MMAjunkie's 'Knockout of the Month' for February: An absolutely sick spinning kick

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

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

Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold at UFC 221

Yoel Romero (13-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) picked up a championship-caliber win, but due to missing weight, he didn’t have a title to show for it after finishing Luke Rockhold (16-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in brutal fashion.

Romero took out former middleweight titleholder Rockhold with a massive third-round knockout. The stoppage came after a pair of left hands, the latter of which was an absolutely devastating uppercut to an already downed Rockhold.

Man wahaaatttaaa knockout. Congrats my follower @yoelromeromma with huge victory. Yoel Romero stops Luke Rockhold in 3rd Round by KO #YoelRomero #UFC221

A post shared by UFCGRAM #MMA #UFC (@ufcgram) on Feb 10, 2018 at 9:35pm PST

Curtis Millender def. Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 126

Curtis Millender (15-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) celebrated a win in the first round that wasn’t there yet. Then he had to do another round’s worth of work to get his hand raised against former title challenger Thiago Alves (22-12 MMA, 14-9 UFC)

But Millender knocked out Alves with a major-league left knee in the second round and more than made up for thinking he had a knockout prematurely in the first. The stoppage gave Millender a UFC debut that had the MMA world buzzing.

#ufcaustin . . ????????? ????? ?? ?????? ????????????? . ? ?????? ????????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? 2? ?????? . @thiagoalvesatt @curtiouscurtis170 . . #ufc#bellator#acb#wsof#ofc#ksw#m1#k1#?????#khabibnurmagomedov#konormacgregor#eaglesmma#sport#????????#????#video#mma#?????#???????#???#???#?????#mma_oktagon#gsp#fedoremelianenko#???????#news#?????#???????#ufc221

A post shared by MMA_OKTAGON (@mma_oktagon) on Feb 18, 2018 at 10:52pm PST

Akhmed Aliev def. Magomedsaygid Alibekov at Fight Nights Global 83

Akhmed Aliev (17-4) got his viral MMA moment when he put Magomedsaygid Alibekov (9-1) out cold with about as clean a knockout as one could deliver to win the Fight Nights Global lightweight championship.

After feeling out his range with some spinning attacks, Aliev unleashed the home-run shot in the third round of the contest. He caught Alibekov clean with a spinning wheel kick on the jaw, adding an unforgettable finish to his highlight reel.

??@ahmed_aliev_mma claims the Fight Nights Global lightweight belt with this insane spinning KO #FNG83 • • • ?? @fightnights

A post shared by MMAjunkie (@mmajunkiedotcom) on Feb 22, 2018 at 2:19pm PST

Alan Jouban def. Ben Saunders at UFC on FOX 28

Alan Jouban (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Ben Saunders (21-9-2 MMA, 9-6 UFC) didn’t want to fight each other. But circumstances dictated it was the move to make for each of them in the welterweight division.

The 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu teammates (though not in the same locations) and friends turned in a memorable “Fight of the Night” battle before Jouban put Saunders out with a second-round knockout courtesy of a sick leg kick, left hand combination.

Ben and Me lumping each other up in some “10 on 10 violence!”

A post shared by ALAN JOUBAN (@alanjouban) on Feb 26, 2018 at 12:41pm PST

Jeremy Stephens def. Josh Emmett at UFC on FOX 28

Jeremy Stephens (28-14 MMA, 15-13 UFC) finished Josh Emmett (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in violent fashion, then declared himself the hardest-hitting featherweight in the world. He might be right.

Stephens knocked out Emmett with vicious elbows in the second round. It was a comeback of sorts, given Emmett had put him on the canvas in the first. Afterward, Stephens said he wants a title shot at 145 pounds.

? @UFC_KOS ? @UFC_KOS ? #jeremystephens with the most brutal and illegal knock out in his career so far #cagefighting #knockoutking #knockout #toronto #rondarousey #josealdo #conormcgregor #afghan #paris #russian #womenufc #india #brazil #china #america #boxing #fitness #ufc_kos#toronto #ufc222 #pridemma #ufc #bellator  #mma #muaythai #fighting #ufc_kos #jamaica

A post shared by KNOCKOUTS & BIKE STUNTS (@knockout_stunna) on Feb 26, 2018 at 2:59pm PST

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The Winner: Akhmed Aliev

The “Butcher” claimed another victim, this time via highlight-reel finish.

In the main event of Fight Nights Global 83 event, Russia’s Aliev claimed the promotion’s lightweight title with a third-round knockout of Alibekov.

The spinning wheel kick left Alibekov stiff on the floor, and both Aliev and referee Marc Goddard immediately rushed in to tend to the fighter, signaling an end to the main event at State Central Concert Hall Rossiya in Moscow. Aliev now owns a seven-fight winning streak and is 14-1 in his past 15 appearances.