Sherdog.com’s 2016 Submission of the Year

A “Submission of the Year” can come in many shapes and many sizes. A year’s best tapout may stem from an impressive technique that ends a major high-stakes fight, or perhaps it is a visually impressive high-flying act that drops the jaws of even non-MMA watchers. Fabricio Werdum’s triangle choke on Fedor Emelianenko and Rumina Sato’s flying armbar on Charles Taylor do not have much in common other than their obvious greatness.Somewhere in between those extremes, there are submissions that don’t happen in five-round classics and others that won’t blow your mind to see them in an animated .gif. They’re simple creative, crafty techniques that teach you a little something about fighting, even if you’re a grappling stalwart. They’re the kind of holds that can school and educate even a 20-year combat sports veteran and former Ultimate Fighting Championship titlist. Which brings us to Ben Rothwell teaching Josh Barnett — and the MMA world — all about the gogo choke. It’s not that Rothwell beating Barnett on Jan. 30 was any kind of major upset in and of itself. “Big Ben” was only a +120 underdog by fight time and was coming off of impressive wins over Alistair Overeem and Matt Mitrione, while Barnett had fought just once in over two years prior. Keep in mind: We’re talking about heavyweights here. If you had told someone prior to UFC on Fox 18 in Newark, New Jersey, that Rothwell was going to beat Barnett, even if they disagreed, they would still probably shrug and entertain your thesis. No, what made Rothwell’s submission so fantastic was that he submitted Barnett, one of the finest heavyweight grapplers in this sport’s history and a two-decade veteran that had never actually been tapped with a submission hold in his entire MMA career. Sure, Rothwell had used the exact same choke to tap Mitrione just seven months prior, but this was Barnett. On the heels of “The Warmaster” being flagged for a banned substance by the United States Anti-Doping Agency — if upheld, it would be an unprecedented fourth drug test failure for Barnett since 2011 — you may have some fiery opinions on the man, his career and his legacy. However, even the staunchest anti-Barnett campaigner could never deny his skill, technique and even surprising athleticism in the grappling department. When the bout began, it certainly didn’t seem like the kind of fight that would produce a “Submission of the Year.” For the first eight minutes and change, Barnett diligently worked his jab, bloodied Rothwell’s nose, controlled distance and forced the Wisconsinite to load up on heavy strikes while chasing Barnett and eating …

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