Kazushi “The Gracie Hunter” Sakuraba recorded what some have called the submission of the decade when he fought Zelg Galešić in 2009.
Sakuraba shoots a takedown then attacks with a leglock early in the bout but struggles to finish the submission. He finds himself turtled up with a hold of Galešić’s leg absorbing massive damage: it appears at Sakuraba may even go unconcious for a second as his opponent hammers him with relentless punches to the head. Suddenly, when all hope seems lost, the Japanese legend rolls and pulls Galešić’s leg free, locking up a tight kneebar. Galešić swiftly taps, giving Sakuraba one of the most incredible come from behind submission wins ever.
Michael David Smith wrote on the spectacular nature of Sakuraba’s comeback for MMAFighting:
Kazushi Sakuraba’s stunning submission of Zelg Galesic at Dream 12 was one of the most stunning endings to an MMA fight we’ve had all year.
Was that the Submission of the Year in MMA in 2009? I don’t know. I loved Demian Maia’s triangle choke on Chael Sonnen at UFC 95. I loved Toby Imada’s inverted triangle choke on Jorge Masvidal at Bellator 4. I loved Alan Belcher’s guillotine on Denis Kang at UFC 93. I loved Joe Lauzon’s armbar on Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 17. I’ve loved a lot of submissions this year.
And yet there was just something special about Sakuraba’s submission, because it didn’t just win him the fight, it may have saved the career of the Japanese legend. If Galesic had continued pummeling Sakuraba and beaten him by first-round TKO, could Dream have even continued to put the 40-year-old Sakuraba in the ring anymore?
Maybe they could have, but it would have seemed like cruelty. But Sakuraba shocked everyone by hanging onto Galesic’s leg for dear life and forcing him to tap with a kneebar, and as a result we’ll probably get to see Sakuraba fight again on New Year’s Eve and look at him with admiration rather than pity. It was an incredible showing and, if not the most technically perfect submission of the year, my personal favorite.
source: mmafighting.com
