{"id":32251,"date":"2025-07-30T10:50:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/32251\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:50:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:50:06","slug":"mma-junkies-submission-of-the-month-july-2025-costello-van-steenis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/32251\/","title":{"rendered":"MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month, July 2025: Costello van Steenis"},"content":{"rendered":"

VON FLUE CHOKE TO PERFECTION \ud83e\udd0c<\/p>\n

Movsar Ibragimov improves to 7-0 after his second round submission!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf2Download the PFL App FOR FREE and watch all the #PFLBrussels<\/a> action go down LIVE from Belgium pic.twitter.com\/GnwEAcMC4M<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 PFL (@PFLMMA) July 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from July 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for July.<\/p>\n

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.<\/p>\n

Nominee: Movsar Ibragimov def. Gerardo Fanny at PFL Europe 2<\/p>\n

Movsar Ibragimov kept his undefeated career record alive when he choked Gerardo Fanny with a rare technique in their PFL bantamweight showdown.<\/p>\n

Ibragimov (7-0) took advantage of Fanny failing to let go from bottom position and clamped on a Von Flue choke<\/a> that, after a brief struggle, led to the tap.<\/p>\n

Nominee: Valter Walker def. Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC on ESPN 70<\/p>\n

Valter Walker made history when he finished Kennedy Nzechukwu with his third consecutive heel hook finish.<\/p>\n

Walker’s (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) now trademark move landed early again, because he managed to make Nzechukwu (14-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) tap just 54 seconds into Round 1 of the heavyweight bout.<\/p>\n

Nominee: Brunno Ferreira def. Jackson McVey at UFC 318<\/p>\n

For all the UFC middleweights who thought they just had to worry about Brunno Ferreira in the standup game, the Brazilian may have made their prep work a little more difficult after taking out Jackson McVey.<\/p>\n

Ferreira \u00a0(14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC)\u00a0submitted short-notice replacement UFC newcomer McVey (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a nasty armbar at the 3:35 mark of the first round, showing diversity to his finishing attacks.<\/p>\n

Nominee: Jimmy Crute def. Marcin Prachnio at UFC 318<\/p>\n

Jimmy Crute is back in the win column for the first time since 2020 \u2013 and he reentered in style against Marcin Prachnko.<\/p>\n

Crute (13-4-2 MMA, 5-4-2 UFC) submitted Marcin Prachnio (17-9 MMA, 4-7 UFC) with an armbar<\/a> at the 4:32\u00a0mark of Round 1 in the light heavyweight bout. He had to struggle to get it, but eventually Prachnio could not fend off the technique and had to give up.<\/p>\n

The winner: Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen at PFL Africa<\/p>\n

If he does nothing else, Costello van Steenis will always be remembered for his insane comeback against Johnny Eblen to claim the PFL middleweight title.<\/p>\n

Not only did he become PFL middleweight champion, van Steenis (17-3) did so in improbable fashion when he submitted Eblen (16-1) with nine seconds left in their five-round bout. The stoppage came at 4:51 of Round 5.<\/p>\n

Eblen had utilized his strong wrestling base and relentless pressure to largely dominate van Steenis the entire fight prior to his demise.<\/p>\n

Entering Round 5, Eblen was up 39-37 on two judges’ scorecards with a third having the fight tied 38-38.<\/p>\n

Eblen got the fight down to the ground midway through Round 5 and took van Steenis’ back. With approximately 45 seconds left on the clock, Eblen made a fatal mistake and fell off the top.<\/p>\n

Van Steenis slickly flipped the script, got Eblen’s back, locked in a rear-naked choke, and put Eblen to sleep.<\/p>\n

Cast Your Vote!