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MMA Fighting’s 2026 Submission of the Midyear: Murtazali Magomedov’s mind-blowing Scottish twister

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2 months ago

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MMA Fighting’s 2026 Submission of the Midyear: Murtazali Magomedov’s mind-blowing Scottish twister

Halfway through 2026 and MMA has seen no shortage of memorable manglings.

Sure, we've yet to see a major title fight decided by a submission yet, but what's great about the mixing of the martial arts is that sometimes you see some of the most amazing finishes happen when you least expect it, and that's doubly true when it comes to fighters forcing their opponents to tap out.

Six months into the year, we've seen all kinds of submissions from airtight chokes to body-bending holds to classic armbars, so we had plenty of options to choose from when deciding which was the best for our Midyear awards. In the end, we landed on a Dana White Contender Series signing making a debut that will be tough to top, a talented flyweight contender putting an exclamation point on an impressive performance against one of his division's most dangerous spoilers, and never-before-seen-in-the-UFC leg lock courtesy of a streaking strawweight who's proving she's more than just a meme machine.

So let's look at MMA Fighting's top-3 submissions of 2026 so far.

No. 1: Murtazali Magomedov vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (UFC Vegas 119)

You could be forgiven for mistaking Murtazali Magomedov for a striker.

For many fans, their first introduction to Magomedov came on the Contender Series, where he showed slick hands to put away Brahyam Zurcher and earn a UFC contract. Even his last Octagon League featherweight championship defense came courtesy of a hellacious knockout knee up the middle. Magomedov might be a wrestler, but he certainly doesn't shy away from throwing hammers on the feet.

However, his UFC debut reminded everyone he has a dangerous submission game. Once Magomedov put Melsik Baghdasaryan on the mat, he didn't settle for a pedestrian rear-naked choke or hunt for a joint lock; no, that wouldn't be satisfying enough. Instead, he waited for Baghdasaryan to turn into his body lock, trapping him halfway through, and then twisting him in such a way that his upper half threatened to separate from his lower half.

The official call was Scottish twister and the official result was Magomedov putting the 145-pound division on notice that he is not to be messed with when it comes to grappling.

No. 2: Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson (UFC Baku)

Asu Almabayev is so close to breaking into that elite tier of flyweights and he moved one step closer to cementing a spot with his latest win.

Kazakhstan's Almabayev has been a healthy favorite in his past couple of fights, but it's one thing to look good on paper and another to look good inside the octagon. For two rounds, against flyweight kingmaker Charles Johnson, Almabayev showed off a complete game, especially his superior wrestling.

Up on the cards heading into Round 3, Almabayev could have cruised to a decision win. Why risk giving Johnson even the slightest window for a comeback considering his history of upsets (UFC champion Joshua Van and Lone'er Kavanagh know all too well how dangerous Johnson is) when you're in control of the cards? With less than two minutes left in the fight, Almabayev took advantage of Johnson attempting to stand up out of back control, snatched Johnson's leg to break his base, and then utilized a classic Suloev stretch to yank his foot way over his head. Tap or say goodbye to your hamstring.

With just one loss in eight UFC appearances, don't be surprised if this is the performance that pushes Almabayev towards an eventual title shot.

No. 3: Alice Ardelean vs. Polyana Viana (UFC Vegas 117)

Is Alice Ardelean… good?

Even the most positive-minded fight fan (me!) had a difficult time reconciling Ardelean being signed to the UFC in 2024. Her two claims to fame were her considerable social media following (millions are subscribed to Ardelean's socials for her viral reaction face) and having previously lost to Zhang Weili. Her pro record was 9-5. And then she lost to Shauna Bannon and Melissa Martinez. Like, what are we doing?

Then something weird happened. Ardelean stuck to it. She could have settled for using a brief UFC run to further boost her profile, but she actually started winning fights. A Fight of the Night-winning performance against Rayanne dos Santos. Another decision nod over Montserrat Conejo. And then a matchup with Polyana Viana, a struggling veteran, but a woman that knows a thing or too about internet notoriety.

Ardelean made sure both of them went viral again. With Ardelean in top position, Viana countered with a body lock from bottom position, aiming to control Ardelean's posture. However, what she didn't know was that Ardelean is terminally online and guess what? That's a pretty dangerous base for MMA in 2026.

With Viana's foot tucked between her legs, Ardelean turned body lock defense into leg lock offense and soon it was Viana being forced to signal her submission.

I don't know if Ardelean ever becomes a serious contender. I don't know if she even comes close to cracking the top 15. But she's already made her mark, becoming the first fighter ever to say that they successfully scored a Capsule Lock submission in a UFC fight.

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MMA

Raul Rosas Jr.’s brother reportedly set for UFC debut at Noche UFC 4

Published

2 hours ago

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September 5, 2026

By

Raul Rosas Jr.’s brother reportedly set for UFC debut at Noche UFC 4
Young featherweight debutants are reportedly set to clash at the
fourth edition of
Ultimate Fighting Championship's Mexican Independence Day
celebration.

Jessie
Rosas will take on Sean King in
a featherweight clash at
Noche UFC 4 on Sept. 12 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale,
Arizona. They are set to collide on the Fight Night's prelims.

Jessie Rosas draws unbeaten Sean King for his UFC debut in
Glendale

Rosas (8-1) is currently on a three-fight winning streak since his
lone professional loss in 2024. The 23-year-old has finished six of
his eight career wins. While Rosas shuffles between bantamweight
and featherweight, he will make his UFC debut at 145 pounds. He is
the older brother of UFC bantamweight Raul Rosas
Jr.

Meanwhile, King (6-0) was originally expected to fight on
Dana White's Contender Series in October. However, the
22-year-old now gets a direct entry into the big stage. King is
undefeated in six pro fights since turning pro last year. He also
has a perfect amateur record filled with submission wins.

The matchup was first reported by Marcel Dorff.

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MMA

UFC Paris ‘Hooker vs. Parnasse’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Published

5 hours ago

on

September 4, 2026

By

UFC Paris ‘Hooker vs. Parnasse’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Sherdog’s live
UFC Paris coverage will begin Saturday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT.
The event is also known as
UFC Fight Night 287.

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

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The Official Result

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The Official Result

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The Official Result

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

Sherdog Scores

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Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

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Brian Knapp scores the round:
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Round 2

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Tudor Leonte scores the round:
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Round 3

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The Official Result

Round 1

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Round 2

Sherdog Scores

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Tudor Leonte scores the round:
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Round 3

Sherdog Scores

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Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:

Round 4

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
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Round 5

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Brian Knapp scores the round:
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The Official Result

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MMA

Belal Muhammad: Song Yadong knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov ‘broke my heart’

Published

7 hours ago

on

September 4, 2026

By

Belal Muhammad: Song Yadong knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov ‘broke my heart’

Belal Muhammad felt Umar Nurmagomedov's pain.

Nurmagomedov suffered a brutal loss this past weekend in the main event of UFC Shanghai, where he was knocked out for the first time in his career by surging bantamweight contender Song Yadong. Following the finish, emotions flowed on all sides, with Song running around the octagon as a crowd packed with his compatriots roared, and Nurmagomedov's brother Usman almost getting into a physical altercation with Song.

A longtime friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedov family, Muhammad also had a visceral reaction to the stunning KO.

“Song Yadong against Umar literally broke my heart,†Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “Not because I hate Song Yadong, but because I know how hard Umar works. Umar is probably one of the nicest human beings, humblest human beings I've ever met, and I knew once that knockout happened that the Twitter trolls, the Instagram trolls, that just hate them, hate him because he's part of Khabib [Nurmagomedov's] crew, right?

“They always wanted to see Khabib lose, they want to see their team lose, and I know they were going to attack him and come at him hard. It just freaking makes me more mad just because I know how nice he is and how good of a person he is.â€

Song was a sizable underdog heading into the contest against Nurmagomedov, who had lost just once in 21 pro bouts and never been finished. With one perfectly placed shot, Song shook up the contender line at 135 pounds.

Muhammad thinks anyone celebrating Nurmagomedov's downfall has a misconception of who Nurmagomedov really is, which wasn't helped by fight week comments about Song that circulated during fight week.

“People were saying, ‘He said that Song Yadong was a trash bag' or something like that,†Muhammad said. “It was in Russian, so he even came out and said himself that he didn't say it, they translated it wrong. He respects all of his opponents, I know that for a fact.

“Even Merab [Dvalishvili], I don't think that he has truly bad blood for him. He's pure at heart; he's a good kid.â€

Beyond the incredible knockout, the most controversial aspect of the fight was Usman rushing into the cage to attend to his brother. As he did so, Song collided with him, and it looked for a moment like Usman aimed to strike Song with an elbow before pulling back. The situation eventually de-escalated, with Khabib and the rest of Team Nurmagomedov showing their respect for Song.

Muhammad understands where Usman was coming from and is glad nothing came of the potential altercation.

“For me, I get so nervous when I'm cornering, and it's my boys,†Muhammad said. “Imagine that's your brother, that's your older brother out there, and to see him get knocked out like that, you can just see how emotional he was. Even Khabib tried to stop him from going into the cage, but there was no bad blood from him. He was just going in there to check on his brother, wake his brother up. That's just the love of a brother.

“Only a brother can know that, so to the people that are looking to complain, argue, blah blah blah, it's like, obviously the worst-case scenario could have been him elbowing him and something bad happening like that, but it didn't. Just on to the next one.â€

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