There were a whole lot of slick submissions pulled off in 2022, making our Submission of the Year award a tough one to call. Given that our staff votes for the awards from a pool of every possible fight throughout 2022 (we don’t narrow down or restrict the options), it’s almost a surprise that this category didn’t wind up a tie. There were a whole lot of honorable mentions, mind you, but one submission in particular takes home the award.
Jay Anderson: There were a lot of solid contenders for this one. Cluadio Puelles locked up a kneebar on Clay Guida that was in the running. Championship fights gave up big moments like Prochazka submitting Teixeira, and Oliveira submitting Gaethje. But I like seeing things that are just plain different. Oliver Enkamp hit a buggy choke this year, but I’m giving it to “The Boa Constrictor” himself for a neck crank from a scarf hold against Jared Vanderaa.
Gabriel Gonzalez: Jessica Andrade Standing Arm-Triangle vs Amanda Lemos. This one is even better in context as Andrade caught Lemos with this difficult submission half-way through the year. When considering that Lemos is now on the short list to fight for the title herself after bouncing back against with two stoppage victories of her own, the fact that Andrade made it look so easy gives it that wow factor.
Eddie Law: Sometimes we get match-ups where one man is clearly better than the other one one aspect of MMA and Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira put one of the best all around strikers against one of the most experienced and talented grapplers at 205 pounds.
After nearly five rounds of back-and-forth battle, most on the ground with Glover dictating the pace, Jiri was able to reverse the position, end up on top of Glover and sink in an RNC for the title.
Alex Behunin: Luca Poclit vs. Dante Schiro. I’m going to keep this very short. Just go watch this submission on YouTube, it is like seeing a unicorn in the wild.
Jamie Theodosi: Erin Blanchfield over Molly McCann. Again, situation aside because of course Jiri’s sub win over Glover was the higher stake situation. This was the fight and performance that has shown a lot of fans that Erin Blanchfield is the real deal, and most probably a future champion. McCann came in with a lot of hype and therefore there were a lot of eyes on the fight, and despite being so young and inexperienced at the very highest level, Blanchfield put on an absolute clinic, finished off with a beautiful Kimura.
Val Dewar: Luca Poclit Luca-nator Choke vs Dante Schiro. Since it was on the prelims of Bellator 285, Luca Poclit’s inventive submission of Dante Schiro flew under the radar, but even in a year where finishes were had by standing arm triangle, buggy choke, and inverted triangle choke, just to name a few, Poclit’s stood out. The choke, dubbed a “Lucanator” choke by the broadcast team as a derivative of Poclit’s first name, had never before been seen, earning it my top ranking.
Michael Lynch: Nate Diaz over Tony Ferguson. Biased pick — Diaz is my favorite fighter. Had to take one of his brighter moments of 2022 as Sub of the Year.
End result: Luca Poclit takes our Submission of the Year award for 2022. It’s a pretty good sign that your submission is something special when it’s actually named for you. Poclit put away Dante Schiro at Bellator 285 in September with what wound up being called the “Lucanator” choke. It dazzled fight fans and baffled even BJJ aficionados, who weren’t sure what to call it. Well, Lucanator it is.
