Well, there we go. July is just about done, bringing an end to a pretty incredible month for the UFC. The debut of Fight Island, two new world champions, the emergence of a certain Swedish superstar, July had it all.
Kicking off a brand new series, The MMA Mindset have decided to take a look at the four events the UFC have held during the month of July and crown the very first winners of 'The MMA Mindset's Monthly UFC Awards', catchy name, we know.
Without further ado, let's get the ball rolling and get this party started.
Best Submission of the Month
In a month that saw some pretty incredible submissions, this one was a hard award to give out. We've seen rear-naked chokes, armbars, triangle chokes, a heel hook, a guillotine, a kneebar, a D'Arce choke and even an anaconda choke.
It was a pretty tough call to make, but we're going to have to give the nod to Makwan Amirkhani for his anaconda choke against Danny Henry at UFC 251.
Sealing the win with an anaconda choke is impressive enough, but to do so in the opening three minutes and 15 seconds is enough to bag this almighty prestigious award of ours.
Winner: Makwan Amirkhani - Anaconda choke (UFC 251)
Knockout of the Month
While there's been a number of impressive knockouts during the month of July, there's one that stands out to us as the best of the month.
Jiří Procházka's burst onto the scene with an awful amount of hype heading into his debut fight with former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir, but boy did he live up to it.
After some of the most unique movement we've seen inside the octagon, Procházka landed one of the most brutal knockouts in recent memory. Rendering Oezdemir completely lifeless.
Winner: Jiří Procházka vs Volkan Oezdemir (UFC 251)
Best Post Fight Interview of the Month
Despite post-fight interviews now held through a monitor, we've still been lucky enough to see a number of memorable ones.
Amanda Ribas' hyper and bubbly reaction after beating Paige VanZant springs to mind, but our personal favourite this month was Jack Hermansson's after a dominant win over perennial middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum.
During his post-fight interview, Hermansson laid out his future in the middleweight division, calling out the winner of Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till, before claiming a title shot would follow that up. Got to love a man who knows what he wants.
Winner: Jack Hermansson (UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs Benavidez)
WTF! Moment of the Month
In one of the quieter categories for the month of July, there's only one moment that really stands out here.
Referee Herb Dean's late stoppage during the Francisco Trinaldo vs Jai Herbert fight that led to a confrontation with UFC commentator - and former UFC fighter - Dan Hardy was something no one could have predicted heading into last Saturday's event.
The moment has led to all sorts of coverage in the media, with former referees coming out to talk about it, many UFC fighters talking about it and even UFC president Dana White talking about it. Easy choice for us here.
Winner: Herb Dean's late stoppage/Dan Hardy confrontation (UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Till
Fight of the Month
There have been some truly fantastic showdowns throughout the month of July. From barn burners to tactical chess matches, we've seen it all and while there's a lot of great battles to choose from, there's one that stands tall among the rest.
The strawweight rematch between Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade had heavy expectations heading in, but it somehow still managed to outdo them. An absolute war from start to finish, Namajunas bounced back in a huge way following a loss to Andrade in her last appearance - a fight where she'd lose her strawweight title.
The fight was an absolute war and has done nothing but raise the stock of both women.
Winner: Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade (UFC 251)
Performance of the Month
In terms of standout performances, there's been a large number of impressive showings to choose from throughout the last month.
With exceptional outings from Jack Hermansson, Amanda Ribas, Fabricio Werdum, Khamzat Chimaev and more, it was truly a tough one to pick, but ultimately we've gone for one of the most one-sided title fights in the organisation's history.
Deiveson Figueiredo's demolition of one of the best flyweights in UFC history, Joseph Benavidez, was almost hard to watch. After a controversial win over Benavidez back in February, the Brazillian silenced any doubters and dropped the American a number of times before clamping in one of the scariest looking rear-naked chokes we've ever seen. Good look to anyone who tries to take that title off of him.
Winner: Deiveson Figueiredo vs Joseph Benavidez (UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs Benavidez)
The 'Ultimate Fighter' of the Month
There's only really one man worthy of this award. In fact, it's surprising it took this long for us to bring him up. You could have made an argument for Khamzat Chimaev to have won a number of these awards, but he'll have to settle for being the Ultimate Fighter of the month.
Having made his debut back on July 16, taking a short-notice bout with John Phillips, Chimaev was incredible, dominating Phillips throughout the entire fight. That wasn't enough for the Swedish born fighter though and Chimaev took another short-notice fight, taking on Rhys McKee. A fight that would last just over three minutes, as the 26-year-old dominated once again.
In a testament to just how dominant Chimaev has been, the Swedish star has landed 172 strikes throughout his first two fights with the UFC and has been hit, TWICE, just two times. That is truly absurd. While we're yet to see how he fares against ranked opposition, two dominant performances such as those render him worthy of The MMA Mindset's incredibly valuable 'Ultimate Fighter of the Month' award. I'm sure he'll cherish it.
Winner: Khamzat Chimaev
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