5 fighters with the most submission wins in UFC history
While everyone loves a brutal knockout in MMA, sometimes the art of a slick submission is equally, if not more, impressive. There are only a handful of ways to knock someone out, while the list of submissions we’ve seen used inside the Octagon – from armbars to leglocks to chokes – is massively extensive.
As the sport of MMA has developed and fighters have become more well-rounded, submissions have admittedly become harder to achieve at the elite level – the days of UFC fighters being novices in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, for instance, are long gone – but 2018 has still seen some memorable ones; from triangle chokes to guillotines.
Some fighters though have perfected the art of submission to the point where they’re utterly deadly from seemingly any position, and they’re able to catch even the best fighters in a fight-ending hold. Here are the 5 fighters with the most submission wins in UFC history.
#5 Frank Mir – 8 submission wins
Former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir – now plying his trade in Bellator and close to the end of his career – ranks as undoubtedly the best submission-oriented Heavyweight in promotional history. Over his 15-year tenure inside the Octagon, Mir was able to win via submission on an impressive 8 occasions – meaning half of his UFC wins came by tap out.
Perhaps most impressively, Mir was never an expert at a single submission. 6 of his 8 victories were achieved via different forms of submission hold, with only the armbar and kimura being used on multiple occasions. The former champ tapped out Tank Abbott with a toehold, Brock Lesnar with a kneebar, and even used an ultra-rare shoulder lock to finish Pete Williams.
The point that marks Mir in true infamy however is this one; it’s rare that a submission is used to outright break a limb in the UFC, usually because the fighter on the receiving end taps out before that point. Mir though has broken the arm of his opponent on three separate occasions in UFC action – snapping the arms of Tim Sylvia and Roberto Traven with armbars, and breaking Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm with a kimura.
Few Heavyweights really perfect the art of submission, but Mir was an obvious exception.