August’s Top Five UFC Knockouts

August delivered some awe-inspiring finishes inside the Octagon, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the top five UFC knockouts of the month.

From a dream debut and a new Ultimate Fighter being crowned to a top contender staking his claim for a championship opportunity and a living nightmare, August had plenty of violent highlights.

These were the month’s five best knockouts:

5: No Judges Kneeded

A finisher of note, Joel Alvarez force-fed Elves Brener a devastating diet of knees at UFC Abu Dhabi to score his 21st stoppage in 21 wins.

Joel Alvarez becomes the first man to finish Elves Brener 😳⚔️

— COMBAT SPORTS TODAY (@CSTodayNews)

4: Don’t Blink

Kai Kara-France spoiled Steve Erceg’s homecoming and lived up to his “Don’t Blink” nickname when he landed a step-through left hook and stopped the Australian with a right hand in UFC 305’s co-main event to score his 13th first-round knockout and make a strong case for a flyweight title shot.

KAI KARA-FRANCE KO’S STEVE ERCEG IN ROUND 1🔥

— Bart (@Bart98524185)

3: Red Alert

You only get one chance to make a good first impression and Wang Cong killed it by crushing Victoria Leonardo with a brutal one-two at UFC Vegas 96 to earn the fastest debut finish in women’s flyweight history at just 62 seconds.

WANG CONG WITH A 1ST ROUND KO IN HER UFC DEBUT💥‼️

Calls out Casey O’Neil 👀

— MMA Casuals (@MMA_CASUALS_)

2: Santos Is The Ultimate Fighter

Mairon Santos seized The Ultimate Fighter 32 featherweight crown in vicious fashion at UFC Vegas 96 with a wicked counter left hand that switched Kaan Ofli’s lights off, with the 24-year-old instinctively landing a few follow-up blows on his sitting duck of an opponent.

— ben dover (@mcgregoat303)

1: Living Nightmare

Carlos “The Nightmare” Prates put himself on the map in the UFC 305 main card opener as he became the first man to knockout Li Jingliang, starching the Chinese veteran with one brutal left after another and leaving “The Leech” unconscious for a scary amount of time.

Wicked Walk Off KO

I picked against him his last fight

I didn't do that again!

Li Jingliang vs Carlos Prates UFC 305 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

— Metro Boofin (@Ggtots1)