10 Best Submission Fighters In MMA History

The guys who throw the hardest punches get all the fanfare and publicity, but the guys who know how to lock in a submission on their opponent are more dangerous because they can attack you even if you get them to the ground.

What makes the submission so special is the fighter is making his opponent say that he quits or at the least getting him to tap on your body to let you know that you have inflicted far more pain on them then they can bear. Here are the 10 best submission specialists in MMA history.

Phil Davis

I know he's young and still has a lot to prove but Phil Davis is becoming one of my favorite fighters in UFC. He is a strong fighter and he showed in his last fight with Tim Boetsch that he can lock on a submission from even the most unique and precarious positions. So this particular pick is one that is based more on what I believe he can do in the future as well as things he has shown in the past, albeit brief.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor has long been one of the most dominant fighters in MMA. His winning streak was a thing of legend, he has lost two fights in his career, they came nearly ten years apart. His submission game is one of the greatest in MMA history and he has earned his spot on this list with nearly half of his victories coming via submission. He has won using chokes, armbars, kimuras and everything in between and has done more than enough to earn his spot on any list involving the great MMA fighters of all time.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 29: UFC fighter Antonio Nogueira (L) battles UFC fighter Randy Couture (R) during their Heavyweight bout at UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira at the Rose Garden Arena on August 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Gett

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira might be the second-best submission fighter in UFC history (No. 1 is almost untouchable and will be on the list later). Nogueira is a submission machine and has been one of the most feared submission specialists since he began his professional MMA career nearly 11 years ago with World Extreme Fighting.

Kazushi Sakuraba

One of the greatest in MMA history, Kazushi Sakuraba, really was a great overall fighter in his day. He, along with Royce Gracie, had one of the most memorable fights in MMA history. It went 90 MINUTES!!! It was under modified rules.

Besides that fight, Sakuraba is one the best pure submission artists in MMA history. His style and technique were what made him great and it's not every man who can say that they beat four members of the Gracie clan. That alone should warrant some merit.

Kenny Florian

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PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: (Top) Lightweight champion BJ Penn battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Ge

Kenny Florian has perfected the art of the rear naked choke submission hold. He has won 10 fights via submission, of those 10 wins, seven have come via the rear naked choke submission. He knows how to work his way around his opponents head and get behind them to lock in the choke and make sure that they can't get out.

Renato Sobral

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LONDON - JULY 13: Renato 'Babalu' Sobral of Brazil (Top) battles with Elvis Sinosic of Australia during the Ultimate Fighting Championship, 'Brawl in the Royal Albert Hall', in the Royal Albert Hall London, England on July 13, 2002. (Photo by John Gichig

Sobral has one of the best ground techniques that I have seen from a fighter. I love his ability to use his wrestling skill to get the opponent down and then work them over while they are on the ground. Then, when he goes for the submission he is usually going to lock it in...hopefully, he lets it go.

Jeremy Horn

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OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 19: Superfighters Jeremy Horn and Niko Vitale fight during the International Fight League at Oracle Arena on January 19, 2007 in Oakland, California. Horn defeated Vitale in a split decision. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Jeremy Horn has, by far, the most submission victories of anyone on this list. He also has the most fights of anyone on this list. He has 111 professional fights and 86 wins, 57 of them via submission. Now the list is not based on victories via submission, but technique, even so that's really impressive that he has lasted that long. Fortunately, Horn's technique matches his impressive win total making him one of the greatest submission tacticians in the history of MMA.

Royler Gracie

One of the famed Gracie family, Royler doesn't have the MMA pedigree of his brethren but that doesn't mean his technique and tactics are any less impressive. He has competed in MMA and has taught many fighters the art of fighting. He is a sixth degree black belt and continues to be a part of the great Gracie history in MMA.

Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes is one of the greatest UFC fighters of all-time and he has a fairly even split among his victories with 18 via submission, 17 via KO, 10 via decision. He really developed his power later in his career. He tended to use his standup game to enhance his submission game. By developing power to go along with what was already a terrific submission game he made himself even better. Some guys are unable to develop both techniques, Hughes was able to and it made him a Hall of Famer as a result.

Royce Gracie

Any list about great submission fighters in MMA starts with Royce Gracie. He perfected the technique, he had the skill, he had the know-how in order to be effective using it. He is the greatest submission fighter in MMA history, it doesn't matter what anyone tries to say. When you watch his fights, you see why he is one of the greatest pure fighters in MMA history and when you see his technique you see why he makes this list and any other list like it.