The Submissions | 2024 Half-Year Awards

Make it five straight for Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez.

The unrelenting Californian middleweight took the best Roman Kopylov had to offer and kept coming forward, ultimately dragging the streaking Russian to the canvas and sinking in the rear-naked choke. Hernandez turned the tides in the second round after getting hit with multiple clean, heavy shots, smiling at Kopylov and waving him on, and from there, it was all Hernandez.

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After an uneven start to his UFC tenure, the skilled middleweight has now collected five straight wins, including three consecutive finishes. He’s on an outstanding run and should get another showcase opportunity next time out.

4 – Angela Hill defeats Luana Pinheiro by submission (mounted guillotine) at 4:12 of Round 2

In her 25th UFC appearance, Angela Hill finally secured her first submission win, tapping out Luana Pinheiro in the main card opener.

The veteran was getting the better of the striking exchanges with the Brazilian throughout the first and second, but also flashed continually improving grappling as well, taking Pinheiro down in the first and controlling the clinch in the second. In the back half of the round, Pinheiro dropped her head as the two were in the center of the cage, and Hill wasted no time clamping onto the neck and sitting into the guillotine choke.

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When she floated over into mount, Pinheiro was quick to tap.

That’s the first submission win of Hill’s career and just the third stoppage in a dozen UFC victories. The 39-year-old should vault into the Top 10 with the win and continues to be a perennial tough out in the 115-pound weight class.

3 – Kayla Harrison defeats Holly Holm by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:47 of Round 2

Kayla Harrison made an emphatic statement in her promotional debut, rag-dolling and battering former champion Holly Holm before securing the rear-naked choke finish early in the second round.

Holm looked to clinch with the gold medal-winning judoka in the first and it proved costly, as Harrison turned the second entanglement into an opportunity to gain top position and batter the divisional mainstay with punches and elbows through to the horn. In the second, the debuting force tossed Holm to the canvas, ultimately finding herself in back mount, where she fished the arm under the neck and secured the tap.

Just an absolutely dominant effort from the promotional newcomer, who moved to 17-1 with the win. Harrison is an absolute force in the Octagon, and an immediate title contender in the bantamweight division.

2 – Islam Makhachev defeats Dustin Poirier by submission (D’arce choke) at 2:42 of Round 5

Islam Makhachev remains the UFC lightweight champion after collecting a fifth-round submission win.

The champion put Poirier on the canvas quickly in the first, advancing to his back and staying there for the remainder of the round. Poirier defended well throughout, and the remainder of the fight was scrappier and more competitive, with the challenger doing well to defend takedowns while Makhachev was forced into the first bloody, grueling battle of his championship reign.

With both men bloodied, but dialled in heading into the final round, Makhachev caused Poirier to stumble in the center of the Octagon midway through the round and pounced. After momentarily looking for a guillotine choke, the champion switched off to a D’arce choke and quickly drew out the tap.

That’s now three consecutive successful title defenses and 14 straight wins for Makhachev, who continues to reign supreme in the lightweight division. He’s now tied with four others for the most consecutive successful title defenses in the division and sits two wins back of Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive UFC victories.

1 – Brian Ortega defeats Yair Rodriguez by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 0:58 of Round 3

Brian Ortega survived a hellacious opening round to secure a third-round submission win over Yair Rodriguez in the co-main event.

Rodriguez stunned Ortega almost straight away to start the fight, busting him up and chasing a finish in the first round. But the two-time title challenger endured and dominated the second, dragging Rodriguez to the canvas and opening a cut under his eye with strikes from top position. As soon as the third began, Ortega worked for another takedown, clamped onto an arm-triangle choke, and secured the tap.

After multiple surgeries and more than three years without a victory, this is a massive moment for Ortega. He showed tremendous resilience to navigate the opening round onslaught, and put himself back into the championship mix by dispatching Rodriguez in Mexico City.