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The UFC turns 30 years old in 2023, and while most fans will remember the great knockouts we’ve seen over the years, we’ve also seen some great submission finishes too.
The period between 1993 and 2002 saw the emergence of Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a truly effective fighting style, and the UFC’s early days highlighted this. However, the period also saw other unique submissions used, often with as much ferocity as technique.
Here are the best submissions from every year of the UFC’s existence, with this list covering the period from 1993 to 2002.
#1. Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock – UFC 1 (1993)
The inaugural UFC event was, in many ways, a vehicle for the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu to demonstrate its effectiveness in a “real fight.” It definitely succeeded in its goal, as Royce Gracie easily defeated three opponents with his submissions to come out on top.
The most impressive of his three wins, however, came over Ken Shamrock in the tournament quarter-finals. Unlike Art Jimmerson and Gerard Gordeau, Shamrock at least had some experience of grappling.
That didn’t stop Gracie, though. After a scramble, he snaked his arm around Shamrock’s neck and applied a simple choke variant to force him to submit.
The submission was actually missed by the referee, but in a moment of class, Shamrock stopped fighting anyway. He would later rematch Gracie in what was the promotion's first real big rivalry.
#2. Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn – UFC 4 (1994)
Royce Gracie and his Brazilian jiu-jitsu continued to dominate the UFC’s early events, and 1994 saw him score no fewer than eight submission wins in the octagon.
The most impressive, though – and the best on offer that year – saw him use a triangle choke to submit monstrous wrestler Dan Severn, who outweighed him significantly and was physically dominant early in the fight.
Despite being pinned on his back for the majority of the bout, though, Gracie kept his cool. Eventually, Severn tired, left his neck free, and the triangle choke – eventually a common hold – made its first octagon appearance.
It was probably the best example of how to use Brazilian jiu-jitsu to neutralize and defeat a larger opponent that fans had ever seen to that point.
#3. Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn – UFC 6 (1995)
By mid-1995, Royce Gracie had departed the UFC, and it was time for a new poster-boy to take his spot at the top of the promotion. That fighter turned out to be Ken Shamrock.
‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ had famously drawn with Gracie in a marathon bout earlier in 1995, but if fans were disappointed in his showing, they couldn’t help but be impressed with his submission of Dan Severn.
Despite giving up some size and wrestling skill to ‘The Beast’, Shamrock caught him in a guillotine choke after just two minutes, forcing him to tap out and claiming the inaugural ‘Superfight’ title in the process.
Shamrock would later depart the promotion for WWE, but this victory made him the world’s top fighter for a period of time, and it stands as 1995’s best tapout.
#4. Don Frye vs. Tank Abbott – UFC Ultimate Ultimate 2 (1996)
Some of the UFC’s earliest submission finishes weren’t exactly works of art. When they didn’t involve Brazilian jiu-jitsu, they were closer to gritty bar-fight moves than technical holds.
However, the fact that Don Frye’s choke submission of Tank Abbott would be considered the former and not the latter, means it still stands as the best of 1996.
‘The Predator’ had absorbed some serious punishment from Abbott in their fight at Ultimate Ultimate 2, suffering a bad knockdown early on.
However, when Tank suffered an unfortunate slip, Frye pounced, took his back, and basically strangled his exhausted foe. It was a tremendous show of heart from ‘The Predator’, who won his second UFC tournament thanks to the win.
#5. Frank Shamrock vs. Kevin Jackson – UFC Ultimate Japan (1997)
While he was not as well known as his older, adopted brother Ken, it didn’t take Frank Shamrock long to make his mark in the octagon.
Shamrock debuted there in 1997 after a successful run in Japan, and found himself faced with Olympic wrestler Kevin Jackson in a bout to decide the promotion’s first light heavyweight champion.
Jackson unsurprisingly took Shamrock down early on – but a split second later, he was forced to tap out. ‘The Legend’ caught him in an armbar that came from nowhere.
The win kickstarted the Shamrock era in the promotion, as he went onto register four successful title defenses. This win remains one of his signature victories, and stands as the best submission of 1997.
#6. Pat Miletich vs. Chris Brennan – UFC 16 (1998)
The UFC’s inaugural welterweight champion, Pat Miletich, has become somewhat underrated today, largely because his best years came during the promotion’s ‘Dark Ages’.
However, he was a well-rounded fighter who could both knock out and submit his foes, and 1998 saw him use a unique submission to dispatch of Chris Brennan. The win made Miletich the victor in the UFC’s first ever welterweight tournament.
After gaining top position on his opponent, Miletich forced his shoulder into the neck of Brennan, forcing him to submit to what was an early form of the Von Flue choke.
It would be nearly a decade before we’d see a similar submission used in the octagon again, making this one a forgotten classic.
#7. Jeremy Horn vs. Chuck Liddell – UFC 19 (1999)
In 2005, Chuck Liddell claimed the light heavyweight title and then went about avenging his previous career losses. His first opponent in this run of vengeance was Jeremy Horn, who had submitted him in 1999 with one of the slickest holds ever seen in the octagon.
At the time, ‘The Iceman’ was a renowned kickboxer and wrestler, but he lacked in the grappling department. That gave the more experienced Horn an advantage, and when the fight hit the ground late in the marathon 12-minute opening round, he locked in an arm triangle from underneath.
The hold was picture-perfect, and although the referee didn’t initially notice, Liddell quickly passed out. When the buzzer sounded, it finally became clear that ‘The Iceman’ was asleep, and Horn had scored an all-time classic submission.
#8. Tito Ortiz vs. Yuki Kondo – UFC 29 (2000)
Legendary former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was never really known for his submission game, despite having what many fans claimed were underrated skills there.
However, he did show off those skills in his 2000 title defense against Yuki Kondo, although how technical his tapout of the Japanese fighter was is up for debate.
After recovering from a knockdown and securing top position, ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ locked on a violent neck crank. It looked like he would twist Kondo’s head off entirely before he tapped out.
It was one of the more brutal submissions ever seen in the octagon to that point, and should be considered the best of 2000 purely due to its unique and violent nature.
#9. Carlos Newton vs. Pat Miletich – UFC 31 (2001)
Arguably one of the more underrated fighters of his generation, Carlos Newton was a slick grappler whose reign with the welterweight title has largely been forgotten.
However, the way in which he took it from longtime champion Pat Miletich was definitely memorable, and stands as the best submission win of 2001.
Capable of slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu based submission holds like armbars and leglocks, ‘The Ronin’ instead caught Miletich coming out of a scramble in a schoolyard headlock. The hold was so tight that it looked like Newton would squeeze Miletich’s head off.
Sure enough, he tapped out seconds later.
Newton’s reign only lasted a matter of months before he was dethroned by Miletich protégé Matt Hughes, but this still stands as one of the nastiest submissions in octagon history.
#10. Murilo Bustamante vs. Matt Lindland – UFC 37 (2002)
On the face of it, Murilo Bustamante’s middleweight title defense over Matt Lindland was a run-of-the-mill win with a simple guillotine choke. However, the fact that the Brazilian tapped out ‘The Law’ twice in the same fight makes it stand out as 2002’s best submission.
Bustamante first caught the Olympic silver medallist in an armbar in the first round. While Lindland clearly tapped, a refereeing gaffe from John McCarthy meant that despite him stepping in, the fight wasn’t actually stopped.
Many fighters would’ve crumbled after seeing a win snatched away from them in this manner. Instead, Bustamante stayed calm and ended up dropping Lindland in the third round before choking him out.
It was a massive win for the Brazilian, and while it ended up being his final bout in the octagon, it remains one of the most memorable submissions in octagon history.
