MMA Junkie's Knockout of the Month for April: Randy Brown faceplants Nicolas Dalby

USA Today

29-04-2025

MMA Junkie's Knockout of the Month for April: Randy Brown faceplants Nicolas Dalby
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from April 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Knockout of the Month award for April.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Marco Tulio def. Tresean Gore at UFC 314
Marco Tulio made a big statement when he went toe-to-toe with Tresean Gore in their middleweight bout.
Tulio (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had to overcome getting dropped early in the fight, to then come back to drop Gore (5-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) and eventually get the finish. It was a straight right, and then ground-and-pound to seal the deal for the TKO in the second round.
Nominee: Dominick Reyes def. Nikita Krylov at UFC 314
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes distanced himself even more from the career rut that had his octagon stay in question just a few years back, this time against Nikita Krylov.
Reyes (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) was playing the counter game with Krylov (29-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC). In a blitz from Krylov, Reyes connected with a clean right-hand counter that sent him crashing down to the canvas. The referee almost immediately jumped in to stop the fight.
Nominee: O'Shay Jordan def. Mark Currier at Tuff-N-Uff 143
O'Shay Jordan showed that heavyweight head kicks still exist in his matchup with Mark Currier.
In the third round of their matchup, Jordan landed clean left head kick to the jaw of Currier that instantly put the lights out. He dove in with two additional shots before the referee could pull him off.
Nominee: Malcolm Wellmaker def. Cameron Saaiman at UFC on ESPN 66
Malcolm Wellmaker shined bright in his octagon debut with a highlight-reel knockout of Cameron Saaiman.
After being awarded a contract through Dana White's Contender Series, unbeaten bantamweight prospect Wellmaker (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) showed why he's got hype on his name when he floored Saaiman (9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with a clean counter right hook that led to the stoppage less than two minutes into the fight.
The winner
The winner: Randy Brown def. Nicolas Dalby at UFC on ESPN 66
Randy Brown became the first man to finish his opponent Nicolas Dalby.
On the main card of UFC on ESPN 66 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., Brown (20-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) turned in an impressive performance against Dalby (23-6-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC), causing all sorts of damage in the process. At 1:39 of Round 2, Dalby was lying motionless on the canvas after Brown connected with a right hand.
It was a mostly brilliant performance from Brown, but there were a few moments in the opening round that proved contentious. Dalby had a moment or two in the opening frame, rocking Brown with a punch, but it would not be nearly enough to stop what was coming a few moments later. In fact, Brown rearranged Dalby's face with a sweeping right hand, sending Dalby's nose completely off track.
In the second round, Brown continued to utilize his range advantage, picking Dalby apart with sharp punches. Dalby was game to make it a heated exchange and paid the price. Brown sat on a powerful right hand, violently sending Dalby crashing to the canvas for a walk-off knockout.
With the finish, Brown became the first to finish Dalby in 30 fights, and marked a return to the win column following a split decision loss to Bryan Battle in December.
Cast Your Vote!
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