MMAjunkie's 'Fight of the Month' for January: Featherweight power-punchers collide

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

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

Darren Elkins def. Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 124

Darren Elkins (24-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) did it again. The UFC featherweight contender came back from an early deficit to score another huge victory, this time against Michael Johnson (17-13 MMA, 9-9 UFC).

Elkins spoiled Johnson’s 145-pound division debut when he rallied from a damaging opening round to submit “The Menace” in the second with a gritty rear-naked choke.

UFC Fight Night 124 ? #DarrenElkins defeats Michael Johnson via Submission at 2:22 of Round 2 ??WU TANG -(UZI )PINKY RING Follow this warrior @DarrenElkinsMMA

A post shared by YOUR HOME FOR MMA HIGHLIGHTS (@mmagamesnfighting) on Jan 18, 2018 at 1:06pm PST

Jeremy Stephens def. Dooho Choi at UFC Fight Night 124

He was forced to come from behind, but Jeremy Stephens (27-14 MMA, 14-13 UFC) got his first UFC main-event victory when he defeated hard-headed and heavy-handed Dooho Choi (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

After dropping the first round, Stephens added another win to his lengthy UFC resume when stunned “The Korean Superboy” with a shot and followed up with a series of diving punches and hard elbows to force the second-round TKO stoppage.

@lilheathenmma #jeremystephens VS #doohochoi UFC Fight Night St. Louis???? Event recap….. #ufcfightnight #ufcstlouis #sports #fight #superfight #ufc #goat #karate #bjj #knockout #muaythai #bmf #legend #gym #taekwondo #martialarts #combat #jiujitsu #fight #motivation #wrestling #fitness #mma #boxing #Kickboxing #fighting #CHAMP

A post shared by YAHNCH (@mayhem_4_breakfast) on Jan 24, 2018 at 8:11pm PST

Calvin Kattar def. Shane Burgos at UFC 220

In a closely contested fight, Calvin Kattar (18-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) lived up to his nickname and handed Shane Burgos (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) the first loss of his career in a “Fight of the Night” slugfest.

Kattar – “The Boston Finisher” – finished off Burgos 32 seconds into the third round of the featherweight contest. He ended the bout with a TKO after planting Burgos on the canvas with a pair of big right uppercuts.

All good, I like the commentary on this video better anyway. Plus he got the hommie @robfont & @cooley_man getting wild in the locker room out back. #Squad #UFC220 #Boston #TDGarden #TeamKattar Wait for it… "Was taking a shit and I missed it!" ??????

A post shared by calvinkattar (@calvinkattar) on Jan 22, 2018 at 1:26pm PST

Rory MacDonald def. Douglas Lima at Bellator 192

Rory MacDonald’s (20-4 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) mission when he joined Bellator was to claim a title. He did that, but it certainly wasn’t easy.

MacDonald endured a badly damaged leg over the course of five rounds to narrowly outworked Douglas Lima (29-7 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) to win a unanimous decision and claim the Bellator 170-pound championship.

What did you think of @romac_gorilla's title-winning performance? #Bellator192 • • • ?? @themmaroadshow – @usatodaysports

A post shared by MMAjunkie (@mmajunkiedotcom) on Jan 22, 2018 at 4:10pm PST

Drew Dober def. Frank Camacho at UFC on FOX 27

In the “Fight of the Night” in Charlotte, N.C., Drew Dober (19-8 MMA, 5-4 UFC) topped Frank Camacho (21-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) – despite a peculiar 30-27 scorecard from one judge.

Dober took a unanimous decision from Camacho with a pair of 29-28s and a 30-27. Although Camacho was perfect with his takedown game (six for six), one judge said he lost all three rounds.

Frank Camacho vs. Drew Dober. #mma #mixedmartialarts #ufc #ultimatefightingchampionship #octagon #wrestling #boxing #kickboxing #muaythai #karate #taekwondo #judo #bjj #sambo #brazilianjiujitsu #drewdober #frankcamacho #dobervscamacho #fotn imo dudes threw down for 15 minutes with a little grappling thrown in there.

A post shared by Dee Black (@yonkersracing) on Jan 28, 2018 at 12:12am PST

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The winner: Jeremy Stephens vs. Dooho Choi

Stephens’ power cracked the granite exterior of Choi while knocking him to the mat with his powerful right hand.

Stephens earned a TKO over Choi at the 2:36 mark of the second round to pick up his second straight victory and move a step up the featherweight ladder.

Choi engaged by attacking the legs and body of Stephens, who missed early with his vaunted right hand. Repeated leg attacks motivated Stephens to seek revenge, but Choi’s defense remained sound until the midway point of the second, when right hands began to find their mark. None of the shots staggered Choi, however, and he repaid the efforts with more leg kicks and left hands.

A front kick staggered Stephens in the opening seconds of the second frame, which prompted him to go on a rampage for revenge. The two swung heavy leather with both landing serious shots. Choi continued to attack Stephens’ lead leg and reddened it. A huge overhand right cracked Choi, and yet, he stayed upright.

That is, until another right slammed into Choi’s head and knocked him to the mat. Stephens pounded away with more huge punches until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough and waved off the action-packed bout.