MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for August: Li Jingliang gets put out for the first time courtesy of Carlos Prates

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from August 2024: Here are the nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for August.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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Nominees

Nominee: Lone’er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho at Dana White’s Contender Series 67

[autotag]Lone’er Kavanagh[/autotag] kicked off Season 8 of DWCS with a bang when he scored a knockout that left Dana White writing “holy sh*t” on his bout sheet.

Kavanagh (7-0) clobbered previously undefeated An Tuan Ho with a brutal left hook that ended the fight in the first round. Ho was down on the canvas for an elongated period of time, blankly staring into the distance as his corners, medical staff, and referee Herb Dean tried to assist him in coming back to. Eventually, Ho rose to his feet.

Nominee: Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg at UFC 305

[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] dusted Steve Erceg and finished their pivotal flyweight fight with punches inside the first round.

The ending sequence began when Kara-France (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC) knocked down Erceg with a left hand. Erceg crashed to the canvas, flat on his back, with his head whiplashing backward. Erceg survived and got back to his feet, but Kara-France didn’t take his foot off the gas and continued to hunt Erceg, who he dropped again. This time, Erceg curled up on his stomach and the fight was stopped.

Nominee: Wiktoria Czyzewska def. Erianny Castaneda at KSW 97

A potentially major future women’s flyweight prospect added to her early career highlight reel when [autotag]Wiktoria Czyzewska[/autotag] put the lights out on Erianny Castaneda with a sick kick.

20-year-old Polish fighter Czyzewska (4-1) executed the perfect right head kick in the opening round of her matchup with Castaneda. The shot put Castaneda out on impact, and Czyzewska kept her 100 percent career knockout rate in tact.

Nominee: Wang Cong def. Victoria Leonardo at UFC on ESPN 62

“I will win. I’m crazy,” is the promise [autotag]Wang Cong[/autotag] made to Victoria Leonardo at their pre-fight faceoff – all while wearing paint to resemble the Joker.

Cong (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made good on that promise as she iced Leonardo with a one-punch right cross knockout, all of which happened in a mere 62 seconds of action in the women’s flyweight division.

Nominee: Marion Santos def. Kaan Ofli at UFC on ESPN 62

“The Ultimate Fighter 32” featherweight bracket officially wrapped up, and the newest champion of the long-running reality series was crowned in[autotag] Mairon Santos[/autotag].

Santos (15-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) crushed Kaan Ofli with an ultra-violent knockout in the second round. He perfectly timed a hellacious shot to complete slump his opponent on the mat, and Ofli had no chance of recovering.

The winner

The winner: Carlos Prates def. Li Jingliang at UFC 305

UFC welterweight [autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag] can celebrate his birthday in grand fashion after passing the toughest test of his career thus far against Li Jingliang.

After thrilling end to Round 1, Prates (20-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) put the finishing touch on Jingliang with a vicious walkoff knockout at 4:02 in Round 2.

Big punches from Prates landed late in Round 1, as he rocked Jingliang more than once. “The Leech” who is known for having a tough chin, continued to fire back to see the next frame.

Without rushing things, Prates continued to work his offense, eventually finding a combination of punches to rock Jingliang again. A final blow sent Jingliang crashing to the canvas.

With the win, Prates extends his winning streak to 10. The Brazilian debuted in February after a stoppage victory last August on Dana White’s Contender Series. Three fights in, and Prates has stopped everyone placed in front of him. Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, and now Jingliang all were stopped early by the striking of Prates.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for August: Li Jingliang gets put out for the first time courtesy of Carlos Prates