MMA Junkie has named Asu Almabayev its Submission of the Month winner for June 2026, selecting his Suloev stretch finish from a field of five standout submissions.
The flyweight submitted Charles Johnson with a Suloev stretch after about 13 minutes of fighting, becoming the first fighter to submit Johnson. The result also marked the first Suloev stretch finish in 125-pound history and the fourth overall in UFC history.
The month’s nominees included Joanderson Brito’s ninja choke of Jordan Leavitt with 41 seconds left in Round 1 of their featherweight bout, Bia Mesquita’s armbar of Melissa Mullins at 3:16 of the first round after being rocked earlier, and Murtazali Magomedov’s twister variation on Melsik Baghdasaryan in his featherweight debut. Liz Carmouche also “jumped the gilly,” submitting Viviane Araujo with a guillotine choke at 2:07 of Round 2 in a women’s flyweight bout.
After his win, Almabayev called for a fight with flyweight champion Joshua Van and was told Van is likely to defend next against Alexandre Pantoja. With the victory, Almabayev joined Kenny Robertson, Aljamain Sterling and Zabit Magomedsharipov as the only fighters to win by Suloev stretch in UFC history.
MMA Junkie regularly spotlights its Submission of the Month and invites readers to vote on the choice, and June 2026 delivered a slate of finishes featuring names like Mesquita, Carmouche and Almabayev making their cases on the mat.
