With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from December 2020: Here are the four nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for December.

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

Chase Hooper def. Pete Barrett at UFC 256

The book on Chase Hooper (10-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) going into his featherweight bout with Peter Barrett (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was that he was a raw prospect with a heck of a ground game. He fully reinforced both of those notions as the fight played out.

After getting outstruck by Barrett over two rounds, Hooper reminded everyone that his jiu-jitsu is legit when he executed a perfect Imanari roll and caught Barrett in a heel hook. Barrett basically thrashed around like a hooked fish, but finally had to tap away.

Jose Perez def. Jacob Dorman at CFFC 91

Jose Perez (2-0) provided a highlight to remember for his early career resume against Jacob Dorman (1-4) in their featherweight matchup.

In the opening round of the contest, Perez secured position over Dorman on the mat. From there, he started twisting his opponent in the direction he needed for the banana split. Dorman was in clear agony as his groin was extended, and he had no choice but to tap out.

Patrick Sabatini def. Jesse Stirn at CFFC 91

Patrick Sabatini (13-3) tapped out fellow regional veteran Jesse Stirn (10-4) to become the new CFFC featherweight champion.

After a dominant first round, Sabatini dragged Stirn to the ground in Round 2. From there, he worked his way up to an armbar, pulled guard, and locked in a torque that was too tight for Stirn to handle. Sabatini picked up another submission win and, with it, title gold.

Jimmy Flick def. Cody Durden at UFC Fight Night 183

Jimmy Flick (16-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) octagon debut wasn’t going so great at the start when opponent Cody Durden (11-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was having his way in the standup game.

Flick threw a head kick. Durden caught it. And before anyone knew what happened, Flick threw his right leg up, pulled guard, and had Durden caught in a triangle choke by the time they hit the mat. Durden tried to escape, but was trapped, and tapped out for the memorable submission win.

Ayaka Hamasaki def. Miyuu Yamamoto at Rizin FF 26

Ayaka Hamasaki (21-3) took on three-time wrestling world champion Miyuu Yamamoto (6-5), and utilized a newly-acquired technique to capture the vacant atomweight title and become a two-time champion.

Yamamoto managed to get the action to the canvas early with a well-executed takedown, but Hamasaki threatened with a Kimura attempt before reversing position and ending up on top.Once there, Hamasaki continued to attack the arm, but while Yamamoto battled her the armbar, Hamasaki surprised her opponent with a scissor choke that forced the tap.

The winner: Jose Perez

This one just hurt to watch.

Perez’s sophomore professional outing memorable when he defeated Dorman by – the rare but always wince-inducing – banana split submission.

The fight hit the mat and as the fighters tangled up, Perez grabbed hold of Dorman’s left leg. From there, it didn’t take long for Perez to obtain the proper level of torque to get the tap from Dorman, whose torso and legs were tweaked in an improper direction.

Even after Perez released the submission, Dorman writhed in pain on the ground – as if losing a fight isn’t bad enough.

It was a thing of beauty, though, and although it didn’t come at the highest level of the sport, it was worthy of recognition as the “Submission of the Month” in December.