MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month for August: Dricus Du Plessis becomes first to tap Israel Adesanya

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from August 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month award for August.

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

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Nominees

Nominee: Toshiomi Kazama def. Charalampos Grigoriou at UFC on ESPN 61

Just when [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag] appeared to be in the most danger of a loss against Charalampos Grigoriou, he turned things around in stunning fashion to put himself in the winner’s circle.

After Grigoriou scored a big knockdown in the second round of the bantamweight bout, he pounced on a downed Kazama (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and flurried for the finish. Then Kazama controlled the posture of his opponent, slid his legs over the shoulders and locked in a triangle choke for the comeback win.

Nominee: Serghei Spivac def. Marcin Tybura at UFC on ESPN 61

In a night filled with lackadaisical fights, [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag] turned the tide with an energizing finish of Marcin Tybura.

Early in the heavyweight main event, Spivac (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) exploded off his back to snatch an armbar and tap Tybura less than two minutes into the opening round. The armbar was the first in UFC heavyweight history since July 25, 2020, when Fabricio Werdum submitted Alexander Gustafsson.

Nominee: Jesus Aguilar def. Stewart Nicoll at UFC 305

[autotag]Jesus Aguilar[/autotag] defeated promotional newcomer Stewart Nicoll with a technical submission due to guillotine choke, somewhat fending off criticisms around his weight miss for the flyweight contest.

Aguilar (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) came out strong with a big punch and grabbed Nicoll. Moments later, Nicoll turned the tables. He got Aguilar down and took his back, nearly in a mounted position. However, Aguilar bucked him off, grabbed hold, and jumped the guillotine choke. Aguilar informed referee Steve Perceval that Nicoll was out. After a brief investigation, Perceval confirmed and stopped the fight.

Nominee: Gerald Meerschaert def. Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC on ESPN 62

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag] has a knack for the comeback, and he added an all-timer to his resume against Edmen Shahbazyan in their middleweight bout to pass Anderson Silva's longstanding record for most finishes in divisional history.

Meerschaert (37-17 MMA, 12-9 UFC) was nearly finished in Round 2 as he absorbed dozens of blows to his head after Shahbazyan dropped him and pounced for the kill. Shahbazyan appeared to slow following the elongated punching sequence and eventually Meerschaert worked his way to top position. From there, he locked in an arm-triangle choke and got the record-setting tap.

The winner

The winner: Dricus Du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya at UFC 305

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] 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 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, was filled with intense moments. However, in Round 4, Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) found his way onto the back of Adesanya to force a tap from a rear-naked choke at 3:38.

In his first fight of the year, Adesanya returned to action, attempting to reclaim the middleweight title he lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last September. To his credit, the time off for Adesanya looked to pay dividends early, as he was sharp offensively and defensively.

Du Plessis varied his attacks with high and low kicks and also threatened with his wrestling game, which would eventually be the determining factor. Adesanya countered well and dug in a few hard shots to the body as he mixed up the target of his punches throughout the fight.

In the second round, Du Plessis went to the grappling game early, taking the back of Adesanya. He slapped on a rear naked choke but got too high, and Adesanya reversed. They returned to the feet where Adesanya put together a few sharp combinations before Du Plessis dropped down for a single leg and wrestled until the horn.

Sharp striking was on display from Adesanya early in Round 3, forcing Du Plessis to defend multiple attacks. Adesanya was equally sharp defensively, countering with a well-timed spinning back elbow. However, things changed when Du Plessis snuck in a stiff left hand that stunned Adesanya, opening up back-and-forth exchanges as he turned up the pressure.

Adesanya was having success on the feet early in Round 4, but then Du Plessis clipped him with a left hook and charged forward into a takedown. Du Plessis scrambled to the back, and slapped on the choke that ended the fight.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month for August: Dricus Du Plessis becomes first to tap Israel Adesanya