MMAjunkie's 'Knockout of the Month' for January: Aaron Pico's ridiculous rib-rattler

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

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

Curtis Millender def. Nick Barnes at LFA 30

Nick Barnes (12-3) was effective with inside leg kicks throughout his welterweight bout with Curtis Millender (14-3), who responded on several occasions with immediate high kicks, though he could never put everything behind them.

They didn’t work – until one finally did. In Round 2, Barnes kicked the inside of Millender’s left leg, and when it planted on the way down, Millender threw the perfect high kick that landed flush on Barnes’ face to score the vicious knockout.

Should @curtiouscurtis170 get a UFC contract for his huge KO? #LFA30 • • • ?? @lfafighting

A post shared by MMAjunkie (@mmajunkiedotcom) on Jan 14, 2018 at 10:19am 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 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

Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Sabah Homasi at UFC 220

It’s not often that an MMA fight lands the No. 1 spot on the famous “SportsCenter Top 10” list. However, Abdul Razak Alhassan’s (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) first-round knockout victory was just that good.

Alhassan starched Sabah Homasi (11-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC) in a welterweight rematch from a controversial ending in December. He scored a clean finish with a near-perfect uppercut, and the result was a highlight that couldn’t go unrecognized.

?? Abdul Razak Alhassan 1st round Ko against Sabah Homasi.. Uppercut was clean ???? #UFC220 #rp #abdulrazakalhassan #sabahhomasi #mmajunkie #mmalover #mma #ufc #sports #combatsports #pridemma #pridefoever #candigirlmma #redgirlmmalover #bellator #bellatormma #boxing #boxingband #mmabrasil #mmausa #espn #womenwholovemma #invicta #ko #fs1 #Redgirlmmajunkie #boxing #mmasport #ufc220

A post shared by Redgirlmmajunkie (@redgirlmmajunkie) on Jan 21, 2018 at 7:08pm PST

Aaron Pico def. Shane Kruchten at Bellator 192

Aaron Pico (2-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) showed another tool  in his skill set when he crushed Shane Kruchten (12-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with an absolutely nasty body shot in the opening round of their featherweight fight.

Pico followed up his “Knockout of the Year” candidate in his previous bout with a crushing body-shot finish just 37 seconds into the opening round of his fight against Kruchten.

THE BODY SHOT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT! ???? Watch @aaronpicousa's big knockout win from #Bellator192!

A post shared by Bellator MMA (@bellatormma) on Jan 22, 2018 at 2:36pm PST

Edward Kelly def. Mean Meu at ONE Championship 68

Edward Kelly (10-4) entered the ONE Championship record books when his 21-second knockout of Meas Meu (5-1) became the new fastest finish in the company’s featherweight division.

Kelly wasted no time putting away Meu. He capitalized on the first opening and sprung at his opponent with a combination of punches that set up a high kick. The kick hit Meu at full force, briefly taking him off his feet before he slammed face-first into the canvas for the highlight finish.

It took @edwardjkelly 21 seconds for the fastest featherweight finish in ONE history #ONEChampionship68 • • • ?? @onechampionship

A post shared by MMAjunkie (@mmajunkiedotcom) on Jan 28, 2018 at 5:11pm PST

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The winner: Aaron Pico

MMA super prospect Pico showed again that his debut loss was nothing more than a stumble when he scored another devastating knockout at Bellator 192.

Pico followed up his “Knockout of the Year” candidate in his previous bout with a crushing body-shot finish just 37 seconds into the opening round of his fight against Kruchten.

Pico wasted no time inflicting damage on his opponent. He applied the pressure with hard shots before going to the body for the first time to drop his opponent.

Kruchten showed his toughness by getting back to his feet, but that just allowed Pico another chance to wind up with another huge left hand that folded his foe to the canvas.

With more hype building behind the 21-year-old following highlight-reel wins in consecutive fights, Pico chose to stay humble.

“I’m not the one to talk (expletive) and do all that stuff; that’s petty,” Pico said. “I’m a professional. I show up. I fight guys with winning records. I do my talking with my fists.”