MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for December 2014

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best submissions from December 1-31. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for December 2014.

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

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The Nominees

Raquel Pennington def. Ashlee Evans-Smith at UFC 181

A small tactical mistake turned the lights out on UFC newcomer Ashlee Evans-Smith (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC). and brought triumph for Raquel Pennington (5-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) via a rare bulldog choke submission. Pennington grabbed a the choke in the waning seconds of the opening frame and squeezed until Smith went unconscious with just one second left in the round.

Anthony Pettis def. Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181

After a 15-month layoff due to injury, Anthony Pettis (17-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) provided the fight world with a little reminder of why the 155-pound belt is strapped around his waist when he forced Gilbert Melendez (22-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) to tap out with a second-round guillotine choke. Melendez did implement a sound strategy, but “Showtime” needed just one mistake to catch “El Nino” in the choke and became the first to finish the former Strikeforce champion.

Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale

Carla Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made history when she became the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion with a third-round submission of Rose Namajunas (2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Esparza stuck to a solid game plan of mixing up strikes, takedowns, ground attacks and submissions. She eventually secured the rear-naked choke to give her the victory and the championship belt.

Rousimar Palhares def. Jon Fitch at WSOF 16

Rousimar Palhares (17-6) added another victim to his growing list of submission wins when he finished Jon Fitch (26-7-1) with a first-round knee bar to defend his WSOF welterweight title. Fitch briefly defended the submission, but once Palhares adjusted the knee bar, the former UFC title challenger frantically tapped out for just the third time in his career.

Ian Entwistle def. Anthony Birchak at UFC on FOX 13

Ian Entwistle (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) spoiled the hometown UFC debut of Anthony Birchak (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and picked up his first octagon win in quick fashion. Entwistle grabbed ahold of an ankle lock early and refused to let it go, forcing Birchak to tap out just 64 seconds into the first round.

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The Winner: Raquel Pennington

After falling short in her UFC debut, Raquel Pennington earned her second consecutive octagon victory with a surprising submission of Ashlee Evans-Smith at UFC 181 in Las Vegas.

Evans-Smith, who has fought at featherweight in the past, was expected to be too big and too powerful for the physically unimposing Pennington. The fight didn’t play out that way, though, as a bulldog choke submission left Evans-Smith face-first on the canvas as “The Ultimate Fighter 18” contestant celebrated her moment of glory.

The action early on was tipped in the favor of Evans-Smith, who controlled the Pennington in the clinch and on the ground while avoiding heavy blows and submission attempts. Evans-Smith’s offense proved its most effective when she landed a knee that opened an unflattering gash on Pennington’s forehead.

If anything, the sight of her own blood sparked a fire underneath Pennington. Shortly after she capitalized on one of Evans-Smith’s grappling errors and took the back. From there, Pennington secured a standing bulldog choke, dragged Evans-Smith to the floor and left her there unconscious.