With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from February 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Brennan Ward def. Sabah Homasi at Bellator 290
Advertised as one of the most violent fights in company history, Brennan Ward (17-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) and Sabah Homasi delivered (17-11 MMA, 6-5 BMMA) in their welterweight bout.
In the first Bellator fight to air on CBS, Ward defeated Homasi with a head kick and punches in the second round after a gunslinging battle. Both men were hungry for the finish from the opening bell, but it was Ward who landed the cleanest shot first and secured the finish.
🔥 The 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 career resurgence of @SwaggleBerryFin continues! What a stoppage LIVE on @CBS 👏
📺 #Bellator290 | 𝑪𝑩𝑺 & 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕+ | LIVE NOW pic.twitter.com/qWo4HAbqic
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 5, 2023
Nominee: Lorenz Larkin def. Mukhamed Berkhamov at Bellator 290
Lorenz Larkin’s (25-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) first encounter with Mukhamed Berkhamov (15-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) last year ended in a no contest after a foul halted the action. In the rematch, however, there was no doubt.
Larkin only needed less than two minutes to dispatch of Berkhamov in the welterweight bout. During an early exchange, “The Monsoon” landed a pinpoint elbow that immediate rocked his opponent and sent him crashing to the canvas. No more shot were necessary, because Larkin has completed the job.
Lorenz Larkin with the HELLBOW!🤯#Bellator290 prelims are LIVE on YouTube ➡️ https://t.co/aLL44edkHV pic.twitter.com/Y3PBrRgXhB
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) February 5, 2023
Nominee: Rinya Nakamura def. Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Fight Night 218
Rinya Nakamura (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) locked up his “Road to the UFC” bantamweight tournament win with a brutal one-punch knockout of Toshiomi Kazama (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
Nakamura hurt Kazama early in the fight, then he didn’t let up, He put on major aggression until he landed a huge left hook to the chin to close the show and earn a UFC contract.
OUT. COLD.
Rinya Nakamura is your #RoadToUFC bantamweight winner! #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/6ULxnIOaxi
— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2023
Nominee: Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter at UFC 284
It didn’t take long for Justin Tafa (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) to find the chin of Parker Porter (13-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) in their heavyweight showdown.
Tafa needed only 66 seconds to finish the fight. As Porter closed in to look for a big overhand right, Tafa evaded just enough while countering with a sharp left hand. Porter immediately crashed to the canvas, and rolled to his back with his arms spread out. He was clearly out of sorts, and Tafa recognized no more follow-up punches were required.
JUSTIN TAFA IS BAAAAAAD MAN 🤯@Justin_Tafa with the knockout in one minute! #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/oKbVGQKfvT
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
Nominee: Trevor Peek def. Erick Gonzalez at UFC Fight Night 220
Trevor Peek (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was out to make a statement in his octagon debut, and succeeded by finishing Erick Gonzalez (14-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC) in the final second of the first round.
When the fight returned to the feet after a takedown, Peek got right back to swinging for the fences and put Gonzalez in trouble. As the final seconds of the round approached, Peek didn’t let up and put the final touches on his opponent, slumping him against the fence with hammerfist-style punches.
KO AT THE BUZZER 🤯 #UFCVegas70 pic.twitter.com/Itgpoi5dxS
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 25, 2023
The winner
The winner: Lorenz Larkin
In the final preliminary bout at Bellator 290, Larkin didn’t waste time getting the job done in a second meeting with Berkhamov.
After a few opening exchanges, the two fighters briefly clinched in the center of the cage. Larkin was able to frame and unleash a vicious elbow on Berkhamov,, causing him to crash head-first into the canvas. Larkin immediately saw his opponent was out after the elbow connected and began his walk-off celebration.
LORENZ FREAKIN’ LARKIN WITH THE HELL-BOW KNOCKOUT.
And he was hyped! 😤🙌#Bellator290 | Live results: https://t.co/n3DPN0OQYc pic.twitter.com/8hZeUP66Rb
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 5, 2023
With the win, Larkin extends his winning streak to seven straight. This was his second meeting with Berkhamov. At Bellator 283, the fight resulted in a no contest after an illegal strike, prompting the promotion to run it back immediately. This time, Larkin left no doubt with a brutal knockout.
Berkhamov was stopped for the first time in his career as he exited the cage with just the second loss of his professional career.
