With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from March 2022: Here are the six nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Azamat Murzakanov def. Tafon Nchukwi at UFC Fight Night 203
Azamat Murzakanov (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) added to his unbeaten record when he landed a flying knee in the third round of the light heavyweight bout with Tafon Nchukwi (6-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC).
After controlling the action for the first and second round, Murzakanov came out looking to close out in the third. He did just that, leaping into a flying knee that instantly put Nchukwi out 44 seconds into the round.
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Nominee: Khalil Rountree def. Karl Roberson at UFC Fight Night 203
Khalil Rountree (10-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) was not playing around in his light heavyweight bout with Karl Roberson (9-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC).
After an evenly matched first round where both fighters were active on the feet, Rountree came out on the second to put an end to the contest. He connected hard on Roberson and dropped him early in the round. He then followed up with a kick to the body on a grounded Roberson and heavy ground-and-pound there after. It was too much for Roberson to handle and the referee had no choice but to stop the fight.
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Nominee: Ilia Topuria def. Jai Herbert at UFC Fight Night 204
Ilia Topuria (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) made a statement in his first fight at lightweight, rallying to score an absolutely devastating finish of Jai Herbert (11-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC).
Topuria had to fight back from adversity after he was dropped in the first round. He managed to recover by taking the fight to the ground. Topuria came out in the second and pressured Herbert, then connected with a right hand that instantly folded Herbert and sent him straight to the canvas.
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Nominee: Molly McCann def. Luana Carolina at UFC Fight Night 204
Molly McCann’s first finish in UFC competition couldn’t have been more spectacular, because she put Luana Carolina away with a shot that will live on highlight reels for years to come.
McCann ended her women’s flyweight bout against Carolina with a perfectly timed and placed spinning elbow. After brawling for two rounds, McCann uncorked the shot that sent Carolina crashing to the fashion and unconscious for several minutes. Fortunately, the Brazilian turned out to be OK.
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Nominee: Chris Gutierrez def. Danaa Batgerel at UFC on ESPN 33
Chris Gutierrez (18-4-2 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) has a solid highlight reel – but his handiwork against Danaa Batgerel (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was perhaps his most emphatic finish yet.
In a matchup of streaking bantamweights, Gutierrez made his mark with a violent spinning backfist knockdown and follow-up elbows en route to a knockout, extending his unbeaten streak inside the octagon to seven consecutive fights.
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Nominee: Curtis Blaydes def. Chris Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 33
Curtis Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) eschewed wrestling and instead used his standup game to put away Chris Daukaus (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in their heavyweight main event.
After a patient first round on the feet, Blaydes needed just 17 seconds in the second round to put Daukaus away after a big right hand and follow-up strikes on the canvas, marking the first time in UFC he’d won a fight without a takedown.
The winner
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The winner: Molly McCann
McCann’s insane spinning elbow is likely to hold up in Knockout of the Year discussions.
The former Cage Warriors champion had the best finish of her career against Carolina, and did so in front of her home country crowd at The 02 in London.
McCann starched Brazil’s Carolina with a spinning elbow that sent her crashing to the canvas in their women’s flyweight contest. The official stoppage came at the 1:52 mark of Round 3.
It was a dominant showing throughout for McCann. She swarmed Carolina early in the first round with numerous combinations. The second and third rounds were similar with McCann pushing the action and doing the most damage. It was in a breakaway from the clinch that McCann was able to land a spinning elbow.
It was a wild scene afterward, too, with McCann jumping the octagon fence, taking a replica belt out of the crowd, embracing UFC president Dana White and her teammates and going absolutely ballistic in front of a raucous British crowd.