With half a year of action-packed MMA in the books, MMAjunkie looks at the best knockouts from January-June 2018. Here are the six nominees, listed in chronological order – all of which have received “Knockout of the Month” awards from MMAjunkie over the first half of the year.

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

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The nominees

Aaron Pico def. Shane Kruchten at Bellator 192

Aaron Pico (3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) showed another tool in his toolbox when he crushed Shane Kruchten (12-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with an absolutely nasty body shot in the opening round of their featherweight fight.

Pico followed up his “Knockout of the Year” candidate in his previous bout with a crushing body-shot finish just 37 seconds into the opening round of his fight against Kruchten (via Instagram):

Akhmed Aliev def. Magomedsaygid Alibekov at FNG 83

Akhmed Aliev (17-4) got his viral MMA moment when he stopped Magomedsaygid Alibekov (9-1) with about as clean a knockout as one could deliver to win the Fight Nights Global lightweight championship.

After feeling out his range with some spinning attacks, Aliev unleashed the home-run shot in the third round of the contest. He caught Alibekov clean on the jaw with a spinning wheel kick, adding an unforgettable finish to his highlight reel (via Instagram):

Brian Ortega def. Frankie Edgar at UFC 222

Brian Ortega’s (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) surge up to the UFC featherweight ranks took its biggest step when he became the first to stop former UFC champ Frankie Edgar (23-6-1 MMA, 17-6-1 UFC) inside the distance.

After rocking Edgar with a pinpoint elbow to the face, Ortega swarmed the future UFC Hall of Famer with a flurry. Ortega loaded up a gigantic uppercut and planted Edgar right on the chin. “The Answer” had no to solution to a shot that literally took him off his feet for the stunning knockout (via Instagram):

Adam Borics def. Teodor Nikolov at Bellator 196

In just his second Bellator fight, Adam Borics (7-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) made sure he’s going to have a place on the organization’s highlight reels for a long time to come when he smoked Teodor Nikolov (11-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a brutal knockout.

The unbeaten featherweight prospect scored his most impressive win to date when, in the second round of his fight with Nikolov, he unleashed a pinpoint-accurate flying knee that instantly led to the knockout victory (via Instagram):

Lyoto Machida def. Vitor Belfort at UFC 224

In what was very likely Vitor Belfort’s (26-14 MMA, 15-10 UFC) final UFC fight, Lyoto Machida (24-8 MMA, 16-8 UFC) sent his fellow Brazilian legend into retirement with one of his most crushing career moments.

The second-round finish in the middleweight bout was eerily similar to Anderson Silva’s knockout of Belfort in 2011. Just when it seemed nothing was going to happen, Machida sent a perfectly placed front-kick up the middle to Belfort’s jaw. “The Phenom” was out on impact, and Machida showed class by refusing to follow up (via Instagram):

Marlon Moraes def. Jimmie Rivera at UFC Fight Night 131

In a matter of seconds, Jimmie Rivera’s (21-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) 10-year and 20-fight winning streak was over courtesy of Marlon Moraes’ (21-5-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) left leg.

Moraes knocked out Rivera with a head kick quickly into the first round. And just like that, Moraes, a former WSOF champion, vaulted into instant contention in the bantamweight division. The finish came just 33 seconds into the fight (via Instagram):

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The winner: Lyoto Machida

In a battle of Brazilian legends, Machida emerged victorious over Belfort.

Machida set up in the center of the cage to start while bouncing lightly as he looked to counter, but Belfort was patient in the early going. Both men were wary of the other, which led to some lulls that frustrated the fans in the first few minutes. Machida eventually reached forward with a sneaky kick that saw the heel touch the chin, but Belfort retreated before his opponent could follow.

Machida was clearly the more active fighter, and he appeared the quicker man, as well. Belfort opened up briefly in the latter stages of the frame, but Machida’s kicks from range proved the best offense in the opening frame.

Machida continued to use kicks to keep his opponent at distance, before a front kick landed clean to the face, sending Belfort crashing to the canvas. Machida didn’t bother to follow the devastating blow, which ended the fight in spectacular fashion reminiscent of Anderson Silva’s famed 2011 knockout of “The Phenom.”

“I trained a lot for this fight, but I did not train the front kick that much,” Machida said after the fight. “But when you are well-trained and well-prepared, you can see the fight more clearly and be able to do things that you did not even train. I know it was a lot like the kick I got in Randy Couture when he retired, with the difference that his was right and that was left, so maybe it is the history repeating itself.”

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