The 2020 Heavies Awards - Best Submission of the Year - Winner AJ McKee

[RedFoxNdisBihhh]

i picked Jimmy with the flying triangle

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

Is that Flick sub officially being called a "flying triangle?" or is that just the media saying that?

I mean it was cool how he got his legz into the position, but he didn't actually have teh triangle until after he hit the ground. He even re-adjusted the left leg after he was down. Technically I'd think you would need the leg over the foot before your back hit the ground for it to be a "flying" triangle. I'd call that a "flying setup for a triangle." lol...

It's all good.... I just wouldn't call it that. Who got the other one? I'd like to take a look at that.

I went for McKee for pulling of something unique.
I wonder if he just made that up. He seems to say "I don't know" & then says "yeah, I guess I pull that off a lot"... but he seemed to be talking about headlocks in general... so I don't know. He didn't come out strong & say "yes, that's something I practice..." so I think he just put that together on the fly.

It’s scored as a flying triangle choke on both sherdog and tapology. Hadn’t thought to dissect it more than that.

 

[Kryptt]

All quite slick but my pick is Flick.

 

[moosaev]

Without Aljo and Khabib this is a shit list tbh. Lots of things go into how good a submission is, one of them should be the stakes of the fight and strength of opposition. Aljo & Khabib both subbed beasts in quick and dominating fashion in VERY important fights.

it’s pathetic that they weren’t even nominated

 

[Jose Beehive]

Yeah the "flying triangle" is really just pulling guard after getting your foot caught.. Impressive but shouldn't be on the list imo.

 

[SenorFranko]

I vote for this

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

Without Aljo and Khabib this is a shit list tbh. Lots of things go into how good a submission is, one of them should be the stakes of the fight and strength of opposition. Aljo & Khabib both subbed beasts in quick and dominating fashion in VERY important fights.

it’s pathetic that they weren’t even nominated

So what you’re saying is regardless of technique, difficulty of the submission, style, circumstances of the fight etc... the highest profile submission should win no matter what? Isn’t that less about the submission and more about popularity/familiarity? I guess we should strip Buckley of ko of the year then and give it to ngannou or Conor.

 

[Volador]

I knew this would come up. Approaching it from a subjective standpoint I don’t feel it has enough to make a list like this. It was the highest profile sub this year. But that would be like giving Conor KO of the year. Sure, it was fantastic, and an outstanding performance, but the hen compared to some of these..well I mean just look at them

That’s fair, I think it’s good to spread some recognition among other fighters. Too many might vote Khabib just because he’s Khabib. To me it was more impressive than every other entry on the list except McKee (who I voted), the inverted triangle and maybe the guard pull to triangle. I’m not a bjj guy, but the knee bar, foot lock and arm bar all seem less impressive to me. It’s all subjective though.

 

[Jose Beehive]

If it's just about creativity of the sub and nothing else, then the first 2 examples should be removed then. Seen more Knee bars/slicer/toe holds/heel hooks than mounted triangle chokes this year.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Its McKee/Caldwell by a Country Breakfast Hughes Mile.

 

[Pepy]

Its McKee/Caldwell by a Country Breakfast Hughes Mile.

Fantastic sub, gonna use it to torment some of my homies on the mat.

It is what it is.

 

[moosaev]

So what you’re saying is regardless of technique, difficulty of the submission, style, circumstances of the fight etc... the highest profile submission should win no matter what? Isn’t that less about the submission and more about popularity/familiarity? I guess we should strip Buckley of sub of the year then and give it to ngannou or Conor.

That’s not what I said at all, re read my post. Also, Khabib went from standing up to Gaethje unconscious within 15 seconds. Tell me how that happens without superb technique and style? The dude caught a leg, rolled into a back take, mounted, faked an arm bar then switched to a triangle then choked Gaethje out in a manner of seconds. How the fuck does that not earn a nomination? You have absolute no names here doing much less difficult submissions against worse opponents in less meaningful fights. Mackenzie Dern’s basic ass knee bar against a bum is better than what Khabib did against Gaethje? Lmao.

 

[moosaev]

I knew this would come up. Approaching it from a subjective standpoint I don’t feel it has enough to make a list like this. It was the highest profile sub this year. But that would be like giving Conor KO of the year. Sure, it was fantastic, and an outstanding performance, but the hen compared to some of these..well I mean just look at them

People take Khabib for granted to a ridiculous level lol. He is a victim of his own success. If ANY other fighter finished an interim champ in the sequence he did (all the transitions, both guys standing up to one of them unconscious 15 seconds after landing a leg kick) they would win in a landslide.

 

[letgodiego]

I voted AJ McKee for doing something I have never seen before, against a high level opponent.

same, and the fact that the announcers seem to have no idea how much trouble caldwell was in. Im excited to see mckee fight pitbull

 

[letgodiego]

That’s not what I said at all, re read my post. Also, Khabib went from standing up to Gaethje unconscious within 15 seconds. Tell me how that happens without superb technique and style? The dude caught a leg, rolled into a back take, mounted, faked an arm bar then switched to a triangle then choked Gaethje out in a manner of seconds. How the fuck does that not earn a nomination? You have absolute no names here doing much less difficult submissions against worse opponents in less meaningful fights. Mackenzie Dern’s basic ass knee bar against a bum is better than what Khabib did against Gaethje? Lmao.

how big a name and how meaningful the fight have nothing to do with best submission. if you want to talk about best sub in a championship fight, then I agree Khabib takes it

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

People take Khabib for granted to a ridiculous level lol. He is a victim of his own success. If ANY other fighter finished an interim champ in the sequence he did (all the transitions, both guys standing up to one of them unconscious 15 seconds after landing a leg kick) they would win in a landslide.

I’d say it’s most similar to Moises vs Johnson which people are feeling shouldn’t have been included at this time. I’m not saying it wasn’t a big achievement. I’m saying I don’t think it was the best submission in the entire sport. I agree with @lettodiego it was the best sub in a championship bout this year. Hands down. But I don’t think that makes it the submission of the year.

 

[moosaev]

how big a name and how meaningful the fight have nothing to do with best submission. if you want to talk about best sub in a championship fight, then I agree Khabib takes it

It has everything to do with it, doing difficult things in the highest pressure environments speaks to the level of technical skill and confidence. That’s why when analyzing team sports you always look at how players perform in the playoffs, it tells you more about their quality because it is more difficult to perform against tougher opposition in more intense settings, that’s why performance in high pressure playoff games mean a lot more in every sport on earth.

Even without all that, Khabib’s flawless back take and transitions into a triangle are still better than Dern’s basic ass knee bar.

 

[BigTruck]

Its McKee/Caldwell by a Country Breakfast Hughes Mile.

Agreed that was sick and the first time I've seen a neck crank like that.

 

[HHJ]

I voted AJ McKee for doing something I have never seen before, against a high level opponent.

Thats the clear winner

 

[moosaev]

I’d say it’s most similar to Moises vs Johnson which people are feeling shouldn’t have been included at this time. I’m not saying it wasn’t a big achievement. I’m saying I don’t think it was the best submission in the entire sport. I agree with @lettodiego it was the best sub in a championship bout this year. Hands down. But I don’t think that makes it the submission of the year.

You don’t think Khabib’s back take, transitions, and finish (and the speed with which everything happened) was more impressive than Dern’s knee bar? That’s bizarre to me. When you consider the entire sequence what Khabib did was more impressive and difficult from a technique standpoint.