MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for July: Rizin FF champ shines in his UFC debut

MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Month’ for July: Rizin FF champ shines in his UFC debut

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from July 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Month” award for July.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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The Nominees

Davey Grant def. Martin Day at UFC 251

Davey Grant’s (11-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) second fight in 25 months ended in spectacular style when he knocked out Martin Day (8-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in devastating fashion.

Grant got the first stoppage of his UFC career over Day in the bantamweight bout. After a back-and-forth 13 minutes of fighting, Day found the shot he needed when he landed the perfect left hand to the chin of Day that immediately resulted in a knockout. To make it all more impressive, Grant claimed post-fight he suffered a broken jaw in the opening frame.

Jiri Prochazka def. Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 251

Former Rizin FF light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made waves in his octagon debut when he scored a highlight-reel finish of a former UFC title challenge in Volkan Oezdemir (17-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC).

Prochazka put on an unorthodox display of movement and offensive/defensive tactics to puzzle Oezdemir as he pieces him up. The finishing sequence saw Prochazka land a vicious head kick then a right hook that ended Oezdemir’s night in a more violent fashion than anyone who’d beaten him previously.

Lerone Murphy def. Ricardo Ramos at UFC on ESPN 13

Lerone Murphy (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) scored the biggest victory of his career with a first-round finish of the much-heralded Ricardo Ramos (14-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in their featherweight matchup.

It took less than one round for Murphy to earn a TKO stoppage. After an evenly contested start, Murphy ducked a Ramos attempt at a spinning back elbow and turned it into a takedown. And while Ramos’ ground game is his strength, Murphy wasn’t fazed as he fed the Brazilian nasty ground strikes until the fight was waved off.

Roman Dolidze def. Khadis Ibragimov at UFC on ESPN+ 30

Khadis Ibragimov (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) ducked what sure looked like an incoming head kick from Roman Dolidze (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the first round of their light heavyweight fight.

Dolidze, however, had other plans. The unbeaten prospect turned what looked like a head kick into a knee on the drop of a dime. Ibragimov, for his part, put his face right in the path of the knee, and that ended the fight pretty much on the spot for the first round finish.

Tanner Boser def. Raphael Pessoa at UFC on ESPN 14

Tanner Boser (19-6-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) being significantly outsized by Raphael Pessoa (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in their heavyweight bout turned out to be an advantage for the Canadian, because his opponent simply couldn’t track him down.

Boser picked up his second UFC win in a 28-day stretch when he stopped Pessoa with strikes in the second round. After using a lot of movement and darting in and out of his opponent’s range, Boser came in a with a left hand that caught Pessoa in the eye. He immediately covered up and retreated, giving Boser win.

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The Winner: Jiri Prochazka

It had been a while since we’ve seen a championship-caliber fighter in another promotion cross over to the UFC and make a big splash in his debut.

But then, it’s been a while since a competitor like Prochazka has come down the pike, too. The former Rizin light heavyweight champion out of the Czech Republic hammed it up a little then scored a vicious knockout of former UFC title challenger Oezdemir.

A head kick, followed soon after by a brutal right hook that connected on the jaw, ended things 49 seconds into the second round.

“I want to take a title – that’s my mission,” Prochazka said after the fight. “That’s my mission here.”

The opening round was as unorthodox as it was entertaining. Time and again, Prochazka dropped his hands, put his chin forward, and dared Oezdemir to tag him. Oezdemir obliged, tagging his foe with authority on several occasions. But Prochazka gave the shots as good as he got them, and whenever the dust settled, Prochazka immediately resumed his mind games.

He was all business in the second round, though. A wicked left-footed head kick wobbled Oezdemir. Prochazka thought about going for a running knee, then instead opted for a jab, followed by the pinpoint right hook that knocked Oezdemir cold.