Pit Submission Series 11 took place on January 24th, 2025 and the promotion managed to put together yet another fun series of matches for the event. Daniel Sathler was up first, making his return after an incredible debut at PSS 8 that saw him hit the biggest flying submission in the history of the sport. He was up against the young Ansar Khamzaev and Khamzaev shot in very early to secure top position, fighting his way through a guillotine attempt to get there. He stayed tight in Sathler’s closed guard for several minutes before finally standing up, although the threat of a sweep from Sathler forced him to disengage entirely in order to stay safe.
Khamzaev tried to pressure in to pass but Sathler did an excellent job of attacking the legs, switching from a false reap entry to the beartrap to keep Khamzaev guessing. Khamzaev disengaged again and Sathler followed him to standing shortly after, but that allowed Khamzaev to hit another big takedown. He used a bodylock to stay safe in Sathler’s closed guard again, riding out the clock in the first round there. Khamzaev shot in early in the second round again, but this time Sathler sprawled and transitioned to the crucifix. Khamzaev stood up to shake him off and was able to take up top position in Sathler’s closed guard again.
After a few more minutes stalled out, Khamzaev picked Sathler up and walked around with him for a while before returning him to the mat. Sathler tried another arm-in guillotine and he squeezed hard, but Khamzaev rode it out comfortably and escaped. Sathler tried to go underneath Khamzaev when he stood up and almost managed to attack the legs, before scrambling to his feet instead. Khamzaev hit a big throw into the pit wall and finished the sequence in half-guard, with the second round ending there. The third round started exactly the same, with Khamzaev shooting in for a takedown early on.
He stood up with Sathler in closed guard again, landing another takedown as Sathler tried to stand up with him. They stayed in closed guard for a while again, before Sathler tried to wrestle up and ate yet another big takedown for his troubles. Khamzaev got to half-guard and turned to face Sathler’s legs to pass, but Sathler was able to recover closed guard just as the final round ended. The judges declared Sathler the winner by split decision and that clearly didn’t sit well with Khamzaev’s teammates, as Herbert Burns almost got into a fight with Sathler before the referee and Khamzaev himself could break it up.
The next match up was probably the most interesting for grappling fans, as Samuel Nagai was taking on Fabricio Andrey. Both men started at a high pace looking for openings on the feet, but Nagai was first to commit when he leapt on a guillotine. Andrey escaped quickly and tried to make use of the opening, but he ended up on the bottom in the scramble. Andrey inverted and spun into a triangle choke, transitioning to an armbar that put Nagai on the defensive very quickly. Nagai managed to work his way free and Andrey returned to standing when he realised he couldn’t finish it.
Andrey hit a quick wrist-snap that exposed Nagai’s back, but Nagai conceded bottom position to protect himself. Nagai was looking for a false reap but Andrey dealt with the threat and started to pick up the pace with his passing attempts. He almost passed and Nagai turned to turtle, wrestling back up to his feet. Nagai pulled guard and Andrey blasted into a knee-cut pass that almost saw him secure north-south, but Nagai recovered well. Nagai wrestled up again and finished the sweep before sitting back on a leglock that allowed Andrey to escape to his feet, only for Nagai to pull guard and hit one final sweep as the round ended.
The pace started a little slower in the second round, with both men picking their windows to act a little more carefully. Nagai managed to work Andrey back against the pit wall with an armdrag and picked up a leg to finish the takedown there. Andrey tried to stand back up but got hit with another takedown, although this one allowed him to spin under for an armbar. Nagai escaped and they both started to work for a leg entanglement, before Andrey stood up and Nagai pulled guard again. They returned to standing after a while and Nagai pulled guard, but this time into a quick sweep to finish on top.
Andrey wrestled up and pushed Nagai to the pit wall, hitting an ankle-pick and passing immediately. Nagai wrestled up and finished on top, but he couldn’t pass before Andrey was able to put him on his back with a sweep. Nagai threatened the legs and Andrey’s defenses to stand back up, landing one more takedown with just a few seconds left in the round. Andrey hit another wrist-snap and almost took Nagai’s back, but he couldn’t get his hooks in before Nagai scrambled up on top. Nagai was working his passing but couldn’t get through Andrey’s guard, and Andrey tried to come up on a single-leg before bailing out to standing.
Nagai pulled guard and started to launch into some offense off his back, locking up a triangle choke from the back and attempting to finish it as an armbar just before the match came to an end. Nagai was awarded the split decision win and that moved straight into the main event between MMA veterans Lance Palmer and Richie Lewis. Lewis charged in for an early takedown and finished it against the pit wall, landing in side control. Palmer created space and recovered guard, but Lewis pressured through to half-guard after a while and then into mount shortly after that.
Palmer recovered guard again but within seconds Lewis had passed into side control, before repeating the same process and sliding his knee into mount. Lewis stayed heavy and controlled Palmer from there, and he only managed to escape with just a few seconds left in the round. Lewis shot in for a takedown early in the second round too, but Palmer stuffed it well and forced him away. Lewis kept up the pressure and picked up a single-leg, driving Palmer into the pit wall to finish it and working his way straight into half-guard. Lewis worked methodically from there to knee-on-belly, in to side control, and then into mount.
Palmer recovered guard again but it was just seconds before Lewis used the exact same sequence to take mount. Palmer got his knee-shield in and briefly recovered half-guard but Lewis worked his way to side control and kept up a high pace, transitioning between dominant positions and strong passing positions as the final round ended. With two absolutely flawless rounds in the bag, Lewis was declared the winner by unanimous decision. All in all, Pit Submission Series 11 produced some great results and there were several entertaining moments throughout all three matches.
Pit Submission Series 11 Full Results
Samuel Nagai defeats Fabricio Andrey via Decision – Split
Daniel Sathler defeats Ansar Khamzaev via Decision – Split
The full Pit Submission Series 11 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch on the official YouTube channel of Karate Combat:
