Feb. 3, 2026, 9:20 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from January 2026: Here are the nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for January.<\/p>\n
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.<\/p>\n
Nominee: Pierre Manzo def Nicolas Santos at ARES 38<\/p>\n
Pierre Manzo continued the strong start to his young career with a tenacious choke out of Nicolas Santos in a welterweight regional bout in France.<\/p>\n
Once Manzo (2-0) snatched onto an anaconda choke, he was relentless. He wouldn’t let go of Santos’ (4-2) neck until the fight was over, all of which happened in just 94 seconds.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Nominee: Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliott at UFC 325<\/p>\n Jonathan Micallef rallied to score a conclusive stoppage in his second octagon appearance against Oban Elliott.<\/p>\n Micallef (8-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) became the first to submit Elliott (12-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in MMA competition when he put him to sleep with a rear-naked choke<\/a> less than four minutes into the second round of a fight he was losing.<\/p>\n Nominee: Billy Elekana def. Junior Tafa at UFC 325<\/p>\n Billy Elekana picked up his third UFC win in a row when he submitted Junior Tafa in the second round of their light heavyweight.<\/p>\n The first round was a slugfest as both men slung leather toward the other. Tafa (6-5 MMA, 2-5 UFC) landed his fair share of hard blows, but Elekana (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) neutralized danger, got the fight to the ground and finish with a rear-naked choke<\/a>.<\/p>\n The winner: Quillan Salkilld def. Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 325<\/p>\n Quillan Salkilld continues to look like the real deal as a future lightweight contender with a one-sided finish of Jamie Mullarkey at\u00a0UFC 325<\/a>.<\/p>\n