MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for October: Khamzat Chimaev crushes Robert Whittaker’s teeth

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

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: Court McGee def. Tim Means at UFC 307

Court McGee (22-13 MMA, 11-12 UFC) the job done at home when he arguably needed to most against Tim Means (33-17-1 MMA, 15-14 UFC) for his first octagon finish since October 2010.

McGee’s game plan appeared to be executed to a tee. He dragged Means from the clinch to the ground, largely avoiding damage, and worked for the back of Means, which he eventually found for the rear-naked choke and tap.

Nominee: Ryan Spann def Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 307

Ryan Spann (22-10 MMA, 8-5 UFC) once again showed what he’s capable of when he’s on top of his game with a vicious finish of Ovince Saint Preux (27-18 MMA, 15-13 UFC).

With his back against the wall on a three-fight losing skid, Spann came out of the gate and hurt Saint Preux early in the light heavyweight bout. As his opponent tried to recover, Spann snatched the neck and forced his way on top with a guillotine choke that forced Saint Preux to frantically tap out in just 95 seconds.

Nominee: Taha Bendaoud def. Tariq Ismail at PFL: Battle of the Giants

Taha Bendaoud (4-0) pulled off a remarkable comeback against Tariq Ismail (8-1), rallying from a tough pair of rounds to pull off a miraculous submission late in the second of the featherweight contest.

Nominee: Jonathan Micallef def. Mohamed Ado at Dana White’s Contender Series 76

In a transition-filled grapple-fest, Jonathan Micallef put Mohamed Ado to sleep to earn a UFC contract in their welterweight clash.

Micallef (7-1) locked in a slick triangle choke at the midway point of the opening round and in a matter of seconds Ado (5-1) was taking a nap on the canvas while the winner celebrated his big moment.

The winner

The winner: Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker at UFC 308

Khamzat Chimaev returned in emphatic fashion.

Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) ran through former champion Robert Whittaker (27-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) to secure a face crank submission at the 3:34 mark of Round 1. The middleweight bout was the UFC 308 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

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 continously 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.

Still undefeated, Chimaev matched his energy on the mic, urging the UFC to give him a title shot.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for October: Khamzat Chimaev crushes Robert Whittaker’s teeth