Top 10 Wildest Submissions You Might Have Missed in 2025

While knockouts in combat sports steal the highlight reels, the art of submission grappling often delivers technically brilliant and dramatic moments. In the sport of MMA, the UFC provided its share of viral submission moments, but other promotions like RIZIN, ONE Championship, and the PFL delivered equally impressive finishes.

This list is a celebration of 2025’s wildest, most inventive, and most consequential submissions of the year, factoring in the difficulty of the opponent, the rarity of the technique, and the sheer dramatic flair of the comeback. From title fights to career-defining upsets, these are the 10 craziest submissions you might have missed from last year.

UFC GlovesGetty

10. Valter Walker def. Kennedy Nzechukwu (UFC 321)

Valter Walker accomplished something truly rare in 2025. He made the heel hook a consistent finishing tool while competing in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

His victory over Louie Sutherland at UFC 321 marked his fourth consecutive heel hook win, setting a new record for the most consecutive heel hook victories. But his most impressive heel hook, in my opinion, was against a dangerous striker in Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Executing one of the sport’s most dangerous joint locks at heavyweight is a feat of grappling prowess, even if his opponents may not be the most athletically gifted or well-versed grapplers. To do it three times in a row is even more impressive.

9. Kyoji Horiguchi def. Tagir Ulanbekov (UFC Fight Night 265)

After a nine-year absence from the UFC, former RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi made a statement in his return to the Octagon, submitting the highly-touted Dagestani grappler and member of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s camp, Tagir Ulanbekov.

Horiguchi entered the bout as a slight underdog, but his performance was a dominant, all-around showcase. He outstruck and outgrappled Ulanbekov before sealing the victory in the third round. After stunning Ulanbekov with a nasty head kick and punches, Horiguchi seized his back and sunk in a rear-naked choke to force the tap.

The win earned Horiguchi a Performance of the Night bonus, which immediately vaulted him into title contention. He even called out the then-flyweight champion and training partner Alexandre Pantoja, setting the stage for a potential blockbuster matchup.

8. Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley (UFC 316)

Despite losing the belt this year to Petr Yan, Merab’s championship reign was still quite impressive. In perhaps his most impressive title defense, Dvalishvili won his rematch with Sean O’Malley by using a relatively rare submission: a ninja choke from the north-south position that he called the “Machine Choke” based on his nickname “The Machine.”

With this creative submission, Dvalishvili cemented his reign as bantamweight king with a signature move as unique as his endless cardio.

7. Seika Izawa def. Rena Kubota (RIZIN New Year’s Eve)

A late entry this year came on the very last day of 2025 during my favorite annual MMA event, the RIZIN New Year’s Eve show in Japan.

In this fight, the undefeated champion Seika Izawa was nearly knocked out cold by challenger Rena Kubota in the first round. Izawa weathered the storm, turned the tide, and dragged the fight to the mat at the end of the first round, nearly securing a rear-naked choke.

Here is a clip of the dramatic first round:

In the second round, Izawa adjusted her game plan and shot for takedowns early and often, eventually finding the opening for a guillotine choke. Izawa showcased her toughness and championship heart, and proved that RIZIN has some of the best women’s MMA outside of the UFC.

6. Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu def. Fabricio Andrade (ONE Fight Night 38)

ONE Championship is far from the best MMA promotion. As a matter of fact, I prefer watching their kickboxing and Muay Thai compared to their MMA. The lower weight classes, however, do have some talented fighters and interesting matchups in my opinion.

In one of my favorite MMA fights of their promotion, Mongolia’s Enkh Orgil Baatarkhuu dethroned the dangerous Fabricio Andrade to claim the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title. In case you’re wondering, yes, this is the same Enkh Orgil who was featured in Netflix’s original series, Physical: Asia.

While absorbing some punishing strikes from Andrade throughout the fight, Enkh slowly increased the grappling pressure and seized his moment in the fourth round by taking Andrade’s back, unleashing some hellacious ground-and-pound, and locking in a rear-naked choke.

5. Jean Silva def. Bryce Mitchell (UFC 314)

Jean Silva’s submission over Bryce Mitchell was impressive mainly due to Silva’s sheer audacity, but also because Mitchell is touted for his submission grappling prowess.

During the fight, he showed Mitchell zero respect in the striking department. Then, he wrapped up a slick ninja choke while both men were still standing. Though he could have knocked Mitchell out, it seemed like Silva went for a submission over the technically proficient Mitchell to prove a point.

Even though he has since been TKO’d by Diego Lopes, this fight was Silva’s first win to cement himself as a true featherweight nightmare.

4. Jake Hadley def. Matheus Mattos (PFL World Tournament 2)

A former UFC fighter, Jake Hadley took a fork in the road during his MMA journey by signing with the PFL in late 2024. Despite his up-and-down record in the UFC, Hadley was versatile with a solid grappling foundation, which he displayed in his 2025 PFL debut at PFL World Tournament 2.

In his fight with Matheus Mattos, Hadley pulled off a brutal variation of the rare “Twister” submission known as a “Scottish Twister.”

This even rarer variation attacks the lower rib cage and obliques from the bottom full guard position, rather than the traditional twister’s attack of the neck and upper back from a back mount position.

UFC commentator and former Invicta FC fighter Laura Sanko posted a well-made explanation of the submission on her YouTube channel:

3. Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Dolidze (UFC Vegas 109)

Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez is one of my favorite middleweights in the UFC, and his rear-naked choke of Roman Dolidze at UFC Vegas 109 was visually one of the most brutal I have ever seen.

Hernandez locked in a rear-naked choke while standing behind his kneeling opponent, and then walked backwards, dragging Dolidze across the Octagon with the choke fully applied before finally releasing him to collapse to the canvas.

2. Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France (UFC 317)

Alexandre Pantoja further cemented his legacy at UFC 317 with a third-round rear-naked choke submission over the dangerous striker Kai Kara-France.

Pantoja asserted his dominance from the start, expertly mixing striking with level changes to drag the fight to the mat. After nearly finishing an arm-triangle choke in the first and controlling the second round, Pantoja went back to his grappling in the third, swiftly taking Kara-France’s back and locking in a rear-naked choke:

This type of performance makes me wonder how a full fight against Joshua Van would have gone if Pantoja had not broken his arm in the opening seconds of their championship fight.

1. Costello Van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen (PFL Africa 1)

The PFL Middleweight Title fight between Johnny Eblen and Costello van Steenis was easily the most dramatic comeback of the year.

The Spaniard van Steenis was being dominated for much of the fight and was mere seconds away from losing a unanimous decision until he mounted a final, desperate rally.

As Eblen tired, van Steenis found an opening, locked in a rear-naked choke, and forced the tap within the last 10 seconds of the fight, handing Eblen his first-ever professional loss.

It was a stunning reversal reminiscent of Leon Edwards’ comeback victory, a head-kick knockout over Kamaru Usman, back in 2022.

The Never-Ending Evolution of the Craft

For me, grappling is one of my favorite aspects of MMA, and is actually the most intriguing dimension of the sport. As a martial arts practitioner who trains grappling and striking separately, I find it to be especially impressive when MMA fighters know how to utilize a wide variety of skills in order to implement their game and win a fight.

The submissions of 2025 prove that the art of finishing a fight on the ground is far from static. Veterans and newcomers alike from all corners of MMA are pulling off rare maneuvers under immense pressure. The art of the submission is constantly evolving, while at the same time, fighters are proving that old reliable techniques are still valid in the modern era.

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jan 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the MMA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Source link