Armbars, Inspiration and Immortality

There is much that goes in to creating a great submission. It may be speed or the cleanliness of technique. It may be fundamentally sound or effortlessly smooth. However, what cements submissions in the "all-time" category and enters them into MMA mythos is a new look, a new twist and a new vision: a radical restructuring of position and possibility that unearths undiscovered chance and opportunity.

It was not as though the year was without great submissions. Perennial categorical threat Shinya Aoki's mounted gogoplata on Katsuhiko Nagata just a week before Hazelett's offering was fantastic. Despite its element of mat mastery, however, we appreciated it prior. Gogoplatas are hardly the theoretical "black hole" of the submission world they once were. Better still, Aoki had already used this exact same technique in a well-known grappling match against Hiroshi Tsuruya on a Shooto card nearly three years ago.

Hazelett's armbar was not the only replay-worthy armbar of the year either. Also inside the Octagon, Rousimar Palhares showed off a smooth backmount-to-armbar transition on Ivan Salaverry, and Marcus Aurelio vividly displayed the synthetic fluidity of the sport by corking Ryan Roberts with a right hand, flurrying on him from quarter position and slickly rolling into an armbar, all in the blink of an eye.

It wasn't even Hazelett's only sensational armbar, as his rubber guard omoplata to reverse armbar on Tamdan McCrory was also a “Submission of the Night” winner.

However, Hazelett's bit of brilliance against Burkman has a transformative property. Now, an overhook isn't just an overhook, and the whizzer position isn't just the whizzer position. Even if you defend the uchimata and the ankle pick, you're not out of danger. Just as Rumina Sato and Shinya Aoki legitimized flying armbars and gogoplatas, and just as Ryo Chonan showed the world that submissions can happen in a heartbeat from long range, Hazelett has further complexified an entire position while illustrating the relationship between risk and reward in the cage and inspiring creativity on mats everywhere.

When I ask him how he feels about this sort of timelessness -- the fact that he'll be part of highlight reels on YouTube and animated gif threads on forums for years and years -- Hazelett seems as though he has never considered the idea that he is now in some small form, immortal.

"That's awesome. Really ... awesome," he responds. He pauses thoughtfully before telling me, "I really want to be one of those fighters in the history books."

"You're only 22. You could fight for the next decade or longer if you wanted," I tell him. "How many submissions of the year do you think you could rack up?"

"I dunno. Hopefully a lot," he says with a laugh.

Hazelett may have hope. I, however, have faith in it.