Top 10 Global Submissions of 2014

Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch
WSOF 16 “Palhares vs. Fitch”
Dec. 13 | Sacramento, Calif.
Jesse Denis: Yeah, he's old, but Jon Fitch is still one of the greatest welterweights in history, as well as notoriously difficult to submit. That did not stop Rousimar Palhares, the oft-embattled, leg-hating submission specialist from having his way with the former UFC title challenger in a mere 90 seconds.

Fitch’s wrestling advantage figured to play some role if he was going to have success, but one sprawl gave “Toquinho” all he needed to win. As the American held onto a front headlock, Palhares scrambled, locked up a heel hook, moved into an Achilles lock, and finally grabbed a kneebar that left Fitch no recourse but to tap as he screamed in agony. Three leglock attempts in 90 seconds is an impressive feat by any stretch, but when you consider the fact that it's Fitch that he styled on, and that everyone knows what Palhares is going to do, this is a bona fide “Submission of the Year” contender.

C.J. Tuttle: As a journalist, maintaining unbiased, straightforward reporting is a must. But there are times while interviewing a fighter when it’s hard to not become somewhat emotionally invested in the fight they are about to engage in, whether it’s positively or negatively. Admittedly, this happened with me prior to Jon Fitch’s WSOF 16 bout against Rousimar Palhares. We discussed at length how dangerous “Toquinho” is on the mat and what Fitch was going to do in order to avoid being submitted via some iteration of the leglock. You could sense the confidence in Fitch, leaving me thinking there was absolutely no way he would lose, let alone by kneebar. When Palhares slapped the maneuver on Fitch, leading to the submission win, I was reminded that anything can happen once the cage door shuts.

Jordan Breen: Palhares' leglock gambit remains one of the most fascinating in-cage stories in MMA to me. While we should never forget that "Toquinho" does have more than leglocks -- his Octagon debut against Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84 can tell you all about it -- he has gone all-in on what he's best at, willingly molding himself into a fighter that goes aggressively for leglocks for five minutes, at a breakneck pace that often precludes him from being an effective fighter later.

And yet, it doesn't matter. I thought even an aged Fitch would be able to get past the opening salvo from Palhares and pound on him, it didn't happen. I thought Mike Pierce could do it, too. And it's not that they can't, either: if Fitch rematched Toquinho in the near future and made it to round two, he'd still probably wrestle and hammerfist his way to late stoppage or decision. But getting past that opening barrage is a nerve-wracking task of the highest order, compounded by the terror that this freakishly muscular man might tear your knee to shreds with just the slightest torque. He's like a Nintendo video game boss and even if you know the pattern, not dying can be a woefully difficult task.

And to think, we could have put him on this last twice, given his 69-second heel hook of Steve Carl at WSOF 9 to take the promotion's welterweight title. No slight to Masakazu Imanari, who is still one of the very best leglockers in MMA history and overall, a unique, creative submission artist worth observing and studying. However, Palhares' combination of horsepower and footplay has morphed into a monster all of its own. He is a true anomaly in the sport, a fighter whose style is so dangerous and volatile that it could hypothetically destroy a heavyweight champion, or be thwarted by a strong, crafty lightweight, and all along the way, creating a devastating highlight reel to pore over for years.

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