MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for December: A rare finish trumps a few slick moves

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

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

Jenny Huang def. April Osenio at ONE Championship 50

Jenny Huang (5-0) became the latest to join the gogoplata submission finish club when she submitted April Osenio (2-2) in the second round of an entertaining atomweight affair.

Huang scored a victory with the rare technique when she baited her opponent into becoming aggressive from top position. As soon as Osenio overemphasized her weight coming forward, Huang slipped her shin until the chin of her opponent and pulled down on the head for the tap in the second round.

Sara McMann def. Alexis Davis at TUF 24 Finale

Onetime women’s bantamweight title challenger Sara McMann (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) survived a brutal flurry of elbows from Alexis Davis (17-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC) to exact revenge on the mat for arguably the most impressive feat of her career so far.

McMann grounded Davis and locked in an arm-triangle choke in hopes of securing the finish. Davis has endless experience on the ground and had never been submitted in MMA competition, but McMann’s squeeze was too much for the Canadian to endure, and Davis had to tap out for the very first time in a fight.

Francis Ngannou def. Anthony Hamilton at UFC Fight Night 102

Francis Ngannou (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) further legitimized himself as a future UFC heavyweight contender when he scored a first-round submission of Anthony Hamilton (15-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in the most high-profile fight of his young career.

Ngannou made short work of Hamilton in their matchup when he quickly grounded his opponent and locked in a kimura. Ngannou showed off his freakish strength by torquing the maneuver until Hamilton had to frantically tap out less than two minutes into the opening round.

Misha Cirkunov def. Nikita Krylov at UFC 206

A left hand from Misha Cirkunov (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) started the trouble for Nikita Krylov (21-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC). However, it was a tight guillotine choke which finished the job in the light heavyweight bout.

Seconds after the big punch landed and hurt Krylov, an arm-in guillotine earned Cirkunov a submission victory, as Krylov had no choice but to tap at the 4:38 mark of Round 1 for just his second loss in seven fights since he dropped down a division from heavyweight.

Michelle Waterson def. Paige VanZant at UFC on FOX 22

Michelle Waterson (14-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) danced right along with Paige VanZant (7-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the buildup to their strawweight main event. But when the former Invicta FC champ got down to it, she was all business.

Waterson bullied VanZant on the mat before locking her in a rear-naked choke that forced referee intervention at the 3:21 mark of the first round. VanZant refused to tap, taking the full force of the choke until she went out cold.

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The Winner: Jenny Huang

One of the most challenging submissions to execute in MMA was masterfully pulled off by Huang at ONE Championship 50 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Manila, Philippines. She expertly submitted Osenio with a gogoplata in the second round.

After a brawl of a fight which saw the two atomweights go after each other both on the feet and on the ground, the opportunity for Huang to finish the fight finally arrived.

Huang used a slick trip to put Osenio on her back in the second round, but Osenio eventually overtook top position and looked to inflict damage. Little did she know she was falling right into Huang’s trap.

Showing strong leg dexterity, Huang pulled her leg toward her chest from the bottom and slipped her shin under Osenio’s chin. She then forced her leg up and pulled Osenio’s head down to apply pressure on the wind pipe and neck. The discomfort was enough to cause the fight-ending tap at 4:28 of Round 2, extending Huang’s record to 5-0 in her young career.