MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for December: A quick tap from a rare calf-slicer

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

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

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The Nominees

Brett Johns def. Joe Soto at TUF 26 Finale

Brett Johns (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) added another victory to his unblemished record when he tapped out grappling standout Joe Soto (18-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) with a rarely seen calf-slicer just 30 seconds into the opening round of their bantamweight bout.

Repost By fightcentral_mma: 2nd calf slicer in UFC history! #brettjohnsmma vs #Joe Soto #TUFfinale #brettjohns #ufc #ufcfighter#mma #boxinghype #boxing #martialarts #ko #knockedout#tkd #jiujitsufighter #jiujitsu #wrestling #fight #graciefighter#streetfight #mmalife #jiujitsulife #muaythai #kickboxing#nakmuay #calfslicer #bellator #combatsports #judo #karate #ufcfightnight

A post shared by @ fightfan07 on Dec 1, 2017 at 7:24pm PST

Alex Perez def. Carls John de Tomas at UFC Fight Night 123

Alex Perez (19-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made easy work of Carls John de Tomas (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a dominant performance on the ground, where he ultimately coaxed de Tomas to tap to a D’Arce choke in the second round of the bantamweight contest.

(UFC Fight Night 123) Alex Perez def. Carls John De Tomas via 2nd round submission @alexperezmma

A post shared by ufc480Chris (@ufc480chris) on Dec 10, 2017 at 7:55pm PST

Brian Ortega def. Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 123

The book on Brian Ortega (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is if he gets your neck, the fight is pretty much game over. Cub Swanson (25-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) found that out the hard way after succumbing to a second-round guillotine from the unbeaten featherweight prospect.

@briantcity has some serious skills! Follow & Use our hashtag ??#TheFightRoomUK ? ? #brianortega #ufc #mma #submission #win #fitness #gym #tapout #health #wealth #octagon

A post shared by The Fight Room UK (@thefightroomuk) on Dec 15, 2017 at 3:42pm PST

Tim Elliott def. Mark De La Rosa at UFC 219

In an emotional outing following the death of his coach Robert Follis, scrappy Tim Elliott (15-8-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC) scored an anaconda-choke submission win over Mark De La Rosa (9-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the bantamweight bout.

The former and probably future title contender #timelliott did as expected and won over the UFC debutant and undefeated until this night #markdelarosa by submission in the second on the opening fight. Continous ground control for Elliott. #ufc #mma #ufc219 #ufcfightnight #ufclasvegas #bantamweight

A post shared by Kimi Meseguer (@movesoftheufcfights) on Dec 31, 2017 at 9:52am PST

Kanna Asakura def. Rena Kubota at Rizin FF 9

Rena Kubota (6-1) was primed to be crowned the winner of the women’s super atomweight grand prix, but Kanna Asakura (11-2) had other plans. She put her grappling expertise to work again against Kubota and locked in a tight rear-naked choke that left her opponent unconscious.

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The Winner: Brett Johns

Brett Johns

Welshman Johns kept his perfect record intact while needing just 30 seconds to tap out Soto with only the second calf-slicer finish in UFC history.

Johns moved forward to start, pumping out a jab and dropping in a right hand behind it. Soto then turned to his wrestling, but it turned out to be his undoing.

As Johns stuffed the takedown, he expertly locked his left leg around his opponent’s as they transitioned to the floor. With the limb secure, Johns finished the setup, sat back and torqued the leg for the quick finish.

“I do practice that move in the gym but I got lucky,” Johns said after the win. “Joe is a very good grappler, and I told people coming in that just because I don’t do very many grappling combinations doesn’t mean that I’m not a good grappler. I knew Joe would look for the takedown early because I saw it from the way he was protecting his head and throwing the single leg, and I’m very good at defending them.

“On a different night, it probably wouldn’t have worked, but I feel I got lucky.”