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

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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Nominees

Nominee: Valter Walker def. Don’Tale Mayes at UFC Fight Night 251

For the second fight in a row, Valter Walker (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) used the heel hook maneuver to end things when he defeated Don’Tale Mayes (11-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) into their heavyweight clash.

The fight was pretty simplistic. Walker shot immediately for a takedown, dragged Mayes to the canvas, and then grabbed hold of a leg for the heel. The tap came just 77 seconds after the contest began.

Nominee: Ayaka Miura def. Ritu Phogat at ONE 171

Ayaka Miura showed off her submission magic once again after a helpless Ritu Phogat in their strawweight matchup.

Miura (15-5) wasted little time getting things to the ground against Phogat (7-4), and from there she rolled into a knee bar which left her opponent in extreme discomfort and forced to tap less than three minutes after the bout began.

Nominee: Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili at UFC Fight Night 252

Melquizael Costa (22-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) began his second UFC contract with the biggest win of his career when he took out longtime UFC veteran Andre Fili (24-12 MMA, 12-11 UFC).

After a tactical battle on the feet to open the featherweight, Fili took Costa down. Off his back, Costa snuck a guillotine choke and locked it for the tap in the first round. It marked the first time Fili had been submitted in MMA since June 2015.

Nominee: Ion Cutelaba def. Ibo Aslan at UFC Fight Night 252

The light heavyweight matchup between Ion Cutelaba (19-9-1 MMA, 8-8-1 UFC) and Ibo Aslan (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had finish written all over it, and they did not disappoint.

Both men came out swinging wild, sloppy shots from the opening bell, but it was the ground game that made the difference. Cutelaba shot for the first takedown, and it was effective. He advanced to mount and locked in an arm-triangle choke to get his first submission finish in his nearly nine-year career inside the octagon.

The winner: Gabriel Bonfim def. Khaos Williams at UFC Fight Night 251

Gabriel Bonfim maintained his stellar stoppage rate against Khaos Williams in the biggest fight of his career thus far.

With just two seconds remaining in the second round of their welterweight bout, Bonfim (17-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had Williams (15-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) wrapped up in a tight D’Arce choke.

It seemed he might be saved by the buzzer, but then referee Herb Dean checked the arm and discovered Williams was already out cold, and the fight was over at the 4:58 mark of Round 2.

It was a brilliant submissions, and Bonfim was thrilled to become the first to finish Williams in MMA competition.

“The camp was based on this,” Bonfim told Daniel Cormier through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “When I was back there I was telling myself, ‘I’m here to show my work.’ That’s what I was telling myself.”

Bonfim has 13 of his 17 wins by submission, including three of his four victories in the UFC.