MMA Junkie’s 2024 Submission of the Year: Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker at UFC 308

With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Year award for 2024.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for Submission of the Year.

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Honorable mentions

Paddy Pimblett def. King Green at UFC 304

Paddy Pimblett passed arguably his toughest test to date in flying colors and backed up all his talk against King Green.

Green came out swinging, but ultimately shot for a takedown. Pimblett grabbed his neck and pulled for a guillotine choke. When Green popped his head out, Pimblett promptly snatched a triangle choke. Green tried to adjust, but Pimblett grabbed his leg. As Green sat back, the lights went out, and Pimblett incorporated an armbar, as well. Green was unconscious and the fight was waved off.

Brian Ortega def. Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 237

Brian Ortega's first attempt vs. Yair Rodriguez ended in an injury and a loss. The second attempt at UFC Fight Night 237 started with an injury and ended in victory.

In a rollercoaster 15-minute stretch in the featherweight division, Ortega overcame an ankle injury and an onslaught of striking to defeat Rodriguez by arm-triangle choke less than a minute into the third round for a critical triumph in his career.

Islam Makhachev def. Dustin Poirier at UFC 302

Dustin Poirier had 25 minutes to finish the story at UFC 302, but lightweight champion Islam Makhachev wrote an alternate ending.

In an all-time thrilling title fight battle, Makhachev submitted Poirier with a D’Arce choke in the fifth round. The submission came after Makhachev swept the leg of "The Diamond" then synched up the tight choke to finish the fight.

Dricus Du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya at UFC 305

Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title in a back-and-forth war with former champion Israel Adesanya in the UFC 305 main event.

The middleweight title headliner was filled with intense moments. However, in Round 4, Du Plessis found his way onto the back of Adesanya to forced his rival to tap for the first time in his career courtesy of a rear-naked choke.

The winner

Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker at UFC 308

Khamzat Chimaev returned in emphatic fashion at UFC 308.

Chimaev ran through former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to secure a face crank submission at the 3:34 mark of Round 1.

Less than 20 seconds into the fight, Chimaev stormed in with a takedown. He was able to get one hook in as he worked for the rear-naked choke. Whittaker defended well, as Chimaev continuously tried to drag him down. Chimaev finally took his back, but Whittaker exploded out. However, Chimaev was able to jump on his back again. His pressure proved to be too much as he was finally able to get across Whittaker's face, forcing him to tap quickly.

Whittaker later revealed Chimaev capitalized on a pre-existing issue with his jaw as photos surfaced of his teeth being crushed in as a result of MMA Junkie's 2024 Submission of the Year.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s 2024 Submission of the Year: Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker at UFC 308