The Best UFC Submissions in 2022

With things winding down for the Holidays and the UFC taking a break from hosting events for the next few weeks, now is a perfect time to look back at some of the best performances of this past year in the promotion.

The company held 511 bouts overall in 2022, and while a majority of them ended up going to decisions (240 fights or 47%), the third most common method of victory this year were submissions. There were a total of 98 UFC fights that ended via submission this year, covering 19.2% of all fights in the promotion that occurred in 2022.

With so many amazing fight-ending sequences to choose from, it was extremely difficult to narrow down the list to just five spots, so apologies to all of the fighters who didn’t make the cut on this year’s list. These were the five submissions from 2022 that stood out the most to us for one reason or another:

Jiri Prochazka (vs Glover Texeira)

While there were plenty of amazing fights this year in the UFC, Prochazka and Texeira put on a contender for Fight of the Year when they faced off at UFC 275 in June. During the first four rounds of the fight, both fighters appeared to have multiple chances to finish their opponents, but neither could close the deal.

That changed in the fifth round when Prochazka snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by submitting the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight champion with 28 seconds remaining to claim the title.

Jessica Andrade (vs Amanda Lemos)

Andrade and Lemos are two of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC women’s strawweight division, so a stoppage was not totally unexpected when they faced off earlier this year in a UFC Fight Night main event.

What no one could have seen coming, however, was Andrade catching her opponent early in the fight round and locking in a standing arm triangle that forced Lemos to tap out. It was the first standing arm triangle in the promotion’s history and also one of the more unique finishes of 2022.

Islam Makhachev (vs Charles Oliveira)

The MMA community expected fireworks in this matchup for the UFC Lightweight championship that took place at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, and Makhachev and Oliveira did not disappoint. After a back-and-forth first round, Makhachev was able to drop Oliveira with a well-placed strike and followed him to the ground, where he was able to pick up the submission win and the championship in the process. Oliveira is the all-time submission’s leader in UFC history, making the win even sweeter for Makhachev.

Ilia Topuria (vs Bryce Mitchell)

This highly anticipated UFC featherweight fight took place earlier this month at UFC 282 and featured two of the best young prospects in the division. Topuria and Mitchell both entered this fight with undefeated records, but it was Topuria who left this one with the win.

After some heavy strikes on the feet dropped Mitchell in the second round, Topuria followed him down and locked in the arm triangle to finish the job. The victory pushed Topuria to 13–0 in his career and officially entered him into the division’s title picture.

WagerWire

Weili Zhang (vs Carla Esparza)

Weili Zhang had one of the best years of any fighter on the UFC roster while earning herself a position on both of our “Best of 2022” lists. After an amazing knockout victory over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275, Weili followed up that performance by submitting Carla Esparza during a dominant performance at UFC 281 to recapture the UFC Women’s Strawweight title.

Esparza is known mostly for her grappling and submission skills, making the victory more impressive for Weili, primarily known for her striking.

Weili Zhang (vs Carla Esparza)

Honorable Mention:

Raul Rosas Jr (vs Jay Perrin)

Perhaps the biggest debut of the year in the promotion belonged to 18-year-old phenom Raul Rojas Jr at UFC 282. Coming off an impressive win on Dana White’s Contenders Series that helped him become the youngest fighter signed to a contract in the promotion’s history, Rosas Jr entered his fight with Jay Perrin with many still questioning just how talented he actually was. Rosas Jr silenced those doubters, however, by submitting the UFC veteran with a brutal neck crank midway through the opening round.