MMAjunkie's 'Fight of the Month' for December: A brawl for the ages earns top honors

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

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

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The Nominees

Joseph Benavidez def. Henry Cejudo at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale

Joseph Benavidez (25-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) not only proved to be the superior coach to Henry Cejudo (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) on “The Ultimate Fighter 24,” but he also came out on top inside the octagon when the coaches faced off.

Benavidez again showed why he’s been an elite fighter for so long when he narrowly beat rival Cejudo by split decision in their flyweight contenders bout. It was a high-paced, high intensity match which would have gone either way, but in the end the judges felt Benavidez did more.

Gian Villante def. Saparbek Safarov at UFC Fight Night 102

The way Gian Villante (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Saparbek Safarov (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) went at each other, it was clear neither man was interested in a tactical chess match. Octagon experience came into play, though, and that helped guide Villante to the win.

Instead of picking their shots and waiting patiently for a knockout to present itself, Villante and Safarov simply chose to brawl. Both sides obliged and got exactly what they wanted, but it was Villante’s superior volume and power that helped him batter Safarov to a second-round TKO finish.

Cub Swanson def. Dooho Choi at UFC 206

There was plenty of excitement for the matchup between dynamic featherweights Cub Swanson (24-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Dooho Choi (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC). However, no one could have predicted the type of magic the two would create inside the octagon.

Almost a non-existent amount of dead time occurred during the 15-minute slugfest between Swanson and Choi. It was a back and forth brawl, but more often than not it was the veteran Swanson landing the best shots while Choi somehow remained upright until the final bell and lost a clear-cut unanimous decision.

Cody Garbrandt def. Dominick Cruz at UFC 207

Undefeated rising star Cody Garbrandt (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) solved a long-running enigma in the UFC bantamweight division, figuring out how to find Dominick Cruz’s (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) chin over and over on his way to capturing the 135-pound belt.

Aided by a significant advantage in power, Garbrandt found a way to consistently tag and repeatedly drop Cruz. Between his stunning shots, “No Love” danced his way around the octagon, humiliating and dominating “The Dominator” for almost the entire fight to capture the gold by scores of 48-46, 48-46 and 48-47.

Justin Gaethje def. Luiz Firmino at WSOF 34

In one of the wildest fights of the year – and yet somehow just typical Justin Gaethje (17-0) – the WSOF lightweight champ retained his belt with a doctor’s stoppage of an incredibly game Luiz Firmino (19-8).

Firmino’s decision to rush Gaethje early in the fight and throw the champion off guard worked. He had Gaethje on the ropes on several occasions, but as he somehow manages to do time and time again, the champion survived the damage and responded by dishing out plenty of his own, this time until Firmino’s eye was badly swollen and the doctor decided he’d seen enough.

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The Winner: Cub Swanson vs. Dooho Choi

In a strong contender for “Fight of the Year,” Swanson and Choi brought the crowd to its feet in a bloody, brutal slugfest.

Such was the display of heart that the Canadians were singing for the featherweights in the third and final round of what ultimately ended in a unanimous decision for Swanson over Choi.

The final scorecards were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Swanson. The shutout tallies did not, however, reflect the roller-coaster of the final 10 minutes, which will ultimately go down as two of the best rounds in the promotion’s history.

Over three rounds, it was Choi’s precise, methodical attack against Swanson’s creative slugging. And initially, it looked as though the former would triumph. Choi’s straight right repeatedly caught Swanson and hurt him early. But a few moments into the opening round, Swanson took a breath and remembered his best weapon – his creativity, which he used to surprise Choi in punching exchanges.

The other weapon Swanson employed to great effect was forward pressure. As his longtime coach Greg Jackson told him between rounds, Choi struggled to fight backwards. And so Swanson came out swinging in the middle frame, backing the Korean fighter up with hard right hands and kicks. Eventually, though, the energy expenditure caught up to him, and Choi’s accuracy began to take its toll.

A left hook badly hurt Swanson, who covered for dear life as Choi wailed on him against the cage. It seemed it was just a matter of time before a stoppage. But Swanson survived, and threw every bit of himself into a counterattack. He landed a series of big right hands, wobbling Choi and exposing for the first time his vulnerability.

Yet Choi still came back, chasing Swanson and landing shots at the bell.

Exhausted, Swanson entered the third on shaky legs, and yet still persisted with more wild punches that caught Choi flush. Despite taking several shots clean to the jaw, Choi managed to stay upright and get back in the action, landing more right hands as the audience broke into song. He dragged Swanson to the mat in an effort to slow down the action, but wound up reversed on his back.

Swanson eventually let up Choi and landed another series of concussive punches before hip-tossing him to the mat. When the two got back to their feet, both were bloodied and exhausted, their hands and their sides. But they weren’t done throwing yet.

A final clash saw Swanson land more right hands that finally sent Choi to the mat. And yet, the Korean made it to the bell.

Neither of the fighters, however, lost any standing in the featherweight division. It was a win-win fight, even though there was only one winner.