Head Kick Legend's 2011 Submission Of The Year

by Earl Montclair on Jan 6, 2012 9:02 AM EST in MMA

Today we are here to announce the winner of Head Kick Legend's 2011 Submission Of The Year. There were several phenomenal performances could earn the nod in this category but there was one that stood head and shoulders above the rest for the staff here at HKL:

via cdn.bleacherreport.net

MDH - Chan Sung Jung’s Twister on Leonard Garcia - At UFC Fight Night 24 "The Korean Zombie" had a chance to avenge his controversial split decision loss to Mr. You Know Who. Their first encounter was widely considered the Fight Of The Year in 2010 and many (including myself) felt as though this fight should never have been booked because there was no way it could ever come close to the pure insanity that their first encounter delivered. Boy, was I ever wrong as Jung locked in a spectacular Twister on Garcia, getting the tap with one second left on the clock in the second round. It was the first time in UFC history that a fight was won with that move and it was absolutely fantastic. I would like to throw out honorable mentions to Pablo Garza for his flying triangle choke he tapped Yves Jabouin with @ UFC 129 and Vinny Magalhaes for his ridiculous gogoplata/neck crank victory over Viktor Nemkov @ M-1 Challenge 25.

Chris - Can’t really disagree with MDH here either. Watching that Twister come to life was nothing short of spectacular, especially for someone, like myself, who had never heard of it much less had any idea what was being set up. On that note, I have to throw out Mir’s humerus breaking Kimura on Big Nog. Mir went from being all but finished to working that keylock. Then he rolls right through Nogueira’s reversal attempt to re-solidify his position. And when the tap wasn’t coming he cranked it on, with a viciousness I’ve only ever seen from Frank Mir in MMA. Mir’s BJJ had been widely criticized prior to this, not that he wasn’t talented, but that he couldn’t keep up with an established top level talent like Big Nog. Well, he definitely proved his mettle at UFC 140 and, for that, if nothing else, he deserves a nomination here.

Rainer - It’s hard to deny Jung’s claim to submission of the year. Not only did he execute a rarely-seen maneuver, but in doing so he took revenge over an opponent who, in their previous match, had been given an ill-deserved judges’ decision. Excellent all around. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention Michael Chandler’s guillotine of Eddie Alvarez-- which rocketed him into the top 10 of the lightweight division--or Miesha Tate’s surprising arm-triangle choke of then-champion Marloes Coenen, which, coming amidst a heated scramble against so respectable a grappler, speaks to Tate’s quick thinking and fine instincts. And there is, of course, Tito Ortiz’s guillotine of Ryan Bader, marking Ortiz’s first victory in some five years, and his only submission victory of the decade.

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