With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from October 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for October.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Victor Hugo def. Eduardo Torres Caut at DWCS 65
Victor Hugo (24-4) is no stranger to winning by submission, but his latest limb manipulation wa his ticket to the UFC.
In the second round of his Dana White’s Contender Series bout, Hugo snatched up Eduardo Torres Caut’s (16-2) right leg and immediately put the limb in danger. After securing the kneebar position, all Hugo needed to do was crank on it. When he did, the tap quickly came to prevent serious damage that could have soon followed.
Kneebar submission for Victor Hugo 😳 #DWCS pic.twitter.com/pfqzuMtkej
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 4, 2023
Nominee: Joe Pyfer def. Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Fight Night 229
Joe Pyfer (12-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) continued the impressive start to his octagon career on Saturday when he submitted Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC).
After speaking extremely confidently about his chances of winning prior to the fight, Pyfer went into the cage and delivered. He went back-and-forth with Alhassan over the first round, then in the second frame got the fight to the ground and put his opponent out cold with an arm-triangle choke.
JOE PYFER PUT HIM TO SLEEP 😴 #UFCVegas80 pic.twitter.com/Fcu3wQAgsB
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 8, 2023
Nominee: Jena Bishop def. Ilara Joanne at Bellator 300
Jena Bishop (6-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) picked up the biggest win of her undefeated career so far, and did it in the perfect spot Ilara Joanne (11-8 MMA, 3-4 BMMA).
Bishop submitted Joanne, from Brazil, with a first-round armbar. With nearly 20 pro fights on her resume, Joanne nearly has as much experience as Joanne’s first five opponents combined, but it didn’t matter as the fight ended swiftly.
The @PechangaArenaSD erupts for Bishop! 👏
Jena Bishop submits @IlaraJoanne in the very first round. #Bellator300 @MonsterEnergy Prelims fueled by @Cardenas_Market ▶️ https://t.co/NxwCKFPRok pic.twitter.com/OrcuLkHQbT
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 7, 2023
Nominee: Said Nurmagomedov def. Muin Gafurov via guillotine choke at UFC 294
Said Nurmagomedov (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) shared the octagon with Muin Gafurov (18-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in Abu Dhabi, but the bantamweights didn’t spend much time in the cage together though
Starting things off working on the outside with quick kicks to the legs and head, Nurmagomedov kept Gafurov’s defense on high alert early. The first takedown attempt would be the last, as Nurmagomedov slapped on a slick guillotine choke that Gafurov couldn’t escape, and he was forced to tap out just 73 second after the contest began.
SAID NURMAGOMEDOV IN JUST OVER A MINUTE 🤯
Guillotine gets the tap to open the #UFC294 main card! pic.twitter.com/rdtAxNpOd6
— UFC (@ufc) October 21, 2023
The winner
The winner: Muhammad Mokaev def. Tim Elliott at UFC 294
Muhammad Mokaev beat his first ranked opponent at UFC 294, and did so in impressive fashion.
Mokaev (10-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) fended off Tim Elliott’s (19-13-1 MMA, 8-11 UFC) ground game to score an arm-triangle choke submission of the former title challenger at the 3:03 mark of Round 3.
MOKAEV REMAINS UNDEFEATED WITH A STATEMENT WIN 😤#UFC294 IS LIVE NOW ON @ESPNPLUS 🍿 pic.twitter.com/WdCFZnNZfD
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 21, 2023
Moments before Mokaev notched the finish, Elliott was warned for a second time for kicking a downed Mokaev, but Elliott protested. Referee Jason Herzog resumed their position against the cage, but Mokaev managed to reverse position and flip Elliott to his back. He then transitioned to an arm triangle choke, forcing Elliott to tap.
Mokaev has now finished four of his five UFC wins. He called out Kai Kara-France, Amir Albazi and Manel Kape in his post-fight octagon interview.
