With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie looks at the best fights from October 2018: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for October.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

* * * *

The Nominees

Derrick Lewis def. Alexander Volkov at UFC 229

Derrick Lewis (21-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) continued his push toward a heavyweight title shot when he defeated fellow contender Alexander Volkov (30-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the most dramatic of manners.

After getting battered for more than two rounds, Lewis earned his ninth victory in his past 10 fights when unleashed a massive right hand that landed on the chin of Volkan and changed the course of the fight. “The Black Beast” finished the fight and as a result got a short-notice championship bout with Daniel Cormier.

Tony Ferguson def. Anthony Pettis at UFC 229

Tony Ferguson (24-3 MMA, 14-1 UFC) extended one of the best winning streaks in UFC history when he defeated ex-champ Anthony Pettis (21-8 MMA, 8-7 UFC) in a thrilling, bloody lightweight war.

Ferguson pushed his streak of success to 11 consecutive fights when he beat Pettis by second-round TKO due to a corner stoppage. Both men were hurt in the back-and-forth fight, but ultimately Ferguson’s pressure was too much. He opened multiple cuts on “Showtime,” whose corner waved off the fight due to a broken hand.

Benson Henderson vs. Saad Awad at Bellator 208

Benson Henderson (26-8 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) put on arguably the finest performance of his Bellator career to defeat Saad Awad (23-10 MMA, 11-7 BMMA) in a key lightweight matchup.

Henderson was utterly relentless over the course of three rounds, outpacing Awad with his grappling to take a unanimous decision on the scorecards.

Fedor Emelianenko def. Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208

Fedor Emelianenko (38-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) was forced to work for it, but he managed to stop Chael Sonnen (30-16-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA inside one round to advance to the final of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix, where he will meet Ryan Bader for the vacant title.

As promised, Sonnen came out of the gate and went right after Emelianenko with pressure. The former PRIDE champ was ready for it, though, because he managed to tag and hurt Sonnen multiple times, out scramble him in the grappling situations and then finally finish the fight with a first-round TKO.

Nasrat Haqparast def. Thibault Gouti at UFC Fight Night 138

Nasrat Haqparast (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) showed why he’s a highly regarded prospect in the UFC lightweight division when he put on three rounds of high-energy offensive output to defeat Thibault Gouti (12-5 MMA, 1-5 UFC).

Haqparast and Gouti picked up “Fight of the Night” honors with an entertaining fight. The majority of the memorable offense was created by Haqparast, though, as he nearly stopped Gouti on multiple occasions before the final bell.

* * * *

The Winner: Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis

In one of the wildest and most exciting fights in UFC history, Ferguson scored a TKO win over Pettis, whose corner called a halt to the bout after two rounds due to a broken hand.

As the fight started, Ferguson moved laterally and looked to jab. Meanwhile, Pettis was quick to attack the surgically repaired lead leg of his opponent, but Ferguson took it in stride, remaining the aggressor and maintaining his forward movement. For his part, Pettis did a fine job of finding a home for the counter right, touching the chin on a couple of occasions.

Pettis continued to move well on the outside as the round unfolded, retreating and countering, even landing a big spinning backfist that briefly forced Ferguson to pause. But “El Cucuy” returned to the attack in quick fashion, looking to keep the pace high and leave Pettis on his heels. Pettis’ right hand remained effective, though Ferguson answered suit with a spinning backfist of his own. Not to be outdone, Pettis flashed a capoeira kick, though the two quickly returned to more traditional attacks, trading shots in the pocket in the final seconds before the bell.

Ferguson was quick again at the start of the second, though a Pettis right hand clipped him clean and dropped him to the floor. Ferguson somehow crawled back to his feet, only to be tagged again. As he fell to the canvas, Ferguson rolled and settled on his back, with Pettis jumping on top. Ferguson somehow cleared his head and worked his guard, while Pettis’ blood poured freely over both men. When Ferguson used a beautiful ankle pick to rise, referee Jason Herzog had Pettis’ cut checked, but the fight carried on.

With the crowd on their feet at the restart, both men smiled and touched gloves. Pettis again fired an acrobatic kick that missed before Ferguson moved forward with a flurry of punches to the body and head. Pettis continued to look for the counter right, finding some success, but Ferguson’s volume started to wear him down. Still, with his face covered in blood, Pettis leaned against the fence and fired back in the face of Ferguson’s non-stop attacks.

A fevered crowd chanted and sung during the final minute, as the two blood-soaked combatants remained in close quarters. Ferguson punched and punched and punched but couldn’t get his man to go away, while Pettis again wowed with an acrobatic kick in the final seconds of the frame. While the crowd was hoping for a third frame to close the classic, Pettis suffered a broken hand in the melee, and his corner waved off the fight.

“I had fun in there,” Ferguson said after the fight. “I wasn’t going to let anyone take this moment away from me. I am the champion.

“I’m happy to be back. Thank you to the fans for being amazing tonight.”