Clay Guida vs. Gomi and Yves Edwards vs. Cody McKenzie

These submissions are some of the most exciting i've found so far. Many might not find the ground game to be as exciting but I think it is some of the most technical aspects of fighting mma.

The relentlessly energetic Clay "The Carpenter" Guida utilized a bewildering new strategy of constant movement and atypical patience to confuse and eventually choke out the legendary Takanori Gomi via Guillotine in the second round of their UFC 125 clash. It proved an interesting, if unexpected, stylistic encounter in what was confidently but wrongly billed as a striker vs. wrestler exchange.
Gomi, in his third fight in the Octagon, no doubt expected a vintage performance by Guida involving "The Carpenter's" relentless pressure, takedown attempts against the cage, and furious punching exchanges. Though Guida looked his typical charged-up self entering the cage that first night of the New Year in 2011, he had no such plan in mind. Instead, straight from the opening bell Guida began to feint repeatedly in an almost over-exaggerated style on the outside, bouncing on the balls of his feet and bobbing levels up and down with his hair swinging wildly about him. Gomi, expecting an immediate onslaught, was instead forced to wait patiently on the outside, cocked and ready to fire but without a clear target. Guida was feinting from such a distance that he looked to be almost disengaged in a pointless show. But as the round wore on the cleverness of Guida's strategy began to prove itself. Gomi began to look irritated and bothered. Guida darted in between long spells of inaction, either catching Gomi with a heavy strike or shooting in for a takedown, only to dance back out before Gomi could effectively engage him.
After a first round that Guida notched 10-9 due to Gomi's almost complete inability to find him, the same strategy began to play out in the second. Guida mixed up darting shots with takedown attempts from the outside, all the while a whirling dervish of motion and energy bobbing to and fro. Finally, in the midst of a ground exchange initiated by a Guida takedown late in the round, Gomi slipped into a beautifully devised Guillotine that Guida offered him while Guida was mounted. Guida was confident enough in the choke to relinquish top position, where he sunk in the arm-in Guillotine with little more than thirty seconds left in the stanza for the tap.
The bout's unorthodox nature was outdone only by its import for Guida's career, who seemed once again to perpetually alternate big wins and big losses in his lightweight journey. Gomi, meanwhile, faced questions about both his UFC preparedness -- he now stood at 1-2 in the promotion -- as well as the level of polish on his ground game. With the win, Guida became the second man to choke out "The Fireball Kid" after Marcus Aurelio improbably did so years beforehand in Pride.
The sixth bout of UFC Fight For The Troops 2 and final to air on the live preliminary card saw veteran Yves Edwards take on Ultimate Fighter veteran Cody McKenzie. Edwards came into the fight 7-4 in on-and-off UFC competition that spanned nearly 10 years. McKenzie was 1-0 in his only official UFC fight.
McKenzie came out fast in the first round, clinching up with Edwards and trying to turn the fight into a grappling match. Edwards escaped and avoided another takedown attempt, separated and landed a right straight. Edwards countered with a hard low kick while McKenzie came forward with an unorthodox striking style. McKenzie missed on a headkick and then dove in for a single leg that Edwards defended. Edwards landed another pair of leg kicks and then mounted McKenzie in a bizarre grappling exchange that saw the crafty McKenzie ultimately escape from the dangerous position. McKenzie remained tenacious to the end of the round, but one that overall favored Edwards in being able to avoid a grappling match.
Edwards landed a combination to begin round two and began to showcase his superior striking skills. McKenzie threw a pair of spinning elbows and showed no sign of quitting despite coming out on the losing end of most striking exchanges. McKenzie finally managed to get the fight to the ground and took Edwards's back, and then to top position in side control. McKenzie continued to threaten, tightening up a body triangle from the back. Yves escaped and scrambled into side control and then to full mount. Yves took the back in another scramble and sunk in a rear naked choke that McKenzie valiantly tried to fight off. McKenzie finally passed out, unwilling to tap, giving Edwards the submission victory at 4:33 of the second round.
Commenting to Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview, Edwards stated, "It's always nice to get someone with their favorite move... I didn't want to let the position go, he was strong when he was on my back, so I wanted to be strong too."

Guida choking out Gomi