5 best UFC submissions of 2022 so far

#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.