MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for June 2014

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best submissions from June 1-30. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for June 2014.

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

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THE NOMINEES

Benson Henderson def. Rustam Khabilov at UFC Fight Night 42
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson got his first stoppage victory since 2010 with a fourth-round submission of Rustam Khabilov at UFC Fight Night 42. The finish really was “Smooth” as Henderson hurt Khabilov with a strike on the feet and transitioned to a slick rear-naked choke for the win.

David Branch def. Jesse Taylor at WSOF 10
A fight many predicted to be five dull rounds actually turned out to be the quickest fight of the WSOF 10 main card as David Branch submitted Jesse Taylor for the middleweight crown in 101 seconds. Branch is known for warring his opponent down, but on this night he went for the kill right away and it paid off.

Charles Oliveira def. Hatsu Hioki at UFC Fight Night 43
Charles Oliveira has numerous slick submission wins to his name, but none have been more impressive than his second-round finish of Hatsu Hioki at UFC Fight Night 43. Hioki has shared the cage with some of the most dangerous fighters in the world over the years, but none were able to submit him. Oliveira snapped that streak as a modified guillotine choke trapped Hioki and left him no choice but to give up.

Nate Marquardt def. James Te Huna via armbar at UFC Fight Night 43
While it was previously mentioned that the number of triangle choke finishes are dwindling, the same can be said about the armbar. However, that didn’t prevent Nate Marquardt from using the technique to finish James Te Huna UFC Fight Night 43. Marquardt pursued the finish when Te Huna left an arm free, and after a brief struggle, finally forced the tap.

Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Colton Smith via rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 44
The rear-naked choke happens all the time in MMA, but to lock one in and finish in an opponent in just 38 seconds total is a stellar feat. Carlos Diego Ferreira accomplished that with a quick and one-sided finish of “The Ultimate Fighter 16” winner Colton Smith. What made Ferreira’s choke that much more memorable is the fact he didn’t even have his hooks in for the finish.

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THE WINNER

In a battle of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, Charles Oliveira finally was a step ahead of Hatsu Hioki.

Oliveira (18-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) forced Hioki (27-8-2 MMA, 3-4 UFC) to tap for the first time in his career when he tied up a guillotine choke at UFC Fight Night 43 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Oliveira looked for a quick takedown, but Hioki stayed upright and tried a flying triangle choke. He couldn’t hang on, and Oliveira’s response was to go after a standing guillotine. Oliveira landed a takedown, then went straight into a D’Arce choke. But Hioki turned it around and took Oliveira’s back. He kept the fight on the ground, but with a little more than 90 seconds left in the round, Oliveira got back to his feet.

Hioki came out swinging in the second round. But it was Oliveira who stayed calm and went after a leg lock once the fight was on the floor. He got an extended break,, though, when he took a thumb in the eye. After he had time to clear things up, he continued on his dominant path. But the two traded submission attempts on the canvas.

Finally, after nearly being submitted himself, Oliveira forced Hioki to tap to an arm-in guillotine choke. It was the first time Hioki had been stopped in his career.