MMAjunkie's 'Knockout of the Month' for March: A must-see flying knee

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

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. Mirsad Bektic at UFC 209

After being beaten to a bloody pulp by top featherweight prospect Mirsad Bektic (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), longtime UFC veteran Darren Elkins (22-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) staged one of the greatest comebacks in recent memory – and perhaps of all time – when he somehow rallied to win by third-round TKO.

Up until the finishing sequence, it was all Bektic. He battered Elkins in brutal fashion, but right when the victory seemed in hand, it slipped away. “The Damage” pushed forward late in the fight, caught Bektic with a stunning combination of strikes and pulled off the miraculous finish.

Alistair Overeem def. Mark Hunt at UFC 209

The rematch nearly a decade in the making between Alistair Overeem (42-15 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Mark Hunt (12-11-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) was nothing like their first encounter, except for one thing: Overeem getting his hand raised.

Overeem, who defeated Hunt by first-round submission in 2008, took longer to finish Hunt, though the ending was arguably more satisfying. A well-time knee badly dazed “The Super Samoan,” and a follow-up uppercut sent him crashing face-first into the canvas in the third round. What made it all more impressive, though, is that Overeem was hospitalized with illness the day of the fight.

Edson Barboza def. Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 106

Lightweight contender Edson Barboza (19-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) added another spectacular knockout to his highlight reel in his latest octagon appearance, this time at the expense of Beneil Dariush (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

After being tagged and thrown off rhythm by Dariush’s solid gameplan, Barboza once again displayed his lightning-quick striking ability in the second round. He timed a perfect counter flying knee just as his opponent closed the distance for a takedown, putting Dariush out cold on impact and further added to his legend as a fearsome KO artist.

Marc Diakiese def. Teemu Packalen at UFC Fight Night 107

For a fight that lasted only half a minute, lightweight prospect Marc Diakiese (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) managed to squeeze in an impressive number of highlight-worthy moments against Teemu Packalen (8-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

But while the spinning kicks to open the bout were nice, Diakiese’s best move was the blistering right hand that stiffened up Packalen and dropped him unconscious to the floor, ending the bout just 30 seconds into the opening round.

Jimi Manuwa def. Corey Anderson at UFC Fight Night 107

Jimi Manuwa (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) took his time and stalked Corey Anderson (9-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) around the cage, fending off takedowns and dodging strikes as he waited for the perfect moment to pounce on his opponent.

Then, as Anderson circled away against the fence in attempt to create space, Manuwa unleashed a violent left hook that bounced off Anderson’s head and dropped him face-first to the mat, bringing a sudden end to the light heavyweight bout at the 3:05 mark of Round 1.

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The Winner: Edson Barboza

Barboza added more footage to his highlight reel at UFC Fight Night 106.

Dariush’s early success crowding Barboza backfired spectacularly when the Brazilian went airborne with a knee and caught him flush.

The fight came to a violent end at the 3:35 mark of the second frame when Dariush crumpled with the force of the blow. It was Barboza’s third straight win and another bonus-worthy finish after going to the scorecards in five of his six previous UFC bouts.

Wary of falling prey to Barboza’s kicks, which five years ago produced one of the promotion’s most awe-inspiring knockouts, Dariush came forward from the opening bell. Barboza met the advance with punches, and both men scored. But Dariush turned the tables on Barboza’s supposed advantage, landing more with his legs. And he came out ahead in punches with an overhand left that consistently scored.

Barboza tried harder to stop Dariush with a body kick and counter-punches as the second frame got underway. When a takedown attempt came, he wriggled free. Still, he kept getting caught by Dariush’s left. Then Dariush closed the distance without protecting himself, and Barboza turned out the lights with the knee.

“I’m very happy,” Barboza said. “I love what I do. During this week, I said that until today the most incredible moment of my career had been the knockout of (Terry) Etim and that I would like to do something similar in Fortaleza. I think I got it.”