June’s Top Five UFC Knockouts

Superstars, veterans and prospects brought the pain in June, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the top five UFC knockouts of the month.

Fighters capped off the first half of the year with stylish stoppages inside the Octagon.

Champions, former title challengers and up-and-comers got fans on their feet with dynamic displays of violence, none more so than the following five finishes:

5: One And Done

Jean Silva scored a rare walk-off knockout at UFC 303 as he crushed veteran Charles Jourdain with a wicked uppercut.

4: Mullet Mania Runs Wild

A mullet-sporting Zachary Reece recorded a blazing-fast knockout at UFC Louisville, blasting Julian Marquez with a clean body kick and following it up with a brutal uppercut to become the first fighter to score a KO with the new gloves.

3: Volkan Brings The Viciousness

Former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir kicked off the UFC Saudi Arabia main card in frightening fashion as he walked down Johnny Walker and separated him from his senses with two brutal right hands.

2: Hulk Smash

Brunno “The Hulk” Ferreira force-fed Dustin Stoltzfus a family meal at the KFC Yum! Center and finished the one-round fire-fight with a spinning back elbow.

1: And Still!

Alex Pereira retained his light heavyweight title in style and put a definitive end to his rivalry with Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 303.

With some thinking his first victory over the Czech samurai came after a premature stoppage by the referee, “Poatan” left no doubt in the rematch.

The Brazilian kickboxing savant dropped Prochazka at the end of the first round and connected with a clean left head kick at the start of the second to cement himself as the biggest star in mixed martial arts aside from Conor McGregor.

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.