With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from March 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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Nominees
Nominee: Jaqueline Amorim def. Cory McKenna at UFC Fight Night 239
IBJJF champion Jaqueline Amorim (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up another submission when she armbarred Cory McKenna (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) the strawweight bout for the fourth-fastest submission in divisional history.
Despite the fight’s brevity, Amorim locked in a deep submission twice in the same sequence. Prior to the official stoppage, Mike Beltran initially yelled “Stop” as McKenna made a verbal noise in an armbar attempt — but then changed his mind and told the fighters to continue. Amorim adjusted, rolled and got a deeper torque — and the tap.
Nominee: Gerald Meerschaert def. Bryan Barberena at UFC Fight Night 239
Gerald Meerschaert (36-17 MMA, 11-9 UFC) tied one of the longest standing records in the UFC when he choked Bryan Barberena (18-12 MMA, 9-10 UFC) unconscious in their middleweight bout.
Meerschaert notched his 11th finish in 185-pond competition and matched Anderson Silva’s all-time divisional finishes record. After putting a grappling pace on Barberena, he locked in a rear-naked choke/neck crank that put the lights out in the final minute of the final round.
Nominee: Julian Erosa def. Ricardo Ramos at UFC on ESPN 53
Ricardo Ramos (16-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) started strong against Julian Erosa (28-11 MMA, 7-7 UFC) in their featherweight matchup, but his aggression ultimately led to his demise.
Erosa latched ahold of Ramos’ neck off a sloppy early takedown attempt and secured a guillotine choke. He refused to let go, and Ramos had no choice but to tap less than two minutes after the fight began.
Nominee: Youssef Zalal def. Billy Quarantillo at UFC on ESPN 53
Youssef Zalal (14-5-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) promised a better version of himself for his second stint under the UFC banner, and things got off to a promising start when he submitted Billy Quarantillo (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) to end their featherweight bout.
Zalal saw his first run with the company end in August 2022 on a four-fight winless skid. He worked his way back, then thrived with the new opportunity when he threatened Quarantillo repeatedly with submissions until he finally locked in a rear-naked choke that got the tap in the second round.
The winner
The winner: Mitchell Goode def. Angus Hewett at Cage Warriors 169
Mitchell Goode etched his name in the record books when he locked in the first buggy choke finish in Cage Warriors history.
Goode (1-0) was making his professional debut in a middleweight bout with Angus Hewett (1-3), and after going nearly three full rounds, capped things off in an unforgettable fashion.
While the pair were tangled up on the ground, Goode inverted his legs and wrapped up Hewett in an ultra-rare buggy choke. Hewett attempted to fend it off, but he was trapped and forced to tap out with just 36 seconds remaining in the fight.
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