With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Mateusz Rebecki def. Roosevelt Roberts at UFC 295
Roosevelt Roberts (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) took a big risk fighting Mateusz Rebecki (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on five days’ notice, and it did not go well for him.
After Roberts stepped in as a replacement to fight the streaking Rebecki, and missed weight prior to the contest, it seemed he might’ve bitter off more than he could chew. It was slick work from Rebecki, who used bottom position to roll into an armbar near the cage, and Roberts was forced to yell out that he was done and have the referee step in.
A smooth finish for Mateusz Rebecki 😮💨
Stream #UFC295 NOW on ESPN+ ▶️https://t.co/2KZBNgp0yD pic.twitter.com/0tj9F3Xhix
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 12, 2023
Nominee: Patchy Mix def. Sergio Pettis via at Bellator 301
Patchy Mix (19-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) gave Sergio Pettis (23-6 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) a rude welcome back to competition after a more than yearlong layoff, and took his Bellator bantamweight title in the process.
Mix, who entered the fight as interim champion, successfully unified the belts with a stellar performance against Pettis. He got the fight to the ground early in the second round, got the back of Pettis, then Mix proceeded to trap the arm and lock in a fight-ending rear-naked choke that led to the biggest win of his career.
UNDISPUTED! 👑@TeamMixMMA has done it! Mix submits @sergiopettis to claim the bantamweight world championship in Chicago.#Bellator301 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/CQL9Axqn2x
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 18, 2023
Nominee: Joanderson Brito def. Jonathan Pearce at UFC Fight Night 232
Joanderson Brito (16-3-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) took Jonathan Pearce (14-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in a close fight with a steady back-and-forth flow. Pearce vocalized a few complaints to the referee during the action though, which prompted Brito to loudly mock him during grappling exchanges against the cage. While on top, Pearce challenged Brito to “get up and do something.”
Brito worked his way back to his feet, and slapped on a sneaky ninja choke against the fence, and Pearce couldn’t escape. The tap came at 3:43 of Round 2, recording Brito’s fourth consecutive finish. When the referee stopped the fight, Brito popped up off the canvas, took off his fight shorts, and threw his mouthpiece in celebration.
Closing out the #UFCVegas82 prelims with a BANG 🤯
Joanderson Brito gets the submission victory in round 2! pic.twitter.com/GQDz18vgCs
— UFC (@ufc) November 18, 2023
Nominee: Myktybek Orolbai def. Uros Medic at UFC Fight Night 232
Kyrgyzstan’s Myktybek Orolbai (12-1-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his first octagon appearance on four days’ notice and was overwhelming in his performance against Uros Medic (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in their welterweight bout.
The Team Alpha Male product used dominant wrestling to drain the life out of Medic for nine minutes until he took the back, locked in the neck crank submission and forced a quick tap.
Allow me to introduce myself 🗣
Myktybek Orolbai gets the submission victory in his UFC debut! #UFCVegas82 pic.twitter.com/rmces8QF0y
— UFC (@ufc) November 18, 2023
Nominee: Brendan Allen def. Paul Craig at UFC Fight Night 232
Brendan Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) faced Paul Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) in a key middleweight bout. The winner would likely move on to face one of the top names in the division, and Allen made sure he would be the one to be able to call his shot.
Allen got top position early in Round 3. This time, Craig would not get back to his feet. Allen quickly found his way to Craig’s back and locked in a deep rear-naked choke. Craig defended a number of submissions well before, but this one was too deep and he opted to tap before going unconscious.
He made that one look easy 🤷♂️@BrendanAllenMMA puts an end to this #UFCVegas82 main event with another tapout victory! pic.twitter.com/0FhfyEudVh
— UFC (@ufc) November 19, 2023
The winner
The winner: Patchy Mix
Well, well, well. What do you know? The master of the back take took his opponent’s back and finished him to claim the undisputed Bellator bantamweight championship.
After a first round in which Mix had all the control time, he went right back to it in the second round. Unlike the first when he struggled to mount any major threats, Mix closed distance on Pettis and immediately spun behind him.
Mix pushed off the cage to get the fight down to the mat and from there used clean technique to secure the finish, trapping Pettis’ right arm with his leg while working for the choke. With only one arm to defend, Pettis didn’t stand a chance and had no choice but to quit.
“I’m the best in the world,” Mix said after the win. “135, I’m the best in the world.”
Since failing to claim gold from then-champ Juan Archuleta in September 2020, Mix has won six in a row and entered Friday night as the interim champ at 135 pounds after winning the promotion’s Bellator grand prix.
