May’s Top Five UFC Knockouts

May brought with it the brutal and the bizarre, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the top five UFC knockouts of the month.

The Octagon witnessed a bit of everything in May, from a nasty gash to the knockout king returning in style and a near decapitation.

These were the month’s most memorable finishes:

Honourable Mention:

Hole-y Smokes

Joanderson Brito brutally chopped down Jack Shore in the featured prelim at UFC 301, landing a series of thunderous leg kicks that opened a gruesome gash on Shore’s shin, resulting in a doctor’s stoppage TKO win for the Brazilian.

5: Bad Moon Rising

Derrick Lewis, the UFC’s all-time knockout king, struck again in the main event of UFC St Louis, blasting Rodrigo Nascimento with a massive right hand and finishing the Brazilian off with some follow-up punches for his record-extending 15th knockout, which he celebrated by mooning the crowd.

4: 12-second Stunner

Carlos Ulberg needed just 12 seconds to stretch his winning streak to six at UFC St Louis, the New Zealander making Alonzo Menifield pay for charging in recklessly to record the third-fastest finish in UFC light heavyweight history.

3: Khaos Personified

Khaos Williams maximised his co-main event opportunity at UFC Vegas 92, shaking off a shot to the head and shutting down Carlston Harris with a brutal receipt.

2: Triumphant Homecoming

Fighting at home brought the best out of Brazil’s Caio Borralho as he started UFC 301’s main card with a bang by obliterating Paul Craig. Accurate and powerful, he teed off on the Scotsman and landed a hard left to leave “Bearjew” crumpled in a heap.

1: Coming Out Firing

Esteban Ribovics and Terrance McKinney came out all guns blazing in their prelim fight in St Louis, and it was Ribovics who was left standing as he murked McKinney with a devastating head kick inside 40 seconds.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.