Submission Underground 20 represented the final high-level grappling event of 2020 and it certainly helped close the year in style. The promotion has drawn some criticism in the past for the use of EBI rounds along with relatively short regulation time periods of five minutes, as this can often lead to matches that sound great on paper resulting in heavy stalling or unsatisfactory endings. SUG’s previous Absolute champion, Craig Jones, even recently announced that he may not be continuing to compete for the promotion. He has since made a fantastic return by submitting former Bellator Featherweight Champion Brent Primus at SUG 19, and followed that performance with another submission victory over Satoshi Ishii at SUG 20.
Elsewhere on the card, Richie “Boogieman” Martinez and Gillian Robertson both also managed to finish their opponents within the relatively short regulation time period, defeating CB Dolloway and Pearl Gonzalez respectively. The final main card matchup ended in the first EBI overtime round, with UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga emerging victorious against Hunter Colvin. The main event then saw Mason Fowler defend the SUG Absolute Championship for the third consecutive time with a quick submission over the current Bellator Heavyweight World Champion, Ryan Bader.
Submission Underground 20 Full Results
Mason Fowler defeats Ryan Bader via Submission – Armbar, 1:39 of Regulation
Mason Fowler retains SUG Absolute Championship
Craig Jones defeats Satoshi Ishii via Submission – Rear-Naked Choke, 2:08 of Regulation
Richie Martinez defeats CB Dolloway via Submission – Armbar, 0:55 of Regulation
Gillian Robertson defeats Pearl Gonzalez via Submission – Rear-Naked Choke, 4:11 of Regulation
Gabriel Gonzaga defeats Hunter Colvin via Submission – Armbar, 1:06 of Overtime Round 1
Preliminary Card
Andy Varela defeats Ben Egli via Submission – Rear-Naked Choke, 4:33 of Regulation
Micah Brakefield defeats Benji Silva via Submission – Armbar, 0:07 of Overtime Round 3
Kristin Mikkelson defeats Rita Gribben via Decision – Fastest Escape Time after Overtime Periods
Alex Larmey defeats Juan Bernardo via Submission – Arm Triangle Choke, 0:22 of Overtime Round 1
John Simon defeats Charlie Gilpin via Submission – Rear-Naked Choke, 0:23 of Overtime Round 1
The full Submission Underground 20 event will be available for replay on UFC FightPass, click here to subscribe and watch.