UFC 277, scheduled for July 30 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, is a highly-anticipated event with a card that features Julianna Peña defending her Women’s Bantamweight title in a rematch against Amanda Nunes. Other UFC 277 odds fights include Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France, Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich, and Anthony Smith vs. Magomed Ankalaev.
There’s a lot of striking power on this card, but UFC odds suggest there should at least be a couple of submission victories. The last fight between Nunes and Peña ended in submission, and Nunes herself has won three matches via submission.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the six all-time leaders in UFC submission victories.
Charles Oliveira (16)
If you’re planning to bet on UFC and Charles Oliveira is involved, there’s no better option than selecting a submission victory. The former UFC Lightweight Champion has 33 career MMA victories, 21 of which have come via submission and nine via knockout. He’s known to finish fights, and most commonly by submission.
Oliveira has recorded 16 of his submission victories in the UFC. He defeated Justin Gaethje via submission in the first round of his most recent fight at UFC 274 but was stripped of his Lightweight Championship after missing weight by half a pound. Oliveira also submitted Dustin Poirier in the third round at UFC 269. He also has submission victories over Kevin Lee, David Teymur, and Jim Miller.
Demian Maia (11)
Before Oliveira’s recent run of dominance in the UFC, Demian Maia was the most feared submission specialist in MMA. The retired fighter won 28 career fights and ended half of those via submission. He lost the last two matches of his career in 2021 and 2020 but defeated Ben Askren via submission in the third round of their match at a UFC Fight Night event in October 2019.
Before that, Maia scored submission wins over Lyman Good, Carlos Condit, and Matt Brown. He only had three submission victories over the last five years of his career.
Jim Miller (11)
Oliveira’s submission victory over Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night in 2018 marked one of the all-time great submission specialist matches in UFC history. Not surprisingly, it was ended by Oliviera via submission at just 1:16 into the first round. However, it wouldn’t have been a shock if Miller won the fight, either.
“A-10” has been a staple in the UFC Welterweight Division for quite some time and boasts a career record of 35-16-0. He has 19 career submission victories, including 11 in UFC. Miller won his most recent match against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, another UFC veteran, via submission at UFC 276. It was his third consecutive victory, all of which have been finished via TKO or submission.
Miller has also submitted Roosevelt Roberts, Clay Guida, and Jason Gonzalez.
Nate Diaz (9)
Although he’s known for his brawling, stand-up-and-throw-em style, Nate Diaz usually ends fights on the ground. He has 12 submission victories, nine of which have occurred in UFC. Diaz, who is on a two-fight losing streak, famously submitted Connor McGregor in the second round of their UFC 196 fight in 2016.
Diaz has additional submission victories over Jim Miller and Takanori Gomi. He only has one submission victory since 2013, suggesting a change of fighting styles later in his career.
Frank Mir (8)
One of the best Heavyweight submission specialists of all time, Frank Mir ended eight fights via submission in his lengthy UFC career. The former Heavyweight Champion, who last competed in 2016, has submission wins over Francis Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, and Tim Sylvia.
Gerald Meerschaert (8)
“GM3” Gerald Meerschaert has won 26 of his 34 fights via submission. He scored his most recent submission victory against Dustin Stoltzfus at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus and has submission victories over Makhmud Muradov and Bartosz Fabinski. He has won each of his last six fights by submission.
Disclaimer: This communication is for 18+ only. Gambling involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk. This post contains material that may or may not be legal in your country. Subject to applicable law.
