The 10 Best Submission Artists in MMA

Submissions: S (our engine)

“Do Bronx” is the most prolific finisher in UFC history: records for most submissions (17), most finishes (21) and most performance bonuses. In 36 UFC fights he has heard the final bell only twice.

Submissions: A (our engine)

A genuine grappling prodigy — an ADCC and IBJJF world champion who became the first woman ever to win IBJJF, ADCC and UFC titles, capturing the strawweight belt in 2025. Her guard is a different sport.

Submissions: S+ (our engine)

Twenty-nine and zero. Once Khabib took the back, the finish — or the most suffocating control the sport has ever seen — was all but inevitable.

Submissions: S+ (our engine)

The Dagestani system perfected: positional dominance that flows straight into chokes, used to dismantle a murderer’s row of lightweights and then a welterweight champion.

Submissions: S+ (our engine)

A two-time Olympic judo gold medalist whose throws lead right into finishes; she kimura’d Julianna Peña to win the bantamweight title in only her third UFC fight.

Submissions: S (our engine)

A scrambling genius whose creativity produced unforgettable finishes — none better than the mid-scramble flying armbar of Ray Borg.

Submissions: S (our engine)

He capped his career by submitting Michael Bisping with a rear-naked choke to win a second title — proof his grappling was every bit as dangerous as his record-setting wrestling.

Submissions: S (our engine)

Suffocating top pressure that turns into chokes; he has tapped opponents and smothered champions with equal ease.

Submissions: S (our engine)

Undefeated and relentlessly grappling-heavy, with a control game that wears opponents down and steadily opens up the back.

Submissions: S (our engine)

An Olympic wrestler whose chain grappling set up the rear-naked chokes that finished elite light heavyweights and heavyweights alike.