MMA Fighting’s 2024 Submission of the Year: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker

Khamzat Chimaev is a bad, bad man.

When Chimaev burst onto the UFC scene in 2020 with three fights in two months, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would one day hoist UFC gold. But four years and four fights later, Chimaev’s ascendancy was no longer nearly as certain.

Contracting COVID forced Chimaev out of multiple bouts and nearly led to “Borz” calling it quits on his MMA career. Ultimately, he returned, but things have been hit or miss since then. When he has made it to the cage, Chimaev remained a dominant force, but making it has been the trouble. And that trouble reared its head yet again this past summer.

Chimaev was supposed to square off with Whittaker in the main event of the UFC’s first event in Saudi Arabia back in June. However, illness once again forced him out of the bout, and instead, fans were left wondering if Chimaev was destined to be a cautionary tale.

Not yet.

After Whittaker demolished late replacement Ikram Aliskerov in Chimaev’s stead, the fight between the two was rebooked for UFC 308 as a five-round co-main event. This time, Chimaev made it to the cage, and he didn’t need more than a round to remind everyone how good he is.

A little over 10 seconds into the fight, Chimaev charged in on Whittaker with a takedown attempt, forcing the former champion to the cage. Whittaker — an accomplished wrestler in his own right — did his best to keep his feet, but Chimaev simply overpowered him to the mat. Whittaker worked to create scrambles but could not shake the suffocating pressure of Chimaev, who found his way to the back and quickly locked on a rear-naked choke.

The one saving grace for Whittaker in this position was that the choke wasn’t under the chin but across it. Except that turned out to be the problem. Undeterred by the suboptimal positioning, Chimaev simply squeezed the position as a face crank, almost immediately forcing a tap from Whittaker.

At the time, the finish seemed to happen so quickly. Later we found out why: Chimaev broke Whittaker’s teeth in one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen inside the octagon. Robert Whittaker is one of the best fighters of his generation. This is a man who is a former champion and has gone toe-to-toe with some of the best fighters ever, including 50 minutes with Yoel Romero, and Chimaev rag-dolled him en route to breaking his face.

At this point, we can’t know if Chimaev will build off this moment and finally make his way to the title many foresaw for him when he joined the UFC, but even if he doesn’t, “Borz” will still have that night in October when he reminded everyone just how dangerous of a sport this is.

2. Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier

Some submissions are great because they are completely unique, and others are great because they are so significant, but sometimes a submission can be great because all of the pieces fit together beautifully. Case-in-point: The runner-up for 2024 Submission of the Year.

Islam Makhachev is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world and is starting to build a legacy as one of the greatest lightweights of all time. So when he was set to defend his title for a record-tying third time against former interim champion and fan-favorite Dustin Poirier, most people expected it to end one way: Another Makhachev win. And while that ultimately is what happened, how it happened was much different than anticipated.

For four full rounds, Poirier gave Makhachev hell — stuffing takedowns, landing strikes, and making the champion work much harder than anticipated. Heading into the final round, there appeared to be a real chance of an upset brewing as Poirier started to come on strong in the fourth frame. But with his title reign possibly in jeopardy, Makhachev showed the fortitude and skill that made him champion in the first place.

Bloodied and battered, Makhachev dug deep and got in on a single-leg takedown attempt. Poirier managed to stave it off, forcing Makhachev to switch to his other leg. Poirier stuffed the head and balanced on one foot, trying to break Makhachev’s grip, but the champion saw his moment and took it, performing a leg whip that put Poirier on the canvas. “The Diamond” rolled to his knees to stand up, but Makhachev jumped on his neck lightning-quick, breaking Poirier back down. Moments later, Makhachev sunk in a brabo choke that forced Poirier to tap halfway through the final round.

Not only did the submission let Makhachev retain his lightweight title, it also cemented him as one of the best lightweights ever and one of the best fighters of his generation.

3. Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

It speaks to the quality of 2024 that the UFC middleweight champion is almost an afterthought in this conversation.

Heading into UFC 305, Dricus du Plessis was an anomaly. Though he won the middleweight championship with a split decision over Sean Strickland in January, many felt that “Stillknocks” did not deserve to win the belt, and coupled with his unique and confounding style, du Plessis was an underdog heading into his long-awaited grudge match with Israel Adesanya. After all, Adesanya is the second-greatest middleweight ever and appeared to have a style that should frustrate du Plessis. Except you cannot frustrate the middleweight champion.

For much of the first three rounds, Adesanya had great success keeping the fight standing and picking du Plessis apart on the feet with his superior kickboxing skills. Things began to look dire for the champion in the fourth round as Adesanya appeared to hurt him with a body shot that du Plessis was slow to get up from, but indomitable will kept “Stillknocks” coming, and that ultimately paid off. Du Plessis kept coming, finally landing a right hook that hurt the former champion. Smelling blood in the water, du Plessis pounced, taking Adesanya down and immediately moving to the back and locking in a face crank that forced his foe to tap out.

With his back against the wall, du Plessis did what he’s done so many times before, he found a way to win. You may not understand him, but you’ve got to respect him.

4. Liz Carmouche vs. Kana Watanabe 2

Liz Carmouche is a pioneer of women’s MMA, but at 40 years old, it’s fair to wonder how much longer she has left in her career. And back in June, it looked like that end could be coming.

Carmouche made her PFL debut in April, beating Julianna Velasquez in the opening round of the women’s flyweight season. She was then set to rematch Kana Watanabe — a woman she finished back in 2021 — at PFL 4, and most people expected the Bellator flyweight champion to cruise into the PFL post-season. But Watanabe had other ideas.

Watanabe dominated Carmouche, outworking her for nearly 15 minutes, and was cruising to a unanimous decision win until, with just 15 seconds left, Carmouche improbably threw up an armbar from her guard. The maneuver caught Watanabe completely unaware, and though she tried to defend, “Girl-Rilla” forced the tap with just eight seconds left, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.

Carmouche ultimately went on to lose a decision to Taila Santos in the flyweight semifinals, but that doesn’t take away from her incredible buzzer-beater armbar to stave off defeat just a little while longer.

5. Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez 2

A two-time featherweight title challenger, Brian Ortega’s had a difficult past few years in the cage, competing sparingly and losing more often than not. The worst of it came in 2022, when Ortega injured his shoulder during his fight with Yair Rodriguez, forcing him out of action for over 18 months.

Ortega finally returned to the cage in February where he and Rodriguez ran things back as the co-main event of UFC Mexico City, and after a slow start, Ortega reminded fans just how good he can be.

After opening up a nasty cut on Rodriguez in the second round, Ortega came out for the third with renewed intensity, scoring an easy takedown and moving seamlessly to mount. From there it was formulaic as Ortega used an elbow to sneakily setup an arm-triangle choke, quickly locking it on and forcing the tap. It was a return to his classic form for the fan-favorite and his first win since 2020.