July 2018 was loaded with knockout victories.
From headkicks and elbows to liver shots and one-punch knockouts in back-and-forth wars. July produced some killer moments.
From RIZIN and ONE Championship to the UFC and Bellator, all the way to RFC and Katana Fight. There was a tremendous amount of action throughout the month.
With that being said, it seems impossible to not recognize what the UFC’s latest champ-champ was able to do in July. Before continuing, check out the Knockout of the Month for June 2018.
Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic
Legitimate superfights are somewhat of a rarity of mixed martial arts.
With all of the talent globally, you’d think true superfights would be relatively easy to come by. For years, they haven’t been. We’ve seen ONE Championship and KSW go to the superfight well a few times for title vs. title fights, and it’s always appreciated.
But outside of those sparse match-ups, the definition of superfight has changed over the years. Years back, it wasn’t even enough to do title vs. title fights. For it to be a superfight, it needed to be a title vs. title fights with two incredibly dominant champions. This is why Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre was such a hot topic for years because that’s what the fight would have been 6-7 years ago; a true superfight in every sense of the word.
This is kind of what we were given earlier last month when we saw Stipe Miocic take on Daniel Cormier with the heavyweight strap on the line.
Stipe Miocic entered the fight as the reigning, defending heavyweight champion. Statistically the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. After easily winning the title in 2016, Miocic went on to defend the belt three times, dominant in each of these.
Daniel Cormier is in the same boat as Miocic, except as a light heavyweight. Statistically – especially when looking at Jon Jones’ track-record as of late – he is the best light heavyweight the UFC has ever seen. Perhaps even the greatest of all time at 205lbs. He had fought and dominated a who’s who of light heavyweight talent, and he dominated them all.
MMASucka’s Knockout of the Month for July 2018: Daniel Cormier becomes double champ with a shocking first-round KO
Daniel Cormier moved up to heavyweight while still holding the light heavyweight strap. And he is familiar to the weight class. Cormier burst onto the scene as a heavyweight in Strikeforce, winning their grand-prix as an alternate and defeating the likes of Antonio Silva and Josh Barnett with ease.
He had never fought a man like Stipe Miocic, though. the same could be said vice-versa!
Late in round one of this heavyweight superfight, we saw the finishing sequence.
DC caught Miocic with a right-hand on the clinch break. Scoring the knockdown and sleeping the champion with the ground-and-pound follow-ups.
The crowd erupted, as did the collective MMA world. And finally, one of the good guys does something truly great.
Daniel Cormier becomes the new UFC Heavyweight Champion while simultaneously holding his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. As he nears 40, the former Olympic star is getting closer and closer to his retirement. But, until then, he has no plans of slowing down. Cormier plans to defend both titles at the same time, which would turn this already incredible accomplishment into a true one-of-a-kind feat.
Watch the fight here!
It was one of the first events of July 2018, and it won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Check out the #2 and #3 spots, however. Featuring a ridiculous spinning back-kick, and the return to form of a legend.
Daniel Cormier KO1 Stipe Miocic
UFC 226
Andrey Koreshkov KO1 Vaso Bakocevic
Bellator 203
Takanori Gomi KO1 Melvin Guillard
RIZIN 11
Those top three weren’t easy choices to make but, rest assured, if you disagreed with any, you will almost certainly find what you’re looking for amongst the 41 honorable mentions.
- Shooto Tarao 22 | Shota Fujii def. Chan Hyun Jeon via KO1 (Ground Punch)
- Serbian BC 18 | Milan Bodonji def. Mladenko Kunic via KO1 (Headkick)
- PFL 3 | Abusupiyan Magomedov def. Danillo Villefort via KO1 (Kick to Body)
- PFL 3 | Louis Taylor def. Anderson Goncalves via KO3 (13-punch Combo)
- PFL 3 | Joao Zeferino def. Paul Bradley via KO1 (Baroni Punches)
- PFL 3 | Ray Cooper III def. Jake Shields via KO2 (Left-Hook + GNP)
- ONE: Battle For The Heavens | Peng Xue Wen def. Eddey Kalai via KO1 (Straight-Right + GNP)
- UFC 226 | Dan Hooker def. Gilbert Burns via KO1 (Left-Hook)
- UFC 226 | Khalil Rountree def. Gokhan Saki via KO1 (Straight-Left + GNP)
- RFC: Way Of The Dragon 2 | Rex De Lara def. Rocky Lee via KO2 (Punches)
- Bellator 202 | Steve Kozola def. Ryan Walker via KO1 (Punches)
- Bellator 202 | Michael McDonald def. Eduardo Dantas via KO1 (Right Jab + GNP)
- ONE: Pursuit of Power | Zebaztian Kadestam deg. Agilan Thani via TKO3 (Strikes)
- ONE: Pursuit of Power | Kai Wen Lie def. Emilio Urrutia via KO3 (Punches)
- UFC Boise | Niko Price def. Randy Brown via KO2 (Hammerfists From Bottom)
- UFC Boise | Raoni Barcelos def. Kurt Holobaugh via KO3 (Right Uppercut + GNP)
- WFCA 49 | Akhmed Shervaniev def. Aresen Ubaediulaev via TKO2 (Punches)
- Contender Series 4 | Jordan Espinosa def. Rilley Dutro via KO3 (Left Jab)
- BFL 56 | Craig Maclean def. Dylan Atkinson via KO1 (Straight-Right)
- Bellator 203 | Michele Martignoni def. Simone D’Anna via KO1 (Right Headkick)
- Contender Series 5 | Edmen Shahbazyan def. Antonio Jones via KO1 (Punches)
- PFL 4 | Philipe Lins def. Alex Nicholson via TKO2 (Punches)
- LFA 45 | Kailan Hill def. Alex Thompson via KO1 (Left Headkick)
- LFA 45 | Ryan Lilley def. Jordan Winski via KO1 (Right-Hook + GNP)
- UFC Hamburg | Anthony Smith def. Shogun Rua via KO1 (Standing Elbow + Punches)
- M-1 Challenge 95 | Movsar Evloev def. Rafael Dias via KO5 (Straight-Right + GNP)
- M-1 Challenge 95 | Edward Massey def. Mate Sanikidze via KO1 (Left Headkick)
- Katana Fight 5 | Samuel def. Rangel de Sa via KO1 (Kick to Body)
- Dragon House 29 | Mikey Gonzalez def. Justin Baesman via TKO1 (Hook Kick + Punches)
- Dragon House 29 | Federico Vento def. Daniel Gonzalez via KO1 (GNP)
- Contender Series 6 | Jim Crute def. Chris Birchler via KO1 (Straight Left)
- LFA 46 | Cristhian Torres def. Dashawn Boatright via KO1 (Right Uppercut)
- Contender Series 7 | Ian Heinisch def. Justin Sumter via KO1 (Elbows)
- RIZIN 11 | Jiri Prochazka def. Bruno Cappelozza via KO1 (Punches)
- RIZIN 11 | Diego Brandao def. Satoru Kitaoka via KO1 (Hammerfists)
- RIZIN 11 | Topnoi Tiger Muay Thai def. Tadaaki Yamamoto via KO1 (Straight Left)
- UFC Calgary | Jose Aldo def. Jeremy Stephens via TKO1 (Punch to Body + GNP)
- UFC Calgary | Dustin Ortiz def. Matheus Nicolau via KO1 (Right Headkick + GNP)
- XFC 36 | Justin Tafa def. Jeremy Joiner via KO1 (Left Headkick + Punches)
