Fight to Win Pro had a ridiculously successful 2016, establishing themselves as one of the most prominent professional jiu-jitsu events on the planet.

Hundreds of the world's top jiu-jitsu athletes took the stage to showcase their skills over the course of this year. While it would be impossible to recount all of the memorable matches that happened under the bright lights there are some matches that stood out for all the right reasons.

Here are five Fight to Win Pro matches that blew us away this past year:

5. Kevin Peterson vs. Renato Tavares, Fight to Win Pro 14: Tampa

Gi matches are often bemoaned for their slow pace and stop-start action, but that wasn't the case in this technical battle. Both Peterson and Tavares flawlessly used their gis as tools and kept the pace moving right along, with Tavares easily pushing past Peterson's tight spider guard.

Peterson's lighting-fast legs eventually stole the show, though, swiftly trapping Tavares in a triangle choke that ultimately ended the fight at just over three minutes in. 

Watch the match:

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4. Benson Henderson vs. Jay Pages, Fight to Win Pro 12: Phoenix

This match went from 0 to 100 as soon as it began. Both fighters were moving at a ridiculously fast pace, with Henderson mainly playing offense and Pages defending his submission attempts as fast as they came.

After a few unsuccessful choke attempts from Henderson, Pages appeared to almost have the fight as he put his opponent in a dangerous kimura-turned-armbar. But somehow, Henderson escaped and managed to take Pages' back for a rear naked choke that would end the fight.

Watch the match: 

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3. Garry Tonon vs. Dustin Akbari, Fight to Win Pro 8: San Francisco

The fight between Tonon and Akbari was a nail-biter right from the start, with both grapplers making it very clear that they weren't messing around. Akbari made everyone believe the fight was going to come to an early end barely thirty seconds into the match when he grabbed Tonon's back, but after Tonon managed to escape it was clear that this match wasn't going to be so easily won.

After Tonon recovered from a hard slam to the stage and Akbari narrowly avoided a triangle attempt by his opponent, Garry Tonon finally won the match with one of his infamous heelhooks at three minutes and forty seconds into the fight.

Watch the match: 

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2. Jose Llanas vs. Philip Miller, Fight to Win Pro 6: Dallas

Llanas and Miller's match almost came to an abrupt end when Miller got a heelhook on his opponent early on in the fight. Llanas somehow managed to escape, and thus began a fierce battle to see who could land a leglock first.

Both grapplers narrowly avoided being submitted by attempts that would have either tapped out or crippled a lesser fighter, with Llanas in particular achieving some borderline miraculous escapes from deep heelhooks. The fighters' resilience caused the match's results to rest on the opinions of the judges, who unanimously awarded the fight to Llanas.

Watch the match: 

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1. Mackenzie Dern vs. Rossie Snow, Fight to Win Pro 4: Denver

The fight between Dern and Snow was highly anticipated not just because of the level of talent possessed by these two fighters, but also because it was the first major professional Brazilian jiu-jitsu event to feature a women's fight as the main event.

All that waiting, however, was soon found to have led up to a match that would only last a few seconds. After an intense, but brief scramble, Dern managed to secure an armbar on Snow, reminding everyone why she's one of the most famous and successful jiu-jitsu athletes in the world.

Watch the match: 
  

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