Published On: Tue, Sep 2nd, 2025

MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month for August: Anthony Hernandez strangles Roman Dolidze

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

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

Nominee: Tatsuro Taira def. HyunSung Park at UFC on ESPN 71

Tatsuro Taira erased the memory of his first career loss with a stellar bounce-back win over HyunSung Park in their flyweight headliner.

Taira (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) wanted to make a statement to get back in flyweight title contention. Park (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) stepped up on just a few days’ notice after Taira’s original opponent, Amir Albazi, withdrew due to injury. The opponent switch was no problem, as Taira ended the fight 1:06 into Round 2 by submission.

Nominee: Joseph Morales def. Alibi Idiris at UFC 319

It was nearly seven years between UFC fights for Joseph Morales, but he refused to let his second opportunity slip away against Alibi Idiris.

Morales (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) dominated the heavy favorite Idiris to win “The Ultimate Fighter 33” flyweight tournament. Morales submitted Idiris (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) by triangle choke at 3:04 of Round 2.

Nominee: Tim Elliott def. Kai Asakura at UFC 319

Tim Elliott may have picked up the biggest win of his career at 38 years of age against Kai Asakura.

Elliott (21-13-1 MMA, 10-11 UFC) pulled off the upset when he finished former RIZIN champion Asakura (21-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a guillotine choke at the 4:39 mark of Round 2. Elliott snatched hold of Asakura’s neck in a scramble and ended up on top of the Japanese flyweight. He appeared to have a good torque with one hand, but conjured a tap when he locked in a second hand.

Nominee: Uran Satybaldiev def. Diyar Nurgozhay at UFC Fight Night 257

Uran Satybaldiev (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) kicked off the card with a memorable moment when he tapped Diyar Nurgozhay (10-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with the rare submission at the 2:45 mark of Round 1 in the light heavyweight contest.

The submission marked just the fifth Ezekiel choke in UFC history. It was Satybaldiev’s first win in the promotion and only his second career win by submission.

The winner: Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Dolidze at UFC on ESPN 72

Anthony Hernandez proved he was a level above Roman Dolidze in their main event.

Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) dominated virtually every moment of the middleweight bout as Dolidze (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) struggled to find any answers offensively. It all came to an end at 2:45 of Round 4 when Hernandez forced a tap from a rear-naked choke.

The fight began with steady striking exchanges as Hernandez controlled the center of the cage. Dolidze took the fight to the fence in the clinch, but was unable to get the fight to the ground. Instead, it would be Hernandez to get a takedown first. He added a second a few moments later after scoring with clean striking. It was a strong opening round for Hernandez both on the feet and on the mat.

The fight quickly turned into a wild brawl in Round 2. Hernandez marched forward through a firefight, talking to a retreating Dolidze. The heated exchanges lasted for a few moments, but the fight returned to the mat for scrambles. Once the fight got back to the feet, Hernandez continued teeing off on Dolidze, who did his best just to survive the round.

Hernandez closed out the final seconds unloading heavy ground and pound through the horn. When referee Herb Dean intervened, Hernandez thought he won the fight and began celebrating with his team. The confusion was cleared up, and the fight continued into Round 3.

“Fluffy” continued to dominate the fight on the mat. Dolidze got away with multiple fence grabs as Hernandez worked through positions. Hernandez did whatever he wanted to do as the time ticked away in a completely one-sided round.

The fight reached Round 4, where Hernandez picked up right where he left off. On the feet and on the ground, Hernandez was in full control. The final sequence occurred after a takedown, where Dolidze grabbed the fence. Dean took a point without interrupting the flow, and Hernandez drilled a few knees to the head and then locked in a rear-naked choke.

The squeeze was incredibly tight, and the tap came quickly.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month, August 2025: ‘Fluffy’ strangles

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