MMAjunkie's 'Knockout of the Month' for July: Who had the best finish in a loaded month?

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

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

Galore Bofando def. Charlie Ward at UFC Fight Night 113

Galore Bofando (5-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) brought plenty of theatrics into his UFC debut against Charlie Ward (3-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

Bofando, who initially elicited some boos while dancing around the cage, took out welterweight Ward – one of UFC champ Conor McGregor’s teammates – with a toss/slam to the mat, which left him dazed and forced a quick stoppage.

Sean O’Malley def. Alfred Khashakyan at Dana White’s Contender Series 2

Sean O’Malley (8-0) styled on Alfred Khashakyan (8-4) for a little more than four minutes before he put the lights out for the knockout courtesy of a straight right hand.

The 22-year-old bantamweight made a huge impression when he put on a flashy display of striking in the dominant performance. He landed everything from spinning kicks to powerful punches, and while Khashakyan hung tough, he finally went down at the 4:14 mark of Round 1.

Tonight's fights were AWESOME!!!!! If u missed them go to @ufcfightpass congrats to @sugaseanmma and welcome to the @ufc

A post shared by Dana White (@danawhite) on Jul 18, 2017 at 8:54pm PDT

Alex Oliveira def. Ryan LaFlare at UFC on FOX 25

Ryan LaFlare (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) used his formidable wrestling skills to smother Alex Oliveira for five minutes. But Oliveira (18-3-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) only needed a second to turn the tables.

Oliveira caught LaFlare reaching and laid him out with a perfect right hand, ending the welterweight bout at the 1:50 mark of the second round.

Volkan Oezdemir def. Jimi Manuwa at UFC 214

Less than six months after his promotional debut, Volkan Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) further cut the line of UFC light heavyweight contenders with another spectacular knockout.

Oezdemir stunned Jimi Manuwa (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the clinch before knocking him to the mat with a left hand, finishing the fight in stunning fashion just 42 seconds into the opening round.

That's my fucking boy !! ???????????? @volkan_oezdemir @mmafightnightlive #ufc214

A post shared by Volkan Oezdemir Fan Off (@volkan_oezdemir_fan) on Jul 29, 2017 at 10:04pm PDT

Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier at UFC 214

Jon Jones (23-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) reclaimed the UFC light heavyweight title by knocking out Daniel Cormier (19-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), stopping his rival with a head kick and punches at the 3:01 mark of the third round.

Jones, returning from a 15-month layoff due to an anti-doping violation, made Cormier wade through dozens of kicks and punches before catching him off guard with the fight-changing shot. “Bones” swarmed and picked up his first finish by strikes since April 2013.

A post shared by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on Jul 30, 2017 at 1:23am PDT

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The Winner: Galore Bofando

If you were to pick a way for Bofando to win his first UFC fight, it would probably be by some flashy kick. From the opening exchanges of his meeting with Ward, that appeared to be his best shot at victory.

You certainly wouldn’t guess a takedown reversal would lead to Ward unconscious on the mat, which is why Bofando’s debut was all the more remarkable.

Bofando’s first outing was called off at the 2:10 mark of the opening round after Ward tried to muscle him to the canvas and instead crashed head-first onto the mat, knocking him senseless. Referee Marc Goddard was right there to stop Ward from taking too much further punishment.

It was a bizarre sequence considering the initial skirmishes between Bofando and Ward. Bofando danced around the octagon, trying attacks you’d sooner see in a sport-karate competition than the octagon. A frustrated Ward banged his gloves together and tried unsuccessfully to slow Bofando down in the clinch. He tried to shame the UFC newcomer into a slugfest.

When that didn’t work, Ward got aggressive and held Bofando in a bodylock, pushing the fight into the cage. He had just started to elevate and twist Bofando’s body when his momentum was used against him.

“At the start, I just tried to size him up a bit, test the distance and test how strong he was,” Bofando said. “When we got into the clinch, I realized his legs were a bit weak, so I was able to turn him over and I dumped him on his head. He was strong, but it was pretty much what I was expecting from him, to be honest. Now we have to sit down as a team and discuss what’s next. There was talk of Artem Lobov before at 155 pounds, which could be an interesting fight. I think I (would) beat him.”