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

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

Jose Torres def. Jarred Brooks at UFC Fight Night 131

Jarred Brooks (13-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) scooped up Jose Torres (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and took him for a ride to the center of the cage for a slam – and made the highlight reel for the wrong reason.

Brooks went for a showy slam, but he ended up up dropping himself on the back of his own head while putting Torres on his back. He knocked himself out, and Torres quickly rolled over and landed ground-and-pound until the fight was stopped (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) decade-long 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 leg kick quickly into the first round. And just like that, Moraes, a former WSOF champion, vaulted into instant contention in the UFC bantamweight division. The finish came just 33 seconds into the fight (via Instagram):

Alex Nicholson def. Jake Heun at PFL 1

Alex Nicholson (12-5) made a massive statement in his PFL light-heavyweight season debut after thrashing Jake Heun (11-7) with a violent knee in the second round of their matchup.

After dishing out some wild attacks in the opening frame, Nicholson found a home for his finishing technique in the second stanza. “The Spartan” went airborne with a flying knee that landed flush on Heun’s chin and led to the highlight-reel knockout (via Instagram):

Brandon Allen def. Larry Crowe at LFA 43

Brendan Allen (9-3) scored a dazzling a highlight-reel knockout win over Larry Crowe (10-7) that should do wonders for his career.

As Crowe pushed forward with lunging punches, a patient Allen caught him flush with a quick left. Crowe was out on his feet and crashed face-first into the mat just two minutes into the opening frame (via Instagram):

Josh Parisian def. Greg Rebello at Dana White’s Contender Series 11

On just four days’ notice, Josh Parisian (7-2) took a heavyweight fight against Greg Rebello (24-9), and he made the most of it. Just 91 seconds into the fight, Parisian got the finish after he landed a massive right spinning back fist that caught Rebello flush.

Parisian kicked high, then low early, and he then tried some spinning kicks. He kept feeling things out until, 90 seconds into the round, he caught Rebello flush with a spinning back fist. Rebello dropped to the canvas immediately. Parisian followed him to the canvas with quick punches, and the fight was over (via Instagram):

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The winner: Alex Nicholson

Heun wasn’t always getting his strikes off first against Nicholson in the first round, but he was in the fight.

Then Nicholson launched a knee that made sure Heun was out in a hurry in the second. Nicholson’s highlight-reel flying-knee knockout took Heun out 58 seconds into the middle frame and gave Nicholson five points in PFL’s season and playoff format; Nicholson got three points for the win plus two bonus points for finishing the fight in the second round.

Nicholson popped Heun with a right hand early and then backed away when his opponent swung wildly with his own right. A spinning back fist from Nicholson took Heun off his feet for a moment, and a one-two combo from Nicholson landed right after. Nicholson continued to work leg kicks to keep Heun’s balance off-kilter. With less than two minutes left in the round, Nicholson came forward with a combination that forced Heun to tie things up.

In the second round, Heun seemed ready to build on some momentum from a late knockdown in the first. But in the blink of an eye, Nicholson put a stop to that. He launched into the air with a jumping knee, and Heun ducked right into it.

Heun fell backward to the canvas, and Nicholson didn’t bother dropping down for more punishment. Referee Dan Miragliotta entered quickly to shut things down after the highlight-reel knockout.

“I knew I was going to knock him out in the second,” Nicholson said. “I tore my (left) groin a week before the fight. I thought I was going to have to pull out, but this is what gladiators do. … I would kill someone for that million dollars.”