Only midway through the 2013 calender, many great candidates have emerged for Submission of the Year honors.
In June, Josh Burkman joined the race for the award by submitting former UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch. Despite being overlooked heading into the matchup, Burkman required only 41 seconds to put Fitch to sleep in decisive fashion.
Where does stopping Fitch put Burkman in the hunt for 2013 Submission of the Year?
Let’s take a look. Here are the five leading candidates heading into July based on rarity of submission, technical precision, quality of opposition and magnitude of the fight during which the finish occurred.