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

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best submissions from March 1-31. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for March 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

Eduardo Dantas def. Anthony Leone at Bellator 111
Bellator MMA bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas (16-3 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) defended his belt for the second time with a slick rear-naked choke of Anthony Leone (13-7 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) at Bellator 111. When Leone was hugging a leg of a single-leg takedown attempt, the champion stepped over to the back and immediately went to work. It only took the blink of an eye from the time Dantas took the back to when he trapped his opponent’s arm, took the neck and got the tapout.

Ilir Latifi def. Cyrille Diabate at UFC Fight Night 37
If you want to show someone that it’s possible to win a UFC fight without landing or absorbing a single significant strike, Ilir Latifi‘s (8-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) victory over Cyrille Diabate (19-10-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 37 is the perfect example. Latifi wasted no time dragging Diabate to the ground before he worked to lock up a modified guillotine choke. While the guillotine is one of the most common submissions in MMA, in this instance, “The Sledgehammer” nearly separated Diabate’s head from his shoulders.

Pat Curran def. Daniel Straus at Bellator 112
Pat Curran (20-5 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) defied the odds when he overcame depression and anxiety issues to regain the Bellator featherweight championship from Daniel Straus (22-5 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) at Bellator 112. In a fight that was going fairly similar to the last, Straus mixed striking with his superior wrestling ability to control the action when possible. With the fight coming down to a fifth and final round, Curran rose to the occasion and found a way to finish the fight with just under 15 second remaining.

Ovince St. Preux def. Nikita Krylov at UFC 171
While it came against an overmatched opponent, Ovince St. Preux (15-5 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off something pretty special at UFC 171 when he rendered Nikita Krylov (16-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) unconscious with the help of a Von Flue Choke. The technique has only been used to finish a fight once inside the octagon, and that’s when the move’s originator, Jason Von Flue, stopped Alex Karalexis at UFC Fight Night 3. With that in mind, St. Preux must be commended for his rare feat.

Rousimar Palhares def. Steve Carl at WSOF 9
Rousimar Palhares (16-6 MMA), his opponents, and everyone else around the world knows the moment a bell rings for an MMA fight, “Toquinho” will be fishing for his signature heel hook. That’s why it’s all the more incredible that Palhares can consistently submit opponents with the technique. He added the leg of Steve Carl (21-4 MMA) to his growing mantle at WSOF 9. Palhares got the job done in a high-profile main event fight with a championship on the line and will likely stay there for a while if no one can stop his dangerous offensive attacks.

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THE WINNER

Daniel Straus and Pat Curran put on a fight for the ages. With just 14 seconds left, and behind on the scorecards, Curran submitted the champion to recapture Bellator’s featherweight title at Bellator 112.

Straus beat Curran this past November to take the title, and Bellator elected to go forward with a rematch – the third fight between the two, with the series knotted at 1-1 – rather than keep Patricio Freire next in line, much to the chagrin of “Pitbull.” But after nearly 25 minutes of fight time between Curran and Straus, it became evident why Bellator wanted to see them do it again.

“All I can say is mad respect for Daniel Straus,” Curran said after the fight. “But I was able to push through. I had to dig deep and come out with the win. I knew it was close. But I think Daniel was up on the scorecards. So I had to just let it all on the line and get that choke in the fifth. I can’t even explain it. This is my passion, my life, and I’m just happy to have the belt back so I can go back and relax.”

Curran got back in the win column after his loss to Straus in the fall and has won seven of his past eight. Straus had his six-fight winning streak snapped.