MMAjunkie's 'Knockout of the Month' for November: Which KO led an insane month?

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

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

Tywan Claxton def. Jonny Bonilla-Bowman at Bellator 186

Tywan Claxton (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) recently secured a frontrunner for “Knockout of the Year” honors, but his reaction to it was rather simple: “The fight’s over, and I’ve got all of my teeth.”

Claxton blasted fellow featherweight Jonathan Bonilla-Bowman (1-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a flying knee – one that seemed to glide halfway across the cage – before the knockout video quickly went viral.

So, @tclax149 just won his pro debut in the most incredible way possible ?? #Bellator186 • • • ?? @bellatormma

A post shared by MMAjunkie (@mmajunkiedotcom) on Nov 3, 2017 at 5:15pm PDT

Ricardo Ramos def. Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 217

In a close fight, Ricardo Ramos (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) fell back on a technique he tried earlier – and got it to land for an emphatic knockout win that will be on highlight reels for a long time to come.

Ramos brutally knocked out Aiemann Zahabi (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a spinning back elbow in the third round of the bantamweight bout. The thunderous finish knocked Zahabi from the ranks of the unbeaten and came as Zahabi was unleashing combinations on Ramos against the fence.

Ovince Saint Preux def. Corey Anderson at UFC 217

Ovince Saint Preux (22-10 MMA, 10-5 UFC) had trouble with Corey Anderson (9-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) through the first two and half rounds of their UFC 217 affair, perhaps owed to the fact he took the fight on less than two weeks’ notice.

But in the third, when it looked like he could be on his way to a momentum-halting decision loss, Saint Preux planted Anderson with a wicked head-kick knockout less than 90 seconds into the third round of the light heavyweight bout.

Matt Brown def. Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 120

It didn’t go as long as some might have hoped, but it delivered everything one might expect, as Matt Brown (21-16 MMA, 14-10 UFC) was almost finished but came back to score a first-round knockout of Diego Sanchez (27-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC).

After being stunned with a kick, “The Immortal” caught Sanchez’s next shot and threw a pinpoint right elbow over the top that landed flush to the head and sent Sanchez crashing to the floor. There would be no need for a follow-up blow after the highlight-reel walk-off.

@iamtheimmortal vs Diego Sanchez – crazy elbow knockout!! @fightcentral_mma #mma #ufc #martialarts #mixedmartialarts #boxing #kickboxing #muaythai #wrestling #karate #taekwondo #bjj #jiujitsu #sports #grind #fitness #motivation #wwe #gym #savage #workout #fight #hardwork #dedication #hustle #fighting #training #fit #respect #mattbrown #knockout

A post shared by UFC Las Vegas ?? (@ufcvegas) on Nov 12, 2017 at 1:23am PST

Tai Tuivasa def. Rashad Coulter at UFC Fight Night 121

With a leaping right knee, Tai Tuivasa (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) announced his arrival to the UFC’s heavyweight division against Rashad Coulter (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

Tuivasa took out Coulter with a first-round knockout in his promotional debut, getting the stoppage with 25 seconds left in the first round. It was another first-round knockout for “Bam Bam” Tuivasa, who has finished every opponent thus far.

It’s me again ???? WESTERN SYDNEY STAND THE FUCK UP ??? #FTA #FOBORIGINAL #BAMBAM

A post shared by Tai 'BamBam' Tuivasa | FTA (@bambamtuivasa) on Nov 18, 2017 at 6:12pm PST

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The Winner: Tywan Claxton

Tywan Claxton

Claxton’s professional MMA debut was one to remember.

Just short of 90 seconds into his Bellator 186 fight with featherweight Bonilla-Bowman, “Speedy” rushed in, leaped in the air, reached for Bonilla-Bowman’s head for a Thai plum, and threw a massive flying left knee – all at the same time.

Bonilla-Bowman was out cold on the canvas. It took him nearly two minutes to get to his stool, and he needed help getting out of the cage.

Claxton, who had a lengthy undefeated amateur run before turning pro for his Bellator 186 bout, hopes his buzzy win leads to bigger opportunities. He wants a big-name opponent, such as James Gallagher.

He said he also tried to troll Bellator top prospect Aaron Pico into a fight by sending a “gift” to his gym.

“Look, the thing with Pico is, if you send a man tampons to his gym and he doesn’t respond, you can’t say too much more because then you become a bully, and I’m not big on being a bully,” Claxton said. “So, I kind of backed off the Aaron Pico situation.

“If he ever wants to fight and prove his manhood, then let’s do it. If he doesn’t want to fight, I’m not going to pressure him to fight me. It kind of is what it is with him. I just thought that he was getting the hype, and I told him that was my hype, and I was going to take it.”