All Time Top 20 UFC Submissions

Check out this pretty cool video of the top 20 greatest submissions of all time in the UFC!

There were so many awesome ones that didn’t make the list, but most of the 20 that were selected were historic moments in UFC history. My 3 favorite submissions from the list would have to be #14 Bustamante vs Lindland, #5 Penn vs Hughes, and #3 Royce vs Shamrock.

#14: Murilo Bustamante was one of the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners to fight in the early UFC’s. He had solid boxing and wrestling to go along with his dangerous jiu jitsu. Bustamante is a former UFC middleweight champion who also had a solid MMA career outside of the UFC fighting for Pride in Japan. Bustamante submitted Olympic silver medalist wrestler Matt Lindland who at the time was one of the most dominating fighters in the UFC. Bustamante is one of my favorite fighters of all time and is a legend of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.

#5: BJ Penn stepped up to face the man who at the time was the most dominant welterweight champion in the history of the UFC, Matt Hughes. Penn moved up from the lightweight division to fight one of the strongest and technical athletes in the welterweight division, few gave Penn any chance. BJ was able to make his way to Hughes’ back and finish the rear naked choke, shocking everyone and becoming the UFC’s welterweight champion. Penn and Hughes had 3 fights against one another, with Hughes winning the rematch and Penn taking the rubber match.

#3: Royce Gracie shocked the world in the very first UFC held in Denver, CO, and introduced the world to the martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While only a skinny 175 pounds, Royce was one of the smallest fighters in the event, which was an open weight class, allowing fighters of all sizes to battle one another. Royce submitted fellow MMA legend Ken Shamrock with a choke from the back, proving the technique beats size and strength (though Shamrock was a skilled grappler for the time). The perception of martial arts fighting was changed forever after the event in 1993.

Enjoy the video…