Sherdog’s 2024 Submission of the Year

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What makes a “Submission of the Year?” If previous Sherdog Year-End Awards are any indication, it comes down to a series of one-word questions—namely, who, when, where and how? The most memorable submissions tend to have two elements in common: impressive technique and enough competitive or historic stakes to make it matter. For example, last year’s winner saw Alexa Grasso capitalize on a missed spinning attack to tap out Valentina Shevchenko. A lightning-quick transition to the back and a slick rear-naked choke turned face crank were elevated from “Submission of the Night” material to “Submission of the Year” thanks to the setting—a UFC title fight in which a heavily favored champ, arguably the top pound-for-pound woman in the sport at the time, was dethroned in a few fateful seconds.

This year, like most others, offered plenty of examples of grapplers showing out on the sport’s biggest stages. At UFC 304 in July, Paddy Pimblett defied the doubters and silenced the haters—at least momentarily—with a first-round triangle choke submission of Bobby Green, a man many fans and pundits had been expecting to knock the brash Brit out cold. Steven Ray, who won this category in 2022 with an ultra-rare twister submission of Anthony Pettis, went back to the well, tapping out Lewis Long with a modified or “Scottish” twister at PFL Europe 3 on Sept. 28.

However deserving Pimblett, Ray and the rest of a deserving field may have been, the Sherdog staff voting came down heavily in favor of one contender for the signature submission of 2024. Heading into their co-main event clash at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker were both undeniable Top 5 middleweights, yet with something to prove. Former champ Whittaker was under pressure to demonstrate that he was still a factor in the title picture and make his case for a rematch with current titleholder Dricus Du Plessis. For his part, the enormously talented but mercurial Chimaev needed to show, two years after singlehandedly wrecking UFC 279, that he could show up, make weight and fight to the best of his prodigious capabilities in a high-profile booking.

As soon as the cage door shut and referee Jason Herzog waved the 185-pound contenders into action, Chimaev looked very much like the greater-than-2-to-1 favorite he was. Whittaker’s skill, speed and usually reliable takedown defense held up for a few moments, but once the Chechen-born Swede corralled him against the fence, the difference in size, wrestling technique and raw physical horsepower was stark. By the midpoint of the round, “Bobby Knuckles” was in survival mode, kneeling against the fence with his foe draped over him, trying valiantly to deny Chimaev either full back control or a complete takedown into mount. Chimaev remained calm as he alternated between dropping precise single punches and elbows, and fishing for Whittaker’s neck, patiently alert for any tiny opening.

Once Chimaev spotted the opening he had been waiting for, the finish was quick, definitive and brutal. “Borz” snatched up a rear-naked choke grip and, without even bothering to get the choking arm under the chin, wrapped it up and squeezed with all his might. Rather than the protracted hand-fighting sequence viewers might have expected, Whittaker submitted immediately, the kind of panicked insta-tap that almost always indicates excruciating pain. The Abu Dhabi crowd erupted and Chimaev released the hold, rolled off of his stricken foe and celebrated. Meanwhile, Whittaker remained on the ground, looking to his cornermen and pointing at his face.

The immediate aftermath was predictable: Chimaev asked for a shot at the belt, which he will likely receive, while Whittaker was remanded to the care of the cageside doctor. Thankfully, the injury turned out not to be a broken or dislocated jaw as it may have appeared, but it is a testament to Whittaker’s ridiculous toughness that he downplayed the severity of the injury while at the same time revealing that he had to have six of his teeth replaced. Folks, this is your yearly reminder that professional fighters, especially champs, are just built differently.

In hindsight, Chimaev’s vicious finish combined many of the qualities the Sherdog voting panel seems to appreciate. Similarly to Grasso vs. Shevchenko or Ben Rothwell’s 2016 ninja choke of Josh Barnett, it was shocking to see a capable grappler put away with such a quick and decisive sequence; while many expected Chimaev to win, few predicted he would make it look so easy. And like Frank Mir’s 2011 kimura on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Andre Muniz’s armbar submission of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, in 2021, there was the visceral impact of an in-cage injury. While only time will tell whether that tooth-loosening death squeeze will be Chimaev’s last non-title stepping stone before inaugurating a new era at middleweight, what is certain for now is that he has notched Sherdog’s 2024 “Submission of the Year.”