MMAjunkie's 'Fight of the Month' for June: Featherweight bangers steal the show

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best fights from June. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for June 2015.

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

* * * *

The Nominees

Jake Collier def. Ricardo Abreu via split decision at UFC Fight Night 68

Over three-rounds of middleweight action, Jake Collier (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Ricardo Abreu (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) slung heavy leather at close range, ignoring the impulse toward caution throughout the 15 minutes of competitive action. Collier was a bit wilder than his Brazilian counterpart, though, and it paid off with judges, who awarded him a split call over Abreu.

Jake Collier and Ricardo Abreu

Brian Ortega def. Thiago Tavares via TKO (punches) at UFC Fight Night 68

It was rather unexpected, but featherweight prospect Brian Ortega (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made a huge impression in his second UFC appearance when he took out longtime promotional veteran Thiago Tavares (19-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) with a third-round knockout. Before the knockout, Ortega displayed a diverse attack of strikes and submission attempts on the ground. Tavares was unable to keep up with the pace as the action spilled into deep waters and Ortega picked up the finish.

Thiago Tavares and Brian Ortega

Yair Rodriguez def. Charles Rosa via split decision at UFC 188

“The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” winner Yair Rodriguez (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) came out looking to put on a show against Charles Rosa (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC), and definitely cut a few clips for his highlight video – and probably one for the blooper reel. The featherweight fight had a little bit of everything. It was Rosa’s poise and experience that gave Rodriguez a tough challenge over three rounds. Rosa rallied in the final frame to make it a close one on the scorecards. But Rodriguez prevailed by split decision, and then he lost his lunch in a rare in-octagon puke session.

Yair Rodriguez and Charles Rosa

Patricio Freire def. Daniel Weichel via knockout (punches) at Bellator 138

Knocked out on his feet and saved by the bell in the first round, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire (24-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) pulled off a mighty comeback from the jaws of upset to retain his title. “Pitbull” dropped Daniel Weichel (35-9 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) with a left hook as Weichel closed in for the finish, picking up his fifth Bellator knockout in spectacular fashion. The fight was over at the 0:32 mark of the second as referee John McCarthy stepped in to save Weichel, whose head bounced off the canvas after taking Freire’s punch.

Lorenz Larkin def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO (punches) at UFC Fight Night 70

The way Lorenz Larkin (16-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was lighting up Santiago Ponzinibbio (20-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) early on in their welterweight bout, it seemed like only a matter of time until the latter hit the floor. Thanks to a vicious left hook followed by a blistering right from Larkin, it came sooner rather than later, leading to an eventual TKO stoppage after more than eight minutes of exciting action.

* * * *

The Winner: Brian Ortega vs. Thiago Tavares

Thiago Tavares

Ortega remained undefeated with a brilliant performance at UFC Fight Night 68, stopping Tavares in the final minute of Round 3 in a thrilling featherweight bout.

Tavares came out aggressively in Round 1, landing a solid right hand before a head kick and then scoring with a quick takedown. Ortega immediately transitioned to an armbar. With Tavares defending the armbar, Ortega attempted to switch to a triangle choke which, again, he was not able to finish on the veteran Tavares.

Having defended the first flurry of submissions from Ortega, Tavares began opening up with his ground and pound attack.

Ortega sliced the forehead of Tavares with an elbow off his back and then used an armbar threat to sweep and end up in the full mount. Tavares muscled his way out of the position, getting to his feet and immediately putting Ortega on his back once again.

The fight would go back to the feet briefly with both men throwing good strikes before Tavares scored with another takedown as Round 1 came to a close.

Round 2 opened with Tavares remaining committed to his gameplan of putting Ortega on his back, which he did, putting Ortega into the cage and landing some good ground and pound. Tavares then moved to full mount and began to attack before an Ortega reversal put him in danger of a leg lock, taking the fight back to the feet.

Tavares continued to pour blood from two cuts, one on his forehead and one above his left eye. The doctor checked the cuts after Round 2 ended and allowed it to continue into the final frame.

The two fighters came out for a final round which may well have decided the fight firing leg kicks and power punches. Ortega used the fence to launch himself forward with a superman punch. A low blow from Tavares led to a break in the action but Ortega was able to resume fairly quickly and landed some solid punches.

Tavares drove through a takedown, but Ortega didn’t allow himself to get put fully on his back. The fight went back to distance on the feet and Tavares ate a big left hand from Ortega that knocked out his mouthpiece.

With little more than a minute left in Round 3, Ortega landed a huge series of punches, dropping Tavares and then took mount, firing away until the fight was stopped by the referee.

The stoppage came at the 4:10 mark of Round 3.

“I feel like we were in a crazy war,” Ortega said. “I’m ready to go home and see my family and my kids. We put up a big fight. Obviously, I was on the bottom, so I had to adjust and get used to that situation and make the best out of it from there – which were elbows and feet. I had to try to catch submissions. I don’t really remember the finish. He kneed me and that hurt, but I saw that he was tired. I knew that was my chance to get him.”