Tag: Bellator 232

MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Submission of the Year’: Bryce Mitchell’s twister

Here are the top four honorable mentions and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.

With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2019.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Submission of the Year.”

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Honorable mentions

Aviv Gozali def. Eduard Muravitskiy at Bellator 225

It only took [autotag]Aviv Gozali[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) 11 seconds to imanari roll his way into the fastest stoppage victory in Bellator history against Eduard Muravitskiy (9-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

The 18-year-old Israeli fighter started out the bout with one move on his mind – a heel hook. As the opening bell sounded, Gozali rolled towards opponent Muravitskiy and snatched a leg. A few adjustments, and Gozali forced the tap by heel hook for a third consecutive win to open his career.

4. Ovince Saint Preux def. Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 18

[autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) added to his legend with another one of his signature submission wins, this time at the expense of Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.

A rough first round looked like it was going to lead to a bad night for Saint Preux. When the second round arrived, though, Oleksiejczuk was the more fatigued fighter, and when Saint Preux got on top, he wasted little time securing the Von Preux choke to tie the all-time submission record at 205 pounds.

3. Patrick Mix def. Isaiah Chapman at Bellator 232

[autotag]Patrick Mix[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) achieved a first in Bellator history when in his bantamweight fight he managed to force Isaiah Chapman (9-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) to tap out with a rarely seen submission.

After just a few minutes of action, Mix found himself on Chapman’s back during a grappling exchange. He went after the leg and got in position to secure the Suloev stretch, which he fully locked in to become the first in Bellator to win with the technique.

2. Brent Primus def. Tim Wilde at Bellator Europe 2

After losing his Bellator lightweight title in lopsided fashion to close out 2018, [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) got back in the win column in resounding fashion with a finish of Tim Wilde (13-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who never saw it coming.

It was a matter of moments before Primus started working of for the finish. After finding himself on his back, Primus maneuvered his legs into position for a gogoplata. Such attempts rarely bare fruit, but Primus was able to get his shin under Wilde’s neck and force the tap just 80 seconds into the match.

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Winner: Bryce Mitchell def. Matt Sayles at UFC on ESPN 7

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[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] pulled off an all-time submission in just his third UFC appearance.

Facing off against Matt Sayles (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout, Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off a rare twister submission at the 4:20 mark of the first round.

As the fight wore on, Mitchell and Sayles became tangled on the ground. With his opponent’s leg locked, Mitchell swung his head under the arm of Sayles.

From there, Mitchell wrapped his arms around Sayles’ neck. One grip adjustment was all it took. Clearly in pain due to the torque on his torso, Sayles was forced to tap.

The submission was only the second of its kind successfully executed in UFC history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 24 in March 2011. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung pulled off a second-round twister submission in a rematch against fellow WEC alum Leonard Garcia.

“It’s something I do in practice a lot,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen Eddie Bravo doing it on YouTube and I practiced it, practiced it, and practiced it. I remember every step that he told me. I even know the Peruvian twister – it’s the tighter version. I really paid a lot of attention to that video. Shout out to Eddie Bravo. Yeah, that’s where I got it from.

“If your opponent doesn’t know how to defend it, if they don’t know how to defend, then it’s going to be a one- or two-step process because they will just give you the arm. But if they defend, then it’s like a six-step process, so it takes time. I think that’s why it’s so uncommon because people don’t know all the steps and how to do it.”

Also see:

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for November: A rare rolling thunder finish

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2019.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from November 2019. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Month” award for November.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Kevin Lee def. Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244

Fighting in his opponent’s home territory in New York, [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) knocked previously unbeaten Gregor Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) cold in his return to the lightweight division.

It took less than three minutes and one perfectly placed head kick for Lee to take back attention as a lightweight contender. Following some early exchanges, “The Motown Phenom” separated Gillespie from consciousness in devastating fashion.

Andrew Kapel def. Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 232

[autotag]Andrew Kapel[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made sure it was an unhappy end to Muhammed Lawal’s (21-10 MMA, 10-7 BMMA) career, because he sent “King Mo” into retirement on a knockout loss in their 195-pound catchweight fight.

After a brief feeling out process to begin the fight, Kapel threw a body kick which Lawal caught. He went to throw a punch, but Kapel timed the perfect counter shot on him coming in. Lawal immediately went down and out, and retired following the defeat.

Magomed Ankalaev def. Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC on ESPN+ 21

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) capped off a solid performance with a highlight-reel finish when he defeated Dalcha Lungiambula (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.

Ankalaev connected with a perfect front kick that made a sickening thud and instantly rocked Lungiambula. From there, the Russian unloaded a clean follow-up shot that put Lungiambula down to stop the fight in the third round.

Davy Gallon def. Ross Pearson at “MTK MMA: Probellum”

Ross Pearson (20-17) had a rude welcome back to MMA from his retirement courtesy of the unheralded [autotag]Davy Gallon[/autotag] (18-7-2), who delivered what could go down as an all-time knockout in the sport’s history.

The lightweight fight was relatively competitive for more than two rounds. In the closing stages of the third, though, Gallon went airborne and unleashed a rolling thunder kick. The heel landed flush on Pearson’s face, and “The Ultimate Fighter 9” winner was immediately knocked out in a shocking finish.

Michael Page def. Giovanni Melillo at Bellator Europe 6

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) gave his hometown fans what they wanted as he closed the show in style against Giovanni Melillo (13-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with the latest addition to his highlight reel.

Page finished late-notice replacement Melillo in less than two minutes with a thumping right hand. Melillo was out on impact, and “MVP” had the walk-off finish to close the welterweight contest.

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The Winner: Davy Gallon

Pearson’s MMA return was one for the highlight reel – but not in the way he envisioned.

In his first fight in his native U.K. in over four years, Pearson headlined “MTK MMA: Probellum” in London. Taking on Gallon, Pearson was brutally knocked out in the most improbable of fashions.

As the clock wound down in the final round, Gallon threw a rolling thunder kick, which landed flush on the head of Pearson.

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Upon impact, Pearson was knocked out cold and flew backwards, crashing to the mat. The announcer’s, “Oh, sh*t” reaction sums up just how spectacular it was.

“I’ve only hit it in training,” Gallon told MMA Junkie of the knockout. “I saw a kyokushin video on YouTube, and I tried maybe once or twice in training. I was in the hotel room the day before the fight with my coach. I said, ‘Oh coach, come on. I want to try this kick.’ He told me, ‘You know it’s Ross Pearson? It’s a good guy. It’s a big fighter, you know?’ I said yeah, and he told me, ‘OK, you can try the kick. But you have to do it at the end of the fight.'”

The fight was Pearson’s first since being released by the UFC earlier this year. Prior to his UFC departure, Pearson had dropped six out of his final seven fights with the promotion.

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