With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from September 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for September.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Nominees
Nominee: Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos at UFC 293
Despite his lack of name recognition, his debutant status, and it being a short-notice fight, Felipe Dos Santos (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) wowed many MMA fans and even Manel Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) by his performance in a unanimous decision loss.
Throughout the course of their fight, Kape was largely in control but Dos Santos had moments, too – with particular striking success in Round 1 and Round 3. But Kape kept on the attack. He was persistent and slowly damaged the face of Dos Santos, a 22-year-old from Brazil. When the dust settled and nearly 15 minutes of striking was behind them, Kape was declared the winner.
Manel Kape vs. Kai Kara-France next?! 👀
Hands up who'd love to see this one back on the cards?! 🙋♂️ #UFC293 pic.twitter.com/uYf9trlAwA
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 10, 2023
Nominee: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299
Johnny Eblen (14-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) was tested by Fabian Edwards (12-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) in their grudge match, but in the end the American Top Team product remained undefeated and still Bellator champion.
After Edwards had a strong opening two rounds by stifling the grappling and opening a nasty cut, Eblen dropped Edwards early in the third round and then finished him with savage ground-and-pound shortly after to log his second successful title defense.
.@JohnnyEblen finishes Fabian Edwards!#Bellator299 is LIVE on @showtime! pic.twitter.com/6I1CeiMWeq
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) September 23, 2023
Nominee: Tim Means def. Andre Fialho at UFC Fight Night 228
Tim Means (33-15-1 MMA, 15-12 UFC) once again lived up to his reputation when he went shot for shot with Andre Fialho (16-8 MMA, 2-5 UFC) en route to victory.
Means was in classic form for the welterweight bout. He hurt Fialho in the first round, took some damage of his own in the second, then rallied later for the TKO victory with a sick closing combination.
Heavy hits from Tim Means for the finish 💥 #UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/nDUpBCpeaA
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 23, 2023
Nominee: Luke Riley def Alexander Lööf at Cage Warriors 160
Arguably the best Cage Warriors fight of the year was put on by featherweights Luke Riley (8-0) and Alexander Lööf (5-1), who went to battle until one of them fell.
Both men dished out and absorbed their fair share of shots over the course of the first two rounds of the matchup. When the third round began, Riley landed and forced the biggest momentum swing of the fight. He didn’t turn back at that point, and attacked until he got the TKO stoppage.
FIGHT. OF. THE. YEAR. 🤯
Exactly 2️⃣4️⃣ hours ago we witnessed a moment in history as Luke Riley & Alexander Lööf clashed at #CW160…
📺 Watch the entire fight on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/qvg4cwDpls
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 30, 2023
The winner
The winner: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko at Noche UFC
Alexa Grasso retained her title in a rematch against Valentina Shevchenko, but she did not add a win to her record.
In the main event of Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) met Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) in an immediate rematch for the women’s flyweight title. After five hard-fought, back-and-forth rounds, the judges couldn’t determine a winner. Two judges issued dueling 48-47 scores, while a third turned in a 47-47 score, resulting in a split draw.
The pro-Mexico crowd poured in various chants in the opening moments of the fight as the main eventers got the action started with their first striking exchanges. Shevchenko looked to mix things up with a takedown, but Grasso wasn’t having it. However, a few moments later, Shevchenko was successful in getting the fight to the canvas. Grasso nearly gave up her back, but scrambled back to her feet, prompting more chants from the crowd.
Shevchenko continued to lead the dance on the feet early in Round 2, but a takedown attempt was stuffed by Grasso. Shortly after the reset, Grasso connected with a hard right hand that sent Shevchenko down. Grasso rushed in to capitalize, but Shevchenko was able to grab hold to slow down the follow-up attacks.
GRASSO DROPPED SHEVCHENKO 😳 #NocheUFC pic.twitter.com/OMW0DEzgZ0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 17, 2023
Grasso found space to connect with a few short strikes, but Shevchenko survived the scare and then completed a nice double leg. Grasso threatened a guillotine choke, but Shevchenko eventually worked free. Grasso landed a few nice strikes from bottom before the horn.
Shevchenko took Grasso down cleanly for the first big action of Round 3. She then quickly attacked the neck, jumping on a mounted guillotine attempt. Grasso remained calm, eventually causing Shevchenko to give up on the submission. Shevchenko then took Grasso’s back and controlled the position for the remainder of the round.
Grasso sprawled a takedown attempt nicely, and landed a few nice knees to the head while Shevchenko attempted to keep one hand on the mat. She then dumped Shevchenko to the mat and attacked an arm, but Shevchenko slipped out and the pair returned to trading strikes in the center of the cage. Shevchenko looked for a takedown with less than 30 seconds to go, but found herself defending a kneebar from Grasso.
With the fight appearing close going into the final round, someone needed to make a statement in the last five minutes.
Shevchenko worked behind a snappy jab and offered a higher volume as a bloody Grasso stalked. Shevchenko went for a headlock takedown, but Grasso slipped off in the reversal and took her back. Big punches were rained down by Grasso. She then locked in a body triangle and went for a rear naked choke. Shevchenko didn’t tap, but she also couldn’t get Grasso off her back before the final horn.
After an incredible 25 minutes, the only thing left to do was to determine the winner – except there would not be one on the evening as Bruce Buffer announced the split draw.
