With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for September.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Raul Rosas Jr. def. Terrence Mitchell at Noche UFC
Raul Rosas Jr. (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) made quick work of Terrance Mitchell (14-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC). The hand speed of Rosas Jr. was too much for Mitchell, as the fight was stopped just 54 seconds into Round 1.
Rosas Jr. came out of the gates fast and landed a left hand punch that stiffened Mitchell. The way Mitchell fell to the canvas, it appeared Rosas Jr. landed a walk-off knockout, but the fight wasn’t quite done yet. Rosas Jr. capitalized on the moment as Mitchell attempted to stay in the fight, but the punches that rained down eventually led to the TKO stoppage a few seconds later.
RAUL ROSAS JR GETS IT DONE IN ONE 😳
The rising star bounces back in the BIGGEST way at #NocheUFC! pic.twitter.com/v3Qftf3KIW
— UFC (@ufc) September 17, 2023
Nominee: Levan Chokheli def. Sabah Homasi at Bellator 299
Levan Chokheli (13-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) scored a nasty knockout over veteran Sabah Homasi (17-12 MMA, 6-6 BMMA) in their welterweight showdown.
After a few exchanges, Chokheli had Homasi backed up against the cage. Then out of nowhere, Chokheli threw a front kick right to Homasi’s chin, putting him out instantly. It took a few minutes for Homasi to get back to his feet following the KO, but he eventually walked off on his own power.
INSANE 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧 𝗞𝗜𝗖𝗞 KO! 😱@LevanChokheli2 may have just stolen the show with this incredible knockout!#Bellator299 LIVE on @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TcwU4G4gHJ
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 23, 2023
Nominee: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299
Johnny Eblen (14-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) was tested by Fabian Edwards (12-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) in their grudge match, but in the end the American Top Team product remained undefeated and still Bellator champion.
After Edwards had a strong opening two rounds by stifling the grappling and opening a nasty cut, Eblen dropped Edwards early in the third round and then finished him with savage ground-and-pound shortly after to log his second successful title defense.
.@JohnnyEblen finishes Fabian Edwards!#Bellator299 is LIVE on @showtime! pic.twitter.com/6I1CeiMWeq
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) September 23, 2023
Nominee: Tim Means def. Andre Fialho at UFC Fight Night 228
Tim Means (33-15-1 MMA, 15-12 UFC) once again lived up to his reputation when he went shot for shot with Andre Fialho (16-8 MMA, 2-5 UFC) en route to victory.
Means was in classic form for the welterweight bout. He hurt Fialho in the first round, took some damage of his own in the second, then rallied later for the TKO victory with a sick closing combination.
Heavy hits from Tim Means for the finish 💥 #UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/nDUpBCpeaA
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 23, 2023
The winner
The winner: Cedric Doumbe def. Jordan Zebo at PFL Europe 3
There are debuts – and then there’s what Cedric Doumbe did in Paris.
Doumbe (5-0) treated his home country crowd to a memorable performance when he knocked out opponent Jordan Zebo (4-1) in just nine seconds.
Doumbe, a former Glory Kickboxing champion with a 75-5-1 kickboxing record, may have overdelivered on an already highly-anticipated first PFL showing.
Before the fight even started, Doumbe had the crowd in the palm of his hand at Zenith Paris. As the crowd played along with opening chants during his walkout, Doumbe walked through the crowd with a mattress and pillow.
Following the cage announcer’s introduction, Doumbe hosted another chant as he spoke to the crowd just before referee Marc Goddard’s instructions.
The fight itself was over in a flash, as Doumbe caught a high kick attempt by Zebo. As Zebo turned Doumbe hammered him with a left hand and follow-up shots, that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
HOLY 🤬! DOUMBE WITH THE FINISH IN SECONDS!#PFLParis
🇫🇷 EN EXCLUSIVITE sur RMC Sport
🇪🇺 INTERNATIONALLY LIVE on DAZN pic.twitter.com/UTRWWAF9qL— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 30, 2023
Doumbe, 31, enters PFL with a bang. He signed with the promotion in May after being linked to the UFC. While details still remain unclear, Doumbe was expected to compete for the UFC in Paris September 2022. After the French commissioning body determined Doumbe’s limited MMA experience was, in its view, too much of a discrepancy from his targeted opponents, the promotion and fighter parted ways.
