June 2018 was stacked in all aspects when it comes to combat sports. Whether it be scintillating fights, brutal knockouts, or beautiful submissions, there was no shortage of action to choose from when it came to any category – including Submission of the Month.
The month opened up with stunning performances from the likes of Sergey Klyuev and Nathaniel Wood at M-1 Challenge 93 and UFC Fight Night 131 respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, June 2018 ended with title-winning submissions in Titan FC and title-defending submissions in Bellator MMA. This isn’t even beginning to mention the plethora of action that took place alongside those cards.
It wasn’t an easy choice, but due to the quality of win + the fashion in which it happened, June 2018’s Submission of the Month took place on the final day of June 2018 under the DEEP banner in Japan.
Satoshi Yamasu vs. Takahiro Ashida
On the final day of June 2018, in the early hours of the morning, DEEP 84 took place live from Tokyo, Japan.
I was an event that signified in some ways the end of an era, as it was the final show that would ever go down inside the renowned Differ Ariake arena, a venue that has been home to some pivotal moments in Japanese MMA history over the years.
The show was headlined by Japanese legends Eiji Ishikawa and Kazunori Yokota in what was Yokota’s final fight. And in the co-main event we saw RIZIN veterans Yuki Motoya and Je Hoon Moon.
However, in arguably the biggest moment of the whole show, Satoshi Yamasu brought his 8-4 record into the cage with DEEP Featherweight Champion; Takahiro Ashida, who entered with a record 21-8-2.
On paper, this fight was all Ashida. The title was not on the line, sadly, but it didn’t really seem to matter. Because the far more proven DEEP title-holder Ashida was going to walk out on top regardless, right?
Wrong.
Yamasu – nicknamed “Dominator” – stunned as he earned his sixth-straight win in a big upset vs. Takahiro Ashida, the DEEP Champion.
The eventual finish came mid-way through round one after Yamasu dropped Ashida with some stiff punches on the feet. What followed was a good 15-seconds of nasty soccer kicks to the dome of Ashida as Yamasu was clearly feeling those World Cup vibes.
Soccer kicks, a headstomp, and the ref refused to save Ashida from further punishment. Thankfully, Yamasu wasn’t aiming to dish out brain damage, as he eventually jumped at the opportunity to grab a double wristlock and torque the shoulder of Ashida for the tap.
Sadly for Yamasu, he didn’t walk out as champion due to it being a non-title bout. but in his ninth career win, and sixth-straight victory, he picked up the biggest win of his career by far.
Ashida remains champion, but he loses whilst fighting in Japan for the first time since 2015. He had not been finished in Japan since 2013.
The sequence that lead to the submission, the underdog story, the final show at Differ Ariake. It was all of this and more that make it MMASucka’s Submission of the Month for June 2018.
Now it’s time to rank the top three submissions of June 2018. All opinion-based, of course. If your personal choice didn’t make the cut, you will almost certainly find it below in the honorable mentions section.
1. Satoshi Yamasu def. Takahiro Ashida via SUB1
DEEP 84 Impact: Differ Ariake Finale
2. Steven Siler def. Magomed Idrisov via SUB1
PFL 1
3. Ilia Topuria def. Brian Bouland via SUB1
Cage Warriors 94
Now, before we get into the extensive list of honorable mentions, check out last month’s Submission of the Month courtesy of Alexey Oleynik. Now; honorable mention time.
- M-1 Challenge 93 | Sergey Klyuev def. Ilya Karetnikov via SUB1 (Inverted Triangle/Kimura)
- M-1 Challenge 93 | Mikael Silander def. Nureles Aidarov via SUB1 (D’arce Choke)
- UFC FN 131 | Nathaniel Wood def. Johnny Eduardo via SUB2 (D’arce Choke)
- UFC FN 131 | Gregor Gillespie def. Vinc Pichel via SUB2 (Arm Triangle)
- LFA 41 | Nate Jennerman def. Kevin Croom via SUB1 (Standing Guillotine)
- LFA 41 | Killys Mota def. Bobby Lee via SUB2 (Guillotine Choke)
- LFA 41 | Thiago Moises def. Jeff Peterson via SUB2 (Flying Guillotine)
- Imortal FC 9 | Monique Bastos def. Nayse Nascimento via SUB1 (Armbar)
- PFL 1 | Alexandre Almeida def. Lee Coville via SUB1 (Armbar)
- KSW 44| Lukasz Rajewski def. Leo Zulic via SUB1 (Heel Hook)
- KSW 44 | Kleber Koike Erbst def. Marian Ziolkowski via SUB1 (Armbar)
- KSW 44 | Karol Bedorf def. Mariusz Pudzianowski via SUB1 (Kimura)
- UFC 225 | Charles Oliveira def. Clay Guida via SUB1 (Guillotine Choke)
- ROC 63 | Frank Buenafuente def. Mike Lawrence via SUB1 (Standing Guillotine)
- M-1 Challenge 94 | Roman Bogatov def. Raul Tatarauli via SUB1 (Von Flue Choke)
- CES 50 | Fabio Cherant def. Marquis Allen via SUB1 (Flying Guillotine)
- CES 50 | Andre Ewell def. Dinis Paiva via SUB3 (Ninja Choke, Title Win)
- ACB 88 | Mindaugas Verzbickas def. Corey Nelson via SUB1 (Standing D’arce)
- ACB 88 | Michael Tobin def. Michael Mannue via SUB1 (Reverse Triangle/Armbar)
- ACB 88 | Kyle Reyes def. Trent Girdham via SUB2 (Rear Naked Choke)
- ACB 88 | Marcin Held def. Callan Potter via SUB1 (Heel Hook)
- Cage Warriors 94 | Phil Mulpeter def. Jan Quaeyhaegens via SUB3 (Rear Naked Choke)
- WWFC 11 | Magdalena Sormova def. Svetlana Gotsyk via SUB1 (Armbar, Title Win)
- V3 Fights 69 | Pauline Macias def. Brianna Smith via SUB1 (Armbar)
- V3 Fights 69 | Bobby Moffett def. Jonathan Jackson via SUB1 (D’arce Choke)
- Favela Kombat 29 | Diego Silva def. Henrique Souza via SUB1 (Guillotine Choke, Title Win)
- Contender Series 2 | Ryan Spann def. Emiliano Sordi via SUB1 (Standing Guillotine)
- PFL 2 | Vinny Magalhaes def. Jamie Abdallah via SUB1 (Rear Naked Choke)
- PFL 2 | Kayla Harrison def. Brittney Elkin via SUB1 (Armbar)
- LFA 43 | Itzel Esquivel def. Desiree Yanez via SUB1 (Armbar)
- UFC FN 132 | Jake Matthews def. Shinsho Anzai via SUB1 (Rear Naked Choke)
- UFC FN 132 | Ovince St. Preux def. Tyson Pedro via SUB1 (Straight Armbar)
- Invictus Fighters 20 | Leandro Delgado def. Frano Aranda via SUB1 (Triangle Choke)
- Destiny MMA | Louis Smolka def. Tycenn Lynn via SUB2 (Guillotine Choke)
- ONE: Spirit of a Warrior | Leandro Issa def. Roman Alvarez via SUB1 (Arm Triangle)
- Bellator 201 | Ilima-Lei Macfarlane def. Alejandra Lara via SUB3 (Armbar, Title Defense)
- Bellator 201 | Keri Melendez def. Tiani Valle via SUB3 (Rear Naked Choke)
- Bellator 201 | Jordan Young def. Jamal Pogues via SUB3 (Armbar)
- XFN 11 | Ivan Buchinger def. Jaroslav Pokorny via SUB2 (D’arce Choke)
- Titan FC 50 | Uros Jurisic def. Jose Caceres via SUB1 (Guillotine Choke, Title Win)
- Titan FC 50 | Gregg Ellis def. Hernan Sosa via SUB3 (Kimura)
- Shooto Brasil 85 | Diogo Justino def. Wildemar Santos via SUB1 (Arm Triangle)
- Cage Titans 39 | Connor Barry def. Peter Barrett via SUB1 (Armbar)
- GMC 15 | Nordin Asrih def. Dragan Pesic via SUB1 (Americana)
