MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month for July: Paddy Pimblett's 52-second choke
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from July 2026: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for July.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominee: Brandon Royval def. Lon’er Kavanagh at UFC 329
Brandon Royval refuses to be anything short of exciting, and against Lone’er Kavanagh, he refused to lose in the process.
Royval (18-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) submitted Kavanagh (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) with a rear-naked choke at 3:40 of Round 3. The best the flyweight division has to offer was on full display once again as Royval and Kavanagh showed off technical striking, speed, well-roundedness – and perhaps most importantly: the chaos factor.
Nominee: Gamid Khizriev def. Biaggio Ali Walsh at PFL Austin
Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh, got a step up in competition and got all twisted up.
Ali Walsh (4-2) stepped into the cage to face undefeated Gamid Khizriev in a lightweight bout. The fight would only last 2:32 after Khizriev (5-0) locked up a rare twister submission.
The fight hit the canvas midway through the first round, and that’s where it would end. Ali Walsh attempted to turn into Khizriev from top position, but that was a mistake. Khizriev was setting up a twister, and got it fully locked in, causing Ali Walsh to quickly tap.
GAMID KHIZRIEV HIT THE SCOTTISH TWISTER ON BIAGGIO ALI WALSH 😱#PFLAustin | 📺 Prelims LIVE NOW on the ESPN App | Main Card 8PM EST on ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/YiVG5qmnqL
— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 18, 2026
Nominee: Jay Alderete def. Cameron Smotherman at Fury FC 121
19-year-old prospect Jay Alderete put the name of a UFC veteran on his young resume when he choked out Cameron Smotherman.
Fresh off a 1-3 octagon stint, Smotherman (12-8) gave Alderete (6-0) a test early in the bantamweight bout. Evnetually he got caught in a slick brabo choke by Alderete, who squeezed until his opponent went unconscious in the second round to add a notable win on his growing resume.
Nominee: Valter Walker def. Thomas Petersen at UFC Fight Night 282
Valter Walker kept his remarkable string of submissions alive against Thomas Petersen in their heavyweight bout, but with a change in technique.
After going on a string of heel hook wins, Walker (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) pulled guard to work for his signature technique again. Instead, he wound up submitting Petersen (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) by with the ultra-rare calf slicer just 92 seconds into the contest, giving him five straight octagon wins by tap out.
The winner: Paddy Pimblett def. Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329
Paddy Pimblett may have burned more energy during his walkout than the fight itself.
Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) slept Benoit Saint Denis (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) with a D’Arce choke a mere 52 seconds into their highly-anticipated lightweight clash.
The fight was simple in terms of how it played out. Saint Denis shot for a takedown early and was immediately caught in a choke. Pimblett made some adjustments, most notably sitting his rear on the canvas with the choke locked in. Saint Denis tried to escape – but instead his consciousness escaped him.
Pimblett, 31, bounced back big from an interim title fight loss to Justin Gaethje in January. The loss was his first in the UFC and snapped a nine-fight winning streak. It aged well, however, as Gaethje claimed undisputed gold against Ilia Topuria in June.
Saint Denis, 30, lost by submission for the first time in his career and has a four-fight winning streak snapped.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for July: Paddy Pimblett’s 52-second choke
