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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best entries of December 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and the winner of the MMA Junkie Submission of the Month for December.
At the end of the post, let us know if we were right by voting for your choice.
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nominees
Nominated: Chase Hooper def. Clay Guida at UFC 310
Chase Hooper (15-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) defeated Clay Guida in a grappling match in the past and repeated the result inside the Octagon in their lightweight bout.
Hooper showed continued progress in his striking game before outclassing Guida on the ground and blocking an armbar for the tap less than four minutes into the first round. With this, Guida set a new record for the most UFC defeats in his career.
Nominated: Michael Chiesa def. Max Griffin at UFC 310
Michael Chiesa (18-7 MMA, 13-7 UFC) is no stranger to the rear-naked choke, and he made that clear again in his welterweight bout with Max Griffin.
After controlling much of the action through two rounds, Chiesa put Griffin in his most dangerous position on the ground. He applied his signature choke and forced Griffin into submission for the first time in his MMA career.
Nominated: Vicente Luque def. Themba Gorimbo at UFC 310
After a brain hemorrhage nearly ended his career a few years ago, Vicente Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) showed he shouldn’t be written off just yet when he destroyed Themba Gorimbo.
Luque moved into second place on the all-time welterweight list when he rocked Gorimbo early in the fight. He then grabbed an anaconda choke that put his opponent out of action just 52 seconds into the fight.
The winner
The winner: Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura at UFC 310
Alexandre Pantoja denied Kai Asakura the chance to make history by becoming the first Japanese UFC champion.
Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) proved to be the superior fighter by defeating former RIZIN FF champion and UFC newcomer Asakura (21-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC). The rear-naked choke submission occurred at 2:05 of round 2.
This fight started out blurry. Pantoja quickly closed the distance with punches, prompting Asakura to deliver a counter knee strike. The champion responded with a powerful punch before things slowed down in the clinch. Pantoja took the fight to the ground, but not much happened until Asakura got back to his feet.
The challenger fired in and out with various punches while Pantoja countered patiently, charging forward with hard punches and kicks when he saw an opportunity.
Pantoja was aggressive in round 2, using punches to set up a takedown attempt. Pantoja failed at first, climbing to Asakura’s back and quickly forming a body triangle.
Soon the rear naked choke was applied and the pressure caused Asakura to fall asleep.
Cast your vote!
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkies Submission of the Month for December: Alexandre Pantoja strangles Kai Asakura
