With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from January 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Garry Tonon def. Johnny Nunez at ONE Fight Night 6
Black belt grappler Garry Tonon (7-1) made quick work of opponent Johnny Nunez (7-3), needing less than two minutes to finish the lightweight bout.
After a few intense opening exchanges, Tonon closed the distance and engaged in the clinch with Nunez and was jockeying for position against the cage. Tonon found his way to a kimura to counter a body lock by Nunez. Tonon rolled over the top with the hold, ending in an awkward back position. However, Tonon kept with the kimura and was able to crank enough to force a tap.
Garry Tonon 🇺🇸 snares Johnny Nunez in a SLICK kimura for the first-round submission win! 🥋 @Garry_Tonon#ONEFightNight6
🔴 Watch Live ⬇️
🇺🇸🇨🇦 👉 https://t.co/01DVujn7j1
🌍 👉 https://t.co/t1l2TKOXEP pic.twitter.com/SLZNH98PaR— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 14, 2023
Nominee: Allan Nascimento def. Carlos Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 217
Allan Nascimento (20-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) showed off his grappling skills against Carlos Hernandez (8-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) – all with the UFC’s all-time submission wins leader Charles Oliveira in his corner.
The Chute Box product Nascimento proved to be too much for opponent to handle when they locked up early in the flyweight bout. He got the fight to the ground and took the back, then as Hernandez tried to escape to his feet, the standing rear-naked choke locked in deep and he was forced to tap.
Had it LOCKED 🔒😳 #UFCVegas67 pic.twitter.com/NYJVXtup8u
— UFC (@ufc) January 14, 2023
Nominee: Gabriel Bonfim def. Mounir Lazzez at UFC 283
Gabriel Bonfim (14-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) lived up to his half the brotherly duo in Rio de Janeiro when he followed his older brother Ismael’s knockout win with a swift and stellar submission.
Bonfim became the first to submit Mounir Lazzez (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in MMA competition when he ended the welterweight bout in just 40 seconds by latching onto a guillotine choke and not letting go until the referee pulled him off.
Gabriel Bonfim follows up his brothers' epic performance with an incredible performance of his own 🤝 #UFC283 pic.twitter.com/kRLAtXcXZn
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 22, 2023
Nominee: Abdoul Abdouraguimov def. Rafal Haratyk at Ares FC 11
Things looked grim for “The Lazy King” Abdoul Abdouraguimov (16-1) as the clock ticked down to less than one minute remaining in his title challenge at middleweight.
For the majority of five rounds, Abdouraguimov, typically a welterweight, struggled with the strength of the much larger Rafal Haratyk (16-5-1) – until an absolutely stunning kneebar attempt from the bottom ended the bout at with 25 seconds remaining in the final round.
La folle victoire d'Abdoul dans les dernières secondes 😍
Nouveau double-champion ARES des poids moyens et des poids mi-moyens 🔥#ARES11 | #MMA pic.twitter.com/CzxDWZydtd
— CANAL+ Sport (@CanalplusSport) January 20, 2023
Nominee: Gilbert Burns def. Neil Magny at UFC 283
It took Gilbert Burns (21-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) nine months to find a fight, and when he did it took him less than one round to dispatch of Neil Magny (27-10 MMA, 20-9 UFC) in their welterweight bout.
After a brief feeling-out process, Burns got hold of Magny and the beginning of the end commenced. Burns elevated and dropped Magny to the canvas. Slowly but surely, Burns moved into mount. Once there, Burns quickly grabbed hold of Magny’s neck and shifted to the side for the arm-triangle choke to secure the tap.
The winner
The winner:
Bonfim made it an epic night for his family when he joined his brother Ismael in the UFC 283 winner’s circle courtesy of a quick submission win.
After his older brother delivered MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for January earlier in the night at Jeunesse Arena, Bonfim put on a performance of his own against Lazzez in their welterweight bout.
Bonfim jumped on a guillotine choke against his oncoming opponent and forced Lazzez to tap out just 49 seconds after the bout began, keeping his undefeated record intact
With the win, Bonfim was riding high after making an impression in his debut. He said this is just a sliver of what’s to come from his family name, and predicts he and his brother will both eventually hold UFC gold.
“The Bonfim brothers are here to become champions,” Bonfim said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “One at lightweight. One at welterweight. We’re here to make history.”
