Our 2024 Submission of the Year award came down to a two-horse race, one that highlighted effort and outcome as much as sheer technical skill. So, no buggy chokes (sorry to Cage Warrior’s Mitchell Goode) or inverted anything. Stevie Ray even landed a “Scottish” Twister under the PFL banner, and didn’t make the cut. Here’s who did.
Submission of the Year 2024
Eddie Law: Khamzat Chimaev subs Robert Whittaker. Lots of good options in the category, but it’s hard to look past Chimaev breaking all kinds of teeth and busting the jaw of former UFC middleweight champ Whittaker. More importantly reminding everyone why you’d be wise to think twice before accepting a bout against “Borz.”
Jay Anderson: Khamzat Chimaev’s jaw-crushing submission of Robert Whittaker. “Borz” somehow made himself even scarier with his face-crank on the former middleweight champ.
Gabriel Gonzalez: Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier. The entire fight was just sublime with a superb effort from a grizzled veteran in Poirier and a brilliant performance by a dominant force in Makhachev. But Makhachev demonstrated why he is the man of the moment, besting the challenge of Poirier on the feet and on the ground and finishing the fight off with a vicious submission to stop a fighter known for having no quit in him with a brutal d’arce.
Bryson Hester: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker. Pretty easy pick for sub of the year as Khamzat Chimaev surprised literally everyone with just how easily he put Robert Whittaker away. The choke/face crank was nasty, the damage said submission did to Whittaker’s jaw was even more graphic. What a finish, what a statement by Chimaev.
Patrick McCorry: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier. The ankle pick, into the d’arce choke, just beautiful.
Cade Morehouse: Submission of the year is Islam Makhachev over Dustin Poirier. The magnitude of that fight was huge and for Dustin to go out on his shield and give Islam that kind of a fight was crazy. Not only did Islam have to go through adversity but he found a way to prove why he is the champion and finished the fight to add yet another great name to his resume.
Brett Cagle: Dricus Du Plessis Submits Israel Adesanya via Face Crank. Although this wasn’t the most technical or crazy submission we saw in 2024 it may have been the most impactful. South African champion Dricus Du Plessis captured gold with a highly disputed decision win over Sean Strickland. Submitting an all-time great like Israel Adesanya solidified his status as a legitimate champion in the eyes of many.
Mathis Desjardins: Islam Makhachev def. Dustin Poirier [UFC 302]. The context around this fight is what makes this my submission of the year. It was widely regarded as Poirier’s last chance at an undisputed title, and he came in as a massive underdog. This fight was expected to look like the first round did, but Poirier forced Makhachev to go deep into his bag of tricks to pull off that D’arce choke in the fifth round.
End Result: Khamzat Chimaev received three votes, but Islam Makhachev just edged him with one more. Lightweight champ Makhachev gets our 2024 Submission of the Year award as a result!
