With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for April.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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Nominees
Nominee: Ignacio Bahamondes def. Christos Giagos at UFC Fight Night 240
Ignacio Bahamondes (15-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) continued to expand his highlight reel in the lightweight division, this time at the expense of Christos Giagos (20-12 MMA, 6-8 UFC)
Bahamondes finished Giagos with a crisp head kick less than four minutes into the opening round. Giagos toppled to the canvas against the cage and covered up. Rather than whack him again, Bahamondes saw his downed opponent was in trouble and strolled off in walk-off fashion.
Nominee: Jiri Prochazka def. Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300
Former UFC champ Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) once again showcased his incredible durability with a thrilling comeback of Aleksandar Rakic (14-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who was returning from a two-year injury layoff.
Rakic worked the leg kicks early, as Prochazka repeatedly switched stances and took many punches in the process. Prochazka rocked Rakic with a combination and put him on the retreat. Rakic stumbled and Prochazka dove on top and pounded away until the referee saw enough.
Nominee: Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje at UFC 300
Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) added to the history of the BMF title in the most remarkable way possible, and in the biggest way possible, when he captured the belt from Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC.
Holloway once again lived ups to the philosophy behind the BMF in calling for Gaethje to step to the middle of the octagon in the final 10 seconds of a lightweight war he was clearly winning. He landed a clean shot with one second left on the clock that sent Gaethje face-first into the canvas in what Joe Rogan called the “greatest knockout of all time.”
Nominee: Alex Pereira def. Jamahal Hill at UFC 300
Alex Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) put a very violent bow on a historic UFC 300 card to retain his title against Jamahal Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).
Pereira waved off referee Herb Dean’s offering to pause the bout due to a groin strike by Hill. Seconds later, Pereira floored Hill with his signature lead left hook. Hill’s eyes rolled back but when he hit the canvas, he defended. Pereira pounced and pounded, however, until the lights went out. As he rose off his downed opponent, Pereira pulled off a “Khaby Lame” celebration.
Nominee: Shamil Musaev def. Logan Storley at 2024 PFL 3
After a quiet off-season signing, [autotag]Shamil Musaev/autotag loudly announced his arrival in PFL with a savage knockout of former Bellator interim welterweight champ Logan Storley (15-3).
Musaev brutalized Storley en route to a knockout early in the second round. In the latter half of Round 1, Musaev nearly finished Storley on multiple occasions. Storley was rocked, dropped, and hurt but survived to see the between-rounds stool. The minute break did not reverse the momentum, however, as Musaev landed a wicked two-punch combination 15 seconds into Round 2. Storley slammed to the canvas and Musaev pounced.
Nominee: Kendra McIntyre def. Katarina Legorreta at LFA 182
[autotag]Kendra McIntyre/autotag might be hard to top for best head kick knockout of the year after putting away Katarina Legorreta (3-1) in devastating fashion.
In Round 3 of a strawweight contest, McIntyre created a knockout highlight that will be replayed for the rest of her career. Legorreta was clearly fatigued as she offered a labored left hand. McIntyre didn’t even bother to block it. Instead, she ate on the chin, fired off a right hand and ended the fight with a vicious left head kick that sent her opponent crashing to the canvas like a ragdoll.
The winner
The winner: Max Holloway
Holloway earned the BMF” title and one of the most violent knockouts in UFC history.
In the waning seconds of the fight, Holloway pointed to the center, swung, and faceplanted an obliging Gaethje unconscious – with one second left on the clock in Round 5.
Both fighters were perhaps more cautious than anticipated in Round 1. Holloway showed off calculated patience and beautiful point-fighting, while Gaethje returned with some hard boxing of his own.
A pivotal moment occurred at the end of Round 1. As the horn sounded, Holloway landed a jumping back kick. His heel dug into the nose of Gaethje, who held his face as he walked back to his corner. The damage was apparent as the cut man attended to him between rounds.
Things got worse for Gaethje in Round 2. As if being unable to breathe wasn’t bad enough, Holloway poked him twice, once in each eye. Referee Marc Goddard called timeout on each foul, but didn’t take a point.
In Round 3, Holloway landed some hard shots. Gaethje struggled to find rhythm. The speed advantage was obvious in Holloway’s favor.
Things got a little more interesting in Round 4 as the monotony of a Holloway striking showcase was broken. Gaethje landed a right hand that knocked Holloway down. It was the first registered knockdown against Holloway in. his career.
Before Round 5, coach Trevor Whitman tried to motivate his fighter, Gaethje, and called for aggression throughout the final five minutes.
Holloway flipped that script though and stunned Gaethje with a violent, speed-changing combination. Holloway drilled the body with two punches, but Gaethje stayed upright and waved Holloway on.
In the final seconds, Holloway turned back time to his famous swing-for-the-fences moment with Ricardo Lamas from 2016 – only this time with an alternate ending. Holloway knocked Gaethje unconscious with a massive overhand right.
Holloway, 32, extended his winning streak to three, a stretch that also includes victories over Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung.
Gaethje, 35, has a two-fight winning streak snapped. He entered off consecutive victories over Rafael Fiziev and Poirier.
