MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for October: A rare and scary-good twister

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

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

Levi Mowles def. Jake Norsworthy via twister at Legacy FC 46

After winning a decision in his pro debut, Levi Mowles (2-0) apparently wanted to do something special in his sophomore bout. He did just that, locking up a twister submission on fellow bantamweight Jake Norsworthy (1-4). The fight was all one-way traffic for Mowles. He scored an early takedown, dominated the action on the mat then finished the job by contorting Norsworthy’s body and finishing him with the twister.

Rose Namajunas def. Angela Hill via rear-naked choke at UFC 192

Rose Namajunas (3-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) appeared evenly matched on the feet in the early portion of her strawweight bout against Angela Hill (2-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC).But once it went to the ground the quality of Namajunas’ game was proven superior as she finished the fight with a first round rear-naked choke. Namajunas secured a takedown in the first round, quickly moved to the back as Hill desperately tried to work back to the feet and locked in a standing rear-naked choke that left Hill tapping at the air as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Vinny Magalhaes def. Matt Hamill via kneebar at WSOF 24

Fighting for the first time in two years, Matt Hamill (11-6) had a brief moment in his light heavyweight bout against Vinny Magalhaes (13-7) in which he looked like he was about to get something done. Then Magalhaes found himself where he’s the most comfortable and turned the tide in a hurry. After working through some short ground-and-pound from Hamill, who was making his WSOF debut after a long run for the UFC and a short retirement, Magalhaes forced a tap with a kneebar just 68 seconds into the fight.

Neil Seery def. Jon Delos Reyes via guillotine choke at UFC Fight Night 76

After going the distance four-straight fights to open his UFC career, Neil Seery (16-11 MMA, 3-2 UFC) finally got the stoppage victory he was looking for when he submitted Jon Delos Reyes (8-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in the second round of their flyweight bout with the help of a guillotine choke. Seery stood toe-to-toe with Delos Reyes until he found the opportunity to latch onto the neck during a takedown attempt. He didn’t let go and forced the submission for a finish deemed worth of a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Louis Smolka def. Paddy Holohan via rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 76

Louis Smolka (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) played spoiler against Dublin native Paddy Holohan (12-2-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) with a second-round submission of “The Hooligan” after a thrilling back-and-forth flyweight affair. Smolka relished the opportunity and after numerous grappling exchanges locked in a rear-naked choke and choked out Holohan, who had previously never been submitted, to silence the Irish crowd.

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The Winner: Levi Mowles

MMA’s bantamweight division has a hot prospect to look out for because Mowles has all the ingredients to become an elite competitor after locking up a rare twister submission victory.

At just 20 years old and in his second pro fight, Mowles displayed the grappling of a fighter far more advanced. His unsuspecting opponent, Norsworthy, engaged in a ground battle he could not win.

After eating some hard shots from the bottom position early in the first round, Norsworthy attempted to roll out of the position and break free. Unfortunately, he wasn’t aware the escape attempts only made the situation worse because Mowles caught him in position to lock in the twister.

Finishes using the twister submission rarely occur in pro MMA, with Chan Sung Jung’s stoppage of Leonard Garcia under the UFC banner being one of few notable results. Mowles added his name to the list, though, and will immediately become a fighter to watch after the memorable win.