5 best UFC submissions of 2022 so far

With 2022 coming close to its halfway point, it’s well worth looking back at what has been an excellent year thus far for the UFC.

While many fans prefer to see a brutal knockout more than anything else, there’s something special about seeing a slick submission finish. This year in the UFC, we’ve seen a number of great ones.

From nasty-looking chokes to potentially bone-breaking leg and armlocks, 2022 has seen some truly astonishing tapout finishes, as well as some classics from some of the usual suspects.

Here are the five best submissions in the UFC thus far into 2022.

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#5. Said Nurmagomedov vs. Cody Stamann – UFC 270

Said Nurmagomedov's guillotine choke submission of Cody Stamann was beautiful

Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement following his win over Justin Gaethje in late 2020, the UFC seems to have been searching for a successor to the Dagestani star. One fighter who seems to have a chance at becoming said successor is Khabib’s namesake Said Nurmagomedov.

Not actually related to Khabib, Said debuted in the octagon back in 2018 and has slowly been making his way through the ranks at bantamweight. His biggest win undoubtedly came this January against Cody Stamann – and the victory came via one of the year’s best submissions to date.

Prior to the bout, only one man had ever submitted the tough Stamann before: current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling back in 2018. However, it took ‘Funk Master’ the best part of two rounds to tap out ‘The Spartan’.

Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, required just 47 seconds to take his more experienced opponent out. After landing a couple of wild spinning strikes, the Dagestani countered a takedown attempt with a beautiful guillotine variant, almost like a rear-naked choke from the front.

Stamann was forced to tap out instantly and, unsurprisingly, Nurmagomedov was rewarded with a $50,000 bonus for his efforts, as well as a lot of hype to take into his next fight, which is scheduled for July.

#4. Aleksei Oleinik vs. Jared Vanderaa – UFC 273

Aleksei Oleinik used a rare scarf hold to submit Jared Vanderaa

The only current UFC fighter to have fought in four different decades, Aleksei Oleinik was thought to be slowing down coming into 2022, as he’d suffered three straight defeats in his previous visits to the octagon. Given that he turned 44 last July, this slowdown was understandable.

However, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ turned back the clock once again in April, submitting Jared Vanderaa to basically save his UFC career. Naturally, he pulled off one of the year’s best submissions in the process.

After exchanging some early strikes with ‘The Mountain’, Oleinik actually found himself in some trouble when, after a brief scramble, Vanderaa was able to take back control and look to sink in a rear-naked choke.

However, staying as calm as ever, Oleinik managed to defend the hold and managed to scramble again, this time moving into back control himself before taking full mount and then side mount.

From there, rather than simply go for some ground-and-pound, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ locked up a rare scarf hold and squeezed the life out of his opponent, forcing him to tap.

Remarkably, the submission was just the second scarf hold in UFC history, with the first one also coming from Oleinik in his octagon debut back in 2014.

How much longer does he have left? Who knows, but based on this, he’s still more than capable of pulling off spectacular submissions.

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#3. Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov – UFC Fight Night 204

Tom Aspinall put on a star-making performance against Alexander Volkov

When the UFC visited London in March, it’s safe to say that a number of British fighters grew into major stars for the promotion, including Arnold Allen, Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett. However, the fighter who moved closest to title contention was heavyweight Tom Aspinall.

Not only did Aspinall pick up his fifth UFC win in a row, but he also pulled it off by using one of 2022’s nastiest submissions, living up to his reputation as the “English Frank Mir” in the process.

Faced with his toughest opponent to date in the form of Alexander Volkov, many fans expected Aspinall to struggle somewhat, particularly as he’d never really been tested by any of his previous opponents.

However, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Aspinall ran through ‘Drago’ in rapid fashion, finishing him off in just under four minutes after thoroughly dominating him on the ground.

The hold he used to finish him was a nasty straight armbar variant from the half-guard. Despite not being in a dominant position, Aspinall looked like he could’ve snapped Volkov’s arm had he chosen to do so.

Clearly, the sky is the limit for this prospect, and pulling off one of the best submissions of 2022 thus far is probably only the beginning of what could be a huge year for him.

#2. Claudio Puelles vs. Clay Guida – UFC Fight Night 205

Claudio Puelles used a beautiful kneebar to dispatch Clay Guida

While we’ve seen excellent examples of them in the UFC over the years, it’s probably fair to argue that leglocks have become rarer in the octagon in recent times. However, it looks like one fighter, lightweight prospect Claudio Puelles, is trying to change that.

The native of Peru came into 2022 on the back of a four-fight win streak, with two of those victories coming via kneebar, including a nasty finish of Chris Gruetzemacher in December 2021.

When he was matched with wily veteran Clay Guida in April, though, few people would’ve expected him to be able to repeat the feat. After all, ‘The Carpenter’ had not been submitted since being caught in a choke by the hugely experienced Jim Miller in 2019.

However, after taking Puelles down in the early going of their bout, it quickly became clear that Guida had bitten off more than he could chew. Seemingly channeling lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira, the Peruvian fighter began to fire off rapid submission attempts, and it took all of Guida’s veteran wiles to avoid them.

He could only last for so long, though. When Puelles spun through and locked in his trademark kneebar literally from nowhere, Guida had no choice, and was forced to tap out.

Whether ‘The Prince of Peru’ can reach the top of the lightweight division still remains to be seen. But with such a dangerous submission arsenal in his locker, it’ll definitely be fun to see him try, particularly if he can continue to pull off tapouts as good as this one.

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#1. Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje – UFC 274

Charles Oliveira's submission of Justin Gaethje cemented him as the best submission artist in the UFC

While it only came via a pretty common hold – the always-reliable rear-naked choke – it’s probably safe to say that the year’s best submission to date came from the best submission artist in the UFC right now, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

To really appreciate Oliveira’s finish of Justin Gaethje at UFC 274, the context must be understood. Not only was ‘Do Bronx’ up against perhaps the most dangerous striker in the entire division, but he was also coming into the fight in the knowledge that he’d already lost his title after failing to make the 155-pound lightweight limit.

Despite this, the Brazilian still pulled off one of the very best performances of his entire career, and after surviving a hellacious knockdown in the early going, he was able to turn the tables on ‘The Highlight’.

Oliveira put Gaethje on the ground with a right hand of his own, but rather than look to seal the deal with more strikes, he decided to capitalise by quickly taking his back instead. Gaethje simply couldn’t defend the speed and slickness of the move, and while he did defend against an armbar, once ‘Do Bronx’ sunk in a choke, the fight was over.

Given that this was only the second time Gaethje had ever been submitted in his MMA career – his first tapout defeat coming at the hands of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov – this was a huge victory for Oliveira, and it’s hard not to consider it the best submission of 2022 to date.