With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from June 2023: 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.
Nominee: Karine Silva def. Ketlen Souza at UFC on ESPN 45
THE KNEE POPPED 😱 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/J8ETOnh1T4
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 4, 2023
Nominee: Mike Malott def. Adam Fugitt at UFC 289
Ready to run through a wall for @Michael_Malott 😤 #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/Gkc07wUdLr
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
Nominee: Aspan Ladd def. Karolina Sobek at 2023 PFL 5
WIth seconds to spare… ASPEN LADD IS GOING TO THE #PFLPLAYOFFS!#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/VP1vKcJmWK— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2023
Nominee: Pat Sabatini def. Lucas Almeida at UFC on ESPN 46
A dominant showing from Pat Sabatini 💪 #UFCVegas75 pic.twitter.com/oUG9PCWgww
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 18, 2023
Nominee: Kyung Ho Kang def. Cristian Quinonez at UFC on ESPN 46
A PERFECT submission win for Mr. Perfect 💪 #UFCVegas75 pic.twitter.com/ctvguGKD1H
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 18, 2023
The winner: Karine Silva
Karine Silva spoiled the UFC debut of Ketlen Souza in perhaps more ways than one.
The women’s flyweight matchup was one that Silva (16-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) ensured ended early in a violent fashion of Souza (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
After dragging Souza to the mat with a takedown, Silva initially threatened a guillotine submission from the top. Souza regained full guard, but after posturing up and landing a couple of punches, Silva dropped down for a kneebar. She immediately cranked on the hold, resulting in Souza’s knee popping. Souza was clearly in pain and quickly tapped out.
With the win, Silva continued her finishing ways while extending her current winning streak to seven. The stretch has been an impressive one filled with early stoppages, including six first-round finishes, and one second-round victory.
Souza’s debut couldn’t have gone much worse. She earned her shot in the UFC after racking up a five-fight win streak, which included two wins under the Invicta banner.
Souza was helped out of the cage with her team, as she was unable to put her full weight on her injured leg.
