UFC 140: Frank Mir submits Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with a kimura. Via Esther Lin, MMA Fighting.
2011 may be one of the biggest years in MMA history. From the Strikeforce purchase to the UFC's deal with Fox, there were some incredible moments inside and outside of the cage. The Bloody Elbow Staff will be discussing the best moments of 2011 and posting the full conversations in the upcoming days. To kick things off, the staff discussed what was the best submission of 2011 and the overwhelming favorite was Frank Mir's kimura on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140. It was just so unexpected that many of us got caught up in the significance. The other popular choice was Chan Sung Jung's twister over Leonard Garcia. Just the fact that it's a low probability submission made it a clear contender. The fact that we'll likely never see it again kept it in the conversation.
Tim Burke: Chan Sung Jung's twister submission of Leonard Garcia. Case closed.
Josh Nason: Love that one, but want to nominate Tito Ortiz' guillotine win over Ryan Bader and Michael Chandler's rnc sub of Eddie Alvarez, the former for sentimental reasons and the latter because it was a big upset to close a great fight.
KJ Gould: Jon Jones' front chancery choke / prayer choke left a lasting impression, with the way Machida dropped after John McCarthy stopped the fight. No one had ever submitted Machida before, and Shogun remains the only one to knock him out cold.
Brent Brookhouse: I'm going to go with Mir's armbreaker over Nogueira. Nogueira had him practically KO'ed, then went for the choke, Mir survives the submission by a heavyweight MMA submissionlegend and gets his own kimura on and breaks the arm in half? That's submission of the year stuff for me.
Fraser Coffeen: Hate to repeat, but Brent has this. Many, myself included, assumed Mir vs. Nog II would be another standing battle, but instead we got the quick ground war between two Heavyweight Jiu Jitsu greats that we had hoped for - and then Mir snapped Nog's arm like a twig. Nasty? You bet. But clearly the sub of the year.
Ben Thapa: I was a big fan of Joe Lauzon's trimura and Pat Curran's Peruvian Necktie. Oh and lets not forget Vinny getting the gogoplata from mount in M-1.
Dallas Winston: The Korean Zombie's Twister was a lock for this spot until Nog x Mir. One of our last discussions was how "significance" played into annual awards, and that's what launches this one out of the ballpark.
Mir and Nog are traditionally considered the most proven heavyweight submissionists of all time but they were isolated in different organizations for most of their careers. They're both old schoolers who are still pushing at the top level and the way this fight unfolded was downright historic.
David Castillo: All great choices, and while Nog/Mir should be the winner, I think Pablo Garza's flying triangle on Yves Jabouin is worth highlighting. Flying submissions of any kind are so rare, and so awesome. If we're talking submissions on the whole, however, my personal favorite was Vinny Magalhaes' banana split on Daniel Gracie at the Ultimate Absolute.
Matt Roth: I'm going with Mir/Nog as well. I think with everything you have to include significance and being the first man to submit nog really makes it the best of the year. Just watching the whole sequence and arm break. Jeez, I can't think of another submission that caused so many different emotions at once.
0 recs | 55 comments
I'll go with the Zombie
Jung’s win was one of the most joyous subs I’ve witnessed. Completely unknown, and only Rogan knew what was going on, yet he was able to convey it to us quickly enough and then we saw Jung get his revenge over the stupid judges and it was awesome and i kind of want to keep babbling about it.
Cory Braiterman - January 10, 2012
Twister.
To introduce a new submission to the UFC, this late in the game, especially at 4:59, on a fight like that? Gotta.
mma.ly - January 10, 2012
Twister.
That is all.
Earl Montclair - January 10, 2012 via iPhone app
Twister
Now if Mir had gotten up and flipped off Nog while he lay on the ground in torment, I might have voted for Mir.
Ulf Murphy - January 10, 2012
Classy as always Ulf
Chris Hall - January 10, 2012 via Android app
As awesome as the twister was… submitting a legend like Big Nog is a vastly more impressive feat to me than pretty much anything anyone could ever do to a low-to-mid-level brawler like Garcia.
Stanlee - January 10, 2012
Good point.
Just like V. Magalhães who got a great gogoplata submission win last year but it was against a Russian guy no-one knows. That makes it less impressive to me.
Haywire - January 10, 2012
I am a huge Nog fan and despise Mir, but that has to be sub of the year. Nog had never been submitted, Mir did it in come back fashion and snapped his arm. Case closed.
keyboardwarrior - January 10, 2012
I think the fact that Nog didn't tap makes it even more impressive
You know there was a moment where Mir realized Nog wasn’t going to tap and that he was going to have to break it. That has to be a crazy realization to come to.
Damnatio Memoriae - January 10, 2012
Yeah, I was thinking about that reading Chandler’s sub of Alvarez being mentioned in the discussion… by the time that submission rolled around Alvarez had pretty much given up and was looking for a reason to tap. Not to take anything away from Chandler’s performance, but the submission was really just Alvarez deciding he’d had enough.
Stanlee - January 10, 2012
nog did tap after the arm broke
Bonedoctor - January 10, 2012
Really? I’ll be honest, I watched that reply 40-50 times and haven’t been able to pull my eyes away from the mangled mess that had been his right arm to see what his left hand was doing.
Stanlee - January 10, 2012
My vote would go to the Korean Zombie
I remember hitting that move ONCE in a high school wrestling match, and my coach was ridiculously excited.
Also, insert a reader poll!
bcpjkell - January 10, 2012
Most Technically Impressive: I’m a blue belt (aka I shouldn’t be the judge for that)
Most Gruesome: Tie – Jones/Machida and Ortiz/Nog
Most Emotional: Ortiz/Bader
Greatest Instantiation of Cosmic Justice: Jung/Garcia
NB Instantiation is not a word recognized by my spell check.
Rundownloser - January 10, 2012
Ugh, I meant Mir/Nog.
Rundownloser - January 10, 2012
I’m not saying it should be placed above Mir/Nog, since I’m honestly not sure which one deserves the top spot. But one thing that isn’t mentioned is that the KZ twister happened at 4:59 of the round. That definitely earns it some cool points, similar to Curran’s Peruvian necktie over, well, a Peruvian.
Jeffigatame - January 10, 2012
its just a shame
crocop barry was in ’10.
gspmademegay - January 10, 2012
Nice to see a mention for Garza
That flying triangle was fucking wicked. So was the Twister. But yes, based on pure gravity, Mir’s probably gotta run away with this one. Had Jung done the same to, say, Chad Mendes— this would be his crown.
Charles Awad - January 10, 2012
I have two impressive subs from Bones
Ben Saunders Americana over Luis Santos (10/08/11) *flying triangle vs. Joubim (04/30/11)*- Joe Lauzon RNC of Guillard (10/08/11) *
-Jon Jones RNC of Rampage (09/24/11) – ‘page’s first sub since Saku
-Nate Diaz – arm triangle of Gomi (09/24/11)*
-Shelemenko – standing guillotine vs. Galesic (09/17/11)*
-Josh Barnett – Side choke vs. Kharitonov (09/10/11)*
-Pat Healy – Rear naked choke vs. Maximo Blanco (9/10/11)
-Jung ("Koran Zombie") – Twister vs. Garcia (03/26/2011)*
-Hale – inverted triangle choke vs. Fekete (03/26/2011)**
-Garza
- Tito Ortiz – Guilotine of Bader (07/02/11)
- Tito Ortiz – Guilotine of Bader (07/02/11)*
- Meisha Tate – Arm-triangle of Coenen (07/02/11)*
- Chris Lylte – Guillotine choike of Hardy (08/15/11)*
- Urijah Faber – Guillotine choke of Brown (11/19/11)
- Frank Mir – Kimura over Big Nog – (12/8/11) **
- Diego Brandao – armbar over Dennis Bermudez *
- Jon Jones standing guillotine win over Machda (12/10/11)****
Garza’s flying triangle over Joubim is my favorite from a finesse standpoint.
jackbox - January 10, 2012
I don't know why the strikethroughs happened...
jackbox - January 10, 2012
Any time you put a minus sign on both sides of something, it creates a strikethrough
Like so.It’s kind of like how you can make something bold by putting asterisks on either side of it. Like so. Or “at” symbols for the sarcasm font.Like so.Damnatio Memoriae - January 10, 2012
sweet
I’ve been wondering that for a while
rocket8188 - January 10, 2012
so that's how it's doneit’s the machida eraJaeeJaee - January 11, 2012
i think you forgot that one
in the jack in the box parking lot that one time.
gspmademegay - January 10, 2012
Nate beat Gomi by armbar.
Ben Thapa - January 10, 2012
The twister, hands down and 100%.
Patrick Tenney - January 10, 2012
Poll added. Go vote.
Tim Burke - January 10, 2012
Hard to lock down just one as the best, IMO; for me, top to bottom...
Vinny’s mounted gogoplata
Mir’s kimura
Jung’s twister
Curran’s peruvian necktie
Jones’ prayer choke
SteveevaD - January 10, 2012
Jones choking Machida was incredible
Especially after Machida went out and he dropped. It was the total package as far as subs go.
menckenstein - January 10, 2012
Hale vs Fekete deserves at least an honorable mention.
But who would’ve thought Big Nog could go out like that?
some schmuck in texas - January 10, 2012
If Mir had fought exact same fight with literally anybody else, KZ would take this
But recovering from being rocked, surviving a submission from the man long heralded as the greatest submission artist in the HW division, reversing position, locking in your own submission, and then breaking the bone? It has to be Mir.
Shaun32887 - January 10, 2012
Richard Hale gets no love.
sklart - January 10, 2012
I thought that was in 2010 for some reason, was that '11?
Because an inverted triangle choke at LHW is pretty damn awesome as well.
SteveevaD - January 10, 2012
same night as the Twister
It was almost foreshadowing of the Rua/Henderson and Chandler/Alvarez situation.
some schmuck in texas - January 10, 2012
Unfortunately, I’m guilty as charged since that slipped my mind as well. That night was crazy for Bellator. The underdogs in that tournament went 4-0. That’s just absurd.
Jeffigatame - January 10, 2012
i'm sure we can all agree it was a sick year for submissions
Clifford J - January 10, 2012
The Twister was a "WOW, that was cool!" moment. But Mir's arm break of Nog was a "OMFG!" moment.
The OMFG moment wins the internet, any day of the week, including Sundays.
pud333 - January 10, 2012
I almost prolapsed when Mir subbed Nog. I honestly thought big he would retire with no submission loss on his record.
spectaa - January 10, 2012
I’m glad you didn’t prolapse, you might have had to consider retiring from MMA watching. That’s nasty.
tigerlee - January 10, 2012
To the death!
spectaa - January 10, 2012
Peruvian necktie on a Peruvian is just showing off
so I voted for the Mir/Nog kimura
tigerlee - January 10, 2012
Definitely Mir/Nog.
DirtyML - January 10, 2012
twister
nog/mir a close 2nd
Bonedoctor - January 10, 2012
The twister was the best move. But damn it was gnarley to see Big Nog get his arm broke. Also you don’t see Kimuras that often in upper level MMA. Gotta vote for the Zombie but I hope its a tie.
rocket8188 - January 10, 2012
Three way tie.
Mir snaps Big Nog’s arm
Jones silences any critics when he slays The Dragon with a Marcelo-tine.
Vinny stylin’ on the Current combat sambo world champ.
the-gentle-way - January 10, 2012 via mobile
Who cares about a 3 way tie for 2nd
When twister is obviously the first place winner
sitnam90 - January 10, 2012 via mobile
PAUL HARRIS????
and i do mean toquinho
Tatsu Maki Sen Puu Kyaku - January 10, 2012
kinda surprised that any number of Rousey 30 second armbars didnt get a mention
that said, these are all great.
This post needs links to video of subs.
Sean in Vancouver - January 10, 2012
The Peoples Champ needs more love.
AusEagle - January 10, 2012
Funniest thing about this
was that even Tito was surprised he won.
av1o3 - January 10, 2012
I don’t know, I don’t even think it deserves to be up there. Pretty much the only thing it has going for it is the fact that Tito was such a huge underdog. Other than that, it was a standard submission over someone who isn’t really a submission specialist. And it came after Bader had been rocked, so it’s not like the submission itself got Tito the win.
It doesn’t hold a candle to either the KZ submission (super rare…only 2nd time I can personally remember it being used, feel good story of avenging the BS decision, tap at 4:59 of the round) or Mir’s (incredibly violent, happened after Mir had almost been finished due to strikes, against the fighter who has arguably had the most successful implementation of jiu-jitsu in the heavyweight division).
Don’t worry, Tito will get his moment in the sun when Upset of the Year rolls around.
Jeffigatame - January 10, 2012
I'm not a Mir fan
but breaking the arm of a legend after almost being ko’d makes it an easy decision
Mizu - January 10, 2012
Just voted
and it’s literally a tie between the Zombie and Mir. 863 votes each.
av1o3 - January 10, 2012
Thought
the Brandao arm bar might get a mention as well.
younggunzvt - January 10, 2012
So… is this vote about the best submission, or the most surprising? Because the twister was the best submission of the year, by far… but Mir breaking off Nog’s arm was by far the most surprising considering he was badly hurt before and Nog had never been submitted before.
Shnak - January 11, 2012
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