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

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

Daniel Cormier def. Stipe Miocic at UFC 226

Daniel Cormier (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) achieved MMA history when he defeated Stipe Miocic (18-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) to become the simultaneous heavyweight and light heavyweight UFC champion.

Cormier joined Conor McGregor as the only fighters in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time when he knocked out Miocic in the first round of the historic bout. “DC” used slick clinch work to land a short right hand that dropped Miocic then followed up with a few extra shots to put his opponent out cold and claim his second belt.

Andrey Koreshkov def. Jamie Sloane at Bellator 203

Andrey Koreshkov’s (21-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) return to competition after nearly 11 months proved to be worth the wait, because he added another highlight to his reel at the expense of Vaso Bakocevic (33-18-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

The former Bellator welterweight champion Koreshkov made short work of Vaso Bakocevic when his spinning back kick to the liver landed and ended the featured matchup just 66 seconds after it begun.

Niko Price def. Randy Brown at UFC Fight Night 133

In one of the more rare knockouts you’ll see in MMA, Niko Price (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) pounded Randy Brown (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) to sleep – with hammerfists from his back.

Price was just past a troublesome moment against Brown, eating some ground-and-pound, when he was able to press Brown to the fence with his left leg, then landed a half-dozen hammerfists with his left hand. Midway through them, Brown was unconscious.

Anthony Smith def. Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 134

For the second straight fight, in less than two months’ time, Anthony Smith (29-13 MMA, 6-3 UFC) destroyed a former UFC light heavyweight champion. This time it was Mauricio Rua (25-11 MMA, 9-9 UFC).

Smith blasted Rua for an 89-second knockout. He had “Shogun” in trouble early then a hard right hand, followed by a brutal right elbow (https://mmajunkie.com/2018/07/ufc-fight-night-134-hamburg-germany-results-anthony-smith-destroys-shogun-rua-devastating-barrage-knockout-ko) to the temple were enough to put Rua out on his feet. He fell backward into the fence, and Smith landed one more. When the referee got in to stop it, it took a completely out of it Rua several seconds to understand the fight was over.

Jose Aldo def. Jeremy Stephens at UFC on FOX 30

In his first non-title fight in more than nine years, Jose Aldo (27-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) was hurt, but recovered and shut down Jeremy Stephens (28-15 MMA, 15-14 UFC) thanks to a wicked punch to the body.

Aldo, a former longtime featherweight champion, landed a right to the body, then a left that had Stephens doubled over and quickly on the canvas. From there, Aldo poured it on to get the finish for his first knockout in nearly five years.

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The Winner: Daniel Cormier

For the first few minutes of Cormier’s heavyweight superfight with Miocic, size appeared to matter as the two locked up against the fence.

But when Cormier got free, his power evened the score with a short right hook that knocked out Miocic and made him the second simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.

Cormier’s trip to the history books was made official at the 4:33 mark of the opening frame. After dropping Miocic, he stood overhead and landed a burst of punches that left no doubt he was the winner.

“I was a heavyweight for a long time, and I left the division,” Cormier said. “I never knew what I could become, but tonight I got the answer: I’m a two-division champion, baby!”

At distance, Miocic popped Cormier with a knee and went to work with combinations. Cormier replied with an uppercut up the middle and attacked the legs.

Following one exchange, Miocic complained of an eye poke, and replays showed an egregious rake from Cormier. Referee Marc Goddard warned him for the infraction.

After the restart, Cormier began finding success on the inside. Then, he caught Miocic with his hands down after a clinch, and quickly pounced to seal the deal.

Cormier, nearly in tears, initially was speechless as he held two UFC belts. But that didn’t last long.

“I am 39 years old, and I’ve been second a lot of times,” said Cormier, who also became the fifth fighter to hold belts in multiple divisions alongside McGregor, Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, and Georges St-Pierre. “But today, I finally accomplished everything.”

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