.
The 19-year-old Rosas Jr. battled Turcios on the ground in their bantamweight matchup that had been months in the making, eventually securing a rear-naked choke finish in the second round.
Nominee: Cody Chovancek def. Gage Gill at Unified MMA 57
Canadian bantamweight Cody Chovancek (7-0) added to his unbeaten record and picked up a regional title with a rare submission against Gage Gill (6-1).
As the action in the championship contest hit the midway point of Round 5, Chovancek transitioned into the calf slicer. It didn’t take long for Gill to wince in an agony as he tapped out tot he uncommon submission technique.
Nominee: Westin Wilson def. Jeka Saragih at UFC on ESPN 58
Westin Wilson’s (17-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) grappling prowess was on full display against Jeka Saragih (14-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC), and it resulted in his hand being raised in a major upset within two minutes.
Saragih charged at his opponent in the opening moments of the featherweight bout , but that led to his demise. Wilson tangled him up on the mat and locked in a triangle choke, which he transitioned into a triangle-armbar combination for just the 12th finish of its kind in UFC history.
The winner
The winner: Islam Makhachev def. Dustin Poirier at UFC 302
Dustin Poirier had 25 minutes to finish the story, but Islam Makhachev wrote an alternate ending.
In an all-time thrilling battle, Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) submitted Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) with a D’Arce choke at the 2:42 mark of Round 5. The lightweight title bout was the UFC 302 main event.
Poirier immediately found himself in deep, dangerous waters early in Round 1, as Makhachev almost immediately took him down. Makhachev worked to the back but Poirier’s rear-naked choke defense was sufficient enough to survive the round.
As Round 2 progressed, Poirier found increasing success. He stuffed Makhachev’s takedown attempts, though each sequence was a lengthy struggle. Poirier found success in the pocket and in the clinch, particularly with a left elbow.
With each strike Poirier landed, Prudential Center burst into deafening cheers. Chants of “F*ck you, Islam,” also proved this was Poirier’s turf.
But Makhachev blocked out the thousands of expletives spit his way. In Round 3, he landed some hard punches on Poirier before he dragged it to the canvas once again. Poirier dug deep, raised to the feet, and shoved Makhachev off.
Upon the break, Poirier blew out a half-booger, half-blood hybrid and marched forward. Poirier landed on Makhachev, who returned. The two fighters exchanged blows until the end-of-round horn. Poirier stuck out his tongue as he walked back to the corner, his eyes swollen.
Both fighters showed wear, tear, and fatigue in the early stages of the championship rounds. An initially-slow clinch sequence against the cage burst into a Poirier body shot barrage as he punished the champion’s midsection.
As they separated, Poirier came on strong. He sliced Makhachev badly above the left eye. At the end of the round, the two fighters came forehead-to-forehead, leaving blood prints on one another.
In the final round, Makhachev engaged Poirier in a takedown attempt. He was relentless and used a single-leg takedown that tripped Poirier. Makhachev eventually worked for a guillotine choke that he switched to a D’Arce to get the tap.
Poirier remained down while doctors and commission officials tended to him. Makhachev’s team hopped the cage in celebration.
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