UFC
April’s Top Five UFC Knockouts
April was jam-packed with epic pugilism inside the Octagon, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the top five UFC knockouts of the month.
April dished up unexpected excellence, cracking counterintelligence and ruthless beatings. Unfortunately for South African prodigy Cameron Saaiman, he ended up on the wrong side of the spectrum, while Paddy Pimblett proved he’s the real deal.
Without further ago, I give you the month’s best knockouts:
Honourable Mentions:
Baddy Beatdown
Popular yet unproven, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett showed just how good he is when he decimated Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 314. A perfectly placed knee that split “Iron” open signalled the beginning of the end with Pimblett pummelling the former lightweight title challenger to pick up a TKO win.
All Shook Up
Julian Erosa had Darren Elkins on wobbly legs and finished him with a ruthless barrage of strikes in the opening round of their featherweight bout at UFC 314.
Gored
After having his car window smashed and almost being robbed in Sao Paulo during fight week, Marco Tulio vowed he was going to make someone pay for it and it turned out to be Tresean Gore, who he got out of there in the second round at UFC 314.
5: Left In A Heap
Ode Osbourne connected with a clean left hand to stop Luis Gurule in the second round of their flyweight fight at UFC Vegas 105 and collect his first Performance of the Night bonus since June 2022.
4: Notoriously Good
Shades of Conor McGregor versus Jose Also, Dominick Reyes made Nikita Krylov pay for lunging in with a crushing left hand to start the UFC 314 main card with a bang.
3: Tim-ber
Coming up big in Kansas City, Timmy Cuamba nearly took Roberto Romero’s head off with a highlight reel flying knee to seal the deal in the second round.
2: Crushing Cameron
South Africa’s Cameron Saaiman’s return to the Octagon didn’t go the way he intended as he got put down by a clean counter right hook by undefeated promotional newcomer Malcolm Wellmaker at UFC Kansas City.
1: Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em
Randy Brown became the first man to finish Nicolas Dalby when he landed the proverbial killshot in the second round of their slugfest in Kansas City.