Bjorn Rebney breathed air into the lungs of the Bellator MMA organization on April 3, 2009. In the nearly eight years that have passed since, the company has promoted more than 160 events, undergone sweeping leadership changes, altered its format, tried its hand at reality TV and bounced from one television platform to another, eventually landing on Spike TV -- the former broadcast home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The one constant has been a penchant for the spectacular finish, from Hisaki Kato’s Superman punch knockout on Joe Schilling to Michael Page’s skull-crushing knee on Evangelista Santos. Bellator has done its part to populate MMA highlight reels.

The latest installment in the Sherdog Top 10 series series examines the best Bellator submissions of all-time. Marcos Galvao, Pat Curran and Toby Imada all made the cut.

***

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Evangelista Santos def. Brennan Ward -- Heel Hook (Bellator 153), Giedrius Karavackas def. Sam Oropeza -- Scarf Hold Armlock (Bellator 44), Eduardo Dantas def. Zach Makovsky -- Arm-Triangle Choke (Bellator 65), Alexis Dufresne def. Marloes Coenen -- Armbar (Bellator 155), Marcin Held def. Rich Clementi -- Toe Hold (Bellator 81), Joe Vedepo def. Mike Bernhard -- Shin Choke (Bellator 80), Brandon Halsey def. Alexander Shlemenko -- Rear-Naked Choke (Bellator 126), Georgi Karakhanyan def. Bubba Jenkins -- Guillotine Choke (Bellator 132), Karl Amoussou def. Bryan Baker -- Inverted Heel Hook (Bellator 72) , Lloyd Woodard def. Patricky Freire -- Kimura (Bellator 62)

***

Continue Reading » Number 10