Top 10 UFC Submissions Of 2025

While these celebrated mat magicians were playing chess inside the Octagon, their unfortunate foes were playing checkers, resulting in my picks for the top 10 submissions of the past year:

10: No Place Like Home

The mixed martial arts community feared the worst when beloved Brazilian legend Charles Oliveira returned to the Octagon to headline UFC Rio against Mateusz Gamrot in October, just four months after his brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in their vacant lightweight title fight. However, “Do Bronx” bounced back with a rear-naked choke finish and rushed into the crowd to celebrate.

9: Sweet Revenge

Mackenzie Dern, who features prominently on my top five UFC Female Fighters of 2025 list, displayed the skills that made her a multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and avenged her 2019 loss to Amanda Ribas by winning their main event rematch in January by armbar.

8: Spider’s Web

Jalin “The Tarantula” Turner failed to realise that it was he who was trapped in the spider’s web with Ignacio Bahamondes, not the other way around, as the Chilean sent him into a brief retirement with a triangle choke at UFC 313 in March.

TURNER TAPS 😱 #UFC313

Ignacio Bahamondes gets the first round triangle choke! pic.twitter.com/ag4wXMiaZz

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) March 9, 2025

7: Rocky Relents

WWE legend John Cena tapped out to loathed heel Gunther in his final pro wrestling match in December. Nine months earlier, Leon “Rocky” Edwards endured the real deal when the former welterweight champion was dominated and forced to give up by Sean Brady on home soil at UFC London.

6: Nasty Foot Fetish

Valter Walker produced the wildest winning streak of 2025 as the Brazilian heavyweight submitted Don’Tale Mayes, Kennedy Nzechukwu, and Louie Sutherland via heel hook. Add his 2024 win over Justin Tafa that started the streak and it’s highly improbable that this body of work will ever be repeated. Thus, “The Clean Monster” had to have a place on my list.

5: Soul Snatcher

The indefatigable Anthony Hernandez made Roman Dolidze’s life a living hell in their UFC Vegas 109 headlining clash in August, putting it on the Georgian at a relentless pace before putting him out of his misery with the nastiest rear-naked choke of 2025. “Fluffy” didn’t just snatch Dolidze’s neck; he snatched his soul.

4: Kayla’s Crowning Moment

Kayla Harrison fulfilled her destiny of becoming UFC champion and added to her legacy as one of the greatest female combat sports athletes of all time when she cranked on a Kimora at UFC 316 in June to seize the bantamweight belt from Juliana Pena.

KAYLA HARRISON SUBMITS JULIANNA PENA IN THE SECOND ROUND! AND NEW! 🏆

A nasty transition to a Kimura! #UFC316 #ufc #mma #prelims #espn #ko #trending #fyp #andnew #kaylaharrison #submission #champ #judo #trending #fyp pic.twitter.com/fRnrHuPzsp

— BMF TALK (@BMFTALK) June 8, 2025

3: DOA

Unbeknownst to Renato Moicano, who was on a four-fight win streak when he accepted an opportunity of a lifetime to fight for the lightweight title as a late replacement for Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 in January, he was dead on arrival at the Intuit Dome in Las Vegas as dominant champion Islam Makhachev tapped him with his trademark D’Arce choke in the first round.

Islam Makhachev submits Renato Moicano in the first round!

AND STILL UNDISPUTED!! #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/6EnSQEllPs

— Ahmad Shah Mohibi (@WarGuy_) January 19, 2025

2: Hatred In Action

In one of the most heated fights of the year at UFC 314 in April, Jean Silva synched in a beautiful ninja choke to put rival Bryce Mitchell to sleep and secure his fifth straight stoppage victory.

1: Terminated

After claims that Sean O’Malley wasn’t 100% going into his bantamweight title loss to Merab Dvalishvili by decision at UFC 306, “The Machine” – a central figure on my 2025 Top Five Male Fighters of the Year list – left no doubt that he’s the superior fighter by forcing “Suga” to submit in the sequel in July.

All Merab Dvalishvili UFC finishes 🧵

01. The Sean O'Malley submission 🥋pic.twitter.com/EGaCdDbte8

— MMA On Point (@mmaonpoint) June 8, 2025