With another action-packed month in MMA, MMA Junkie takes a look back at the best knockouts from December 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and the winner of MMA Junkie’s December Knockout of the Month Award.
At the bottom of the post, please vote for your choice to let us know if we’re right.
advertise
Nominees: Iwo Baraniewski Ibo Aslan at UFC 323
They’ve been gone for a long time, but it was an absolute blast when these two light heavyweight sluggers stepped into the cage and put on a show before Sulfur Baraniewski (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) knocked out Ibo Aslam at 1:29 of the first round.
Baraniewski was the first to give up on Aslan, and Aslan returned the favor soon after. Aslan swarmed in and shot down Baraniewski again. Aslan grabbed a leg, stood up again, and knocked out Baraniewski again. Baraniewski then gave up on Aslan, and that was that.
Nominated by: Fares Ziam def. Nazim Sadykhov at UFC 323
Joe Rogan called Fares Chiam’s performance against Nazeem Sadyhoff “an absolutely perfect mixed martial arts performance.”
advertise
Ziam (18-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who faced Sadie Hov in a lightweight bout, stunned his opponent with some hard elbows and then attacked until the referee stopped the fight at 4:59 of round 2.
Nominated by: Patrick Habirora Kevin Jousset plays for PFL Lyon
Patrick Habirora (8-0) has played just two games in his PFL career and has already provided two highlights. The second time it happened, he knocked out UFC alum Kevin Jousset with punches at 2:42 of the first round.
A left hook begins the finishing move. Juse still seemed aware of his surroundings until Habipola followed up by landing some scary ground-and-pound. When the referee sent Habiborah away, Rousey was frozen.
Nominees: Melquizael Costa Morgan Charriere UFC on ESPN 73
Melquizael Costa ended his career in electric fashion by knocking out Morgan Charriere with a devastating head kick.
advertise
Costa (25-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) became the first man in MMA to stop Charrier with a punch when he landed a valuable left head kick at 1:14 of the first round that broke his opponent’s guard and instantly knocked him unconscious.
Winner: Kevin Vallejos def. Giga Chikadze in UFC on ESPN 73
Kevin Vallejos’ debut year was one to remember.
Vallejos (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on undefeated featherweight contender Giga Chikadze. However, everything changed when Vallejos landed a spinning backfist to the chin, knocking out Chikadze (15-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) at 1:29 of round 2.
advertise
The first round was a competitive affair, with Zikadze giving Vallejos trouble with his signature powerful kicks that left a bruise on the right side of his body. Chikadze won the first round on all three judges’ scorecards.
Vallejos stayed patient and kept pushing forward while finding his opening in the second round. The fight came to an abrupt end as Vallejos charged forward and Chikadze backed up to the fence before delivering a spinning backfist that knocked Chikadze to the mat. Vallejos landed a few more hard elbows on the ground until referee Mark Smith pulled him down.
In his post-fight interview, Vallejos called for a fight with Cub Swanson on Chikaze Point in April.
advertise
Vallejos began his UFC campaign with his first first-round win over Choi Seung-woo in March. His second fight was a unanimous decision victory over Danny Silva, and now he’s ending his first year under the UFC banner with his third win and extending his win streak to six.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: December 2025 Knockout of the Month: Kevin Vallejos def. jigachkadze