MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for February: Flying finish gets a prospect back on track

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie looks at the best submissions from February 2018: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for February.

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

Tyson Pedro def. Saparbeg Safarov at UFC 221

Saparbeg Safarov (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) looked like he might make Tyson Pedro’s (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) night a challenging one. Then Pedro grabbed his left arm.

That was all he needed. Pedro forced Safarov to tap to a tight kimura with 66 seconds remaining in the first round. Pedro swept Safarov to the canvas with the kimura sweep, then eventually stepped over his head to tighten it up for the tap.

Damn @tyson_pedro with an insane kimura finish in the first round! “I’m a simple man, wanna go home and make love to my wife, go fast on my motorbike, and drink a generous amount of beer” -Tyson Pedro #mmaclout #tysonpedro #ufc221 #kimura #ufc #ufcmemes #ufcperth #mma #mmamemes

A post shared by MMA Clout (@mma_clout) on Feb 10, 2018 at 7:26pm PST

Alex Morono def. Josh Burkman at UFC Fight Night 126

In a fight in front of his home-state fans, against a fighter he says he grew up watching, Alex Morono (14-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) lived up to his early hype and kept Josh Burkman (28-17 MMA, 6-12 UFC) struggling.

Morono, the heaviest favorite on the card, stopped “The Ultimate Fighter 2” contestant Burkman with a first-round guillotine choke. Afterward, Morono called out “TUF 1” winner Diego Sanchez.

#UFCAustin ?????? #AlexMorono ???? @alexmoronomma ?? #JoshuaBurkman ???? . . . #ufcworld#ufcnews#ufcfighter#mma#fighter#fitness#motivation#sport#sportlife#boxing#boxingday#knockout#kickboxing#karate#judo#bjj#wrestling#russiateam#usateam#champion#champ#fightclub#fightnight#ufcfightnight#conormcgregor#Ufc222

A post shared by ??BingBangBang?? (@bloodysport1) on Feb 18, 2018 at 6:28pm PST

Paddy Pimblett def. Alexis Savvidis at Cage Warriors 90

After suffering the first loss off is career in April, Paddy Pimblett (14-2) silenced his naysayers in a spectacular fashion with a highlight-reel submission of Alexis Savvidis (16-7-1)

In the opening seconds of the second round of their featherweight bout, Pimblett left into the air and applied a flying triangle choke on his opponent. He adjusted the technique once the fight hit the mat, also twisting Savvidis’ arm until he was left with no other choice but to submit to the dangerous grappling of “The Baddy.”

Told yas didn’t I ??the flying shit is already ready there in the locker ??thanks for all the support everyone yous are fuckin amazing!!! Thanks for the kind messages too ppl I’ll do my best to respond to yous all ?? #Repost @cagewarriors with @get_repost ··· ?? WOW @PaddyTheBaddy WINS VIA FLYING TRIANGLE ???? What a a start to the #CW90 main card ?? #mma #ukmma #ufc #ufcbound #gym #team #family #flyingtriangle #bjj #muaythai #boxing #wrestling #support #cagewarriors #scouse #echoarena #liverpool #nextgen #nextgeneration #thebaddy #paddythebaddy

A post shared by Paddy Pimblett (@paddythebaddy) on Feb 25, 2018 at 6:14am PST

Marion Reneau def. Sara McMann at UFC on FOX 28

Marion Reneau (9-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) had to survive a rough first round against Sara McMann (11-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC), but turned the tables in the second round of the women’s bantamweight matchup.

As soon as her opponent got too comfortable on top, the 40-year-old Reneau finished McMann, an Olympic silver medalist in wrestling, with a triangle choke. It was an exhilarating moment which made Reneau the oldest female fighter in history to record a UFC win.

#marionreneau #ufc #mma #visalia #ufconfox #wmma #bjj #saramcmann

A post shared by @ fre_d144 on Feb 24, 2018 at 8:00pm PST

Ilir Latifi def. Ovince Saint Preux at UFC on FOX 28

Ilir Latifi (14-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) took Ovince Saint Preux (22-11 MMA, 10-6 UFC) off his feet with his hands, then took him out of consciousness with a choke to end their light-heavyweight bout in a violent manner.

After rocking Saint Preux with his hands, Latifi applied a tight guillotine choke from the standing position. “OSP” attempted to tap out, but the referee missed it. Latifi kept choking, and when Saint Preux finally went out, “The Sledgehammer” released and left his opponent slumped on the canvas.

WOW! Ilir Latifi chokes OSP unconscious after rocking him on the feet #UFCOrlando

A post shared by THE FIGHT BUSINESS (@thefightbusiness) on Feb 24, 2018 at 6:05pm PST

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The Winner: Paddy Pimblett

Pimblett felt “a-maaaa-zing” after getting back on track, and it’s not hard see why.

The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion hadn’t been in action since last April, at Cage Warriors 82, when neither the hype nor the crown he carried were enough to stop challenger Nad Narimani from earning a unanimous-decision win.

Cage Warriors 90 event meant a chance to rebound and, unfortunately for Savvidis, Pimblett was not the least bit shy about taking advantage.

Having one flying triangle finish on your resume is already cool, but apparently it wasn’t enough for Pimblett. This was the second time he ended a Cage Warriors battle in similar manner: Conrad Hayes fell victim to the same fate back in 2014 at Cage Warriors 68.