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MMA Junkie's 'Fight of the Month' for September: UFC 266 delivers in a big way

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from September 2021: 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: Nate Maness def. Tony Gravely at UFC Fight Night 192

Nate Maness (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) pulled off an epic comeback against Tony Gravely (21-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in their bantamweight bout.

After nearly getting finished with a big shot and being saved by the bell at the end of the first round, Maness gathered himself and secured a big turnaround TKO against Gravely in the second round of an all-around thriller.

Nominee: Rae Yoon Ok def. Christian Lee at ONE Championship: Revolution

Lightweight champion Christian Lee (15-4) was strong early, but late surges from Rae Yoon Ok (16-3) appeared to make the difference with the judges – and left

Ok took a unanimous decision from Lee to win the belt in a main event stunner. Lee seemed to have won the first two rounds, and had a knockdown in the third and another big moment in the fifth. But ONE fights are judged in their entirety, not round by round. Lee was incensed at the decision in his post-fight interview and plans to appeal.

Nominee: Merab Dvalishvili def. Marlon Moraes at UFC 266

Merab Dvalishvili (14-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) snatched victory from the jaws defeat in a stunning comeback finish of former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes (23-9-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC).

After nearly getting knocked out in the opening minutes of the first round, Dvalishvili miraculously turned the tide in the late stages of the frame and into the second round. He recovered and took Moraes down, beating him up badly until the referee mercifully called it off.

Nominee: Robbie Lawler def. Nick Diaz at UFC 266

The long-awaited rematch between Robbie Lawler (29-15 MMA, 14-9 UFC) and Nick Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) finally happened, and the welterweight legends delivered for the most.

In Diaz’s return to MMA after more than six years, he was greeted by a ferocious version of Lawler who charged forward and wasn’t afraid to trade in the pocket. That paid off for “Ruthless,” because he cracked Diaz with a hard shot in Round 3 that forced him to take a knee and ultimately refuse to get up, forcing the TKO stoppage.

Nominee: Alexander Volkanovski def. Brian Ortega at UFC 266

Alexander Volkanovski (23-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) made his second defense of the featherweight title against Brian Ortega (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), but it was far from easy.

Volkanovski recorded his 20th consecutive career victory courtesy of a unanimous decision win over Ortega, who threatened the champion with some extremely deep submission attempts during a captivating 25-minute contest.

The winner

The winner: Volkanovski vs. Ortega

Volkanovski is still the UFC featherweight champion, but he went through a serious battle to successfully retain that title for the second time.

The first round was closely contested. Both fighters needed some time to get their footings and rhythms but once they did the technical battle amplified in quality and quantity. Each man threw with bad intentions. Some heavy strikes missed and some landed. An Ortega jab sliced Volkanovski under his left eye, but he relied heavily on his leg kicks.

The chess match resumed in Round 2 with punches and leg kicks galore exchanged. Midway through the round, Volkanovski landed perhaps his biggest combination of the fight to that moment. He tried to transition to a takedown but Ortega denied him.

An exchange appeared to pop Volkanovksi’s ear, causing him to bleed even more. When the end-of-round horn sounded, the two fighters converged in a Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2-esque staredown before they were separated.

Drama struck in Round 3 when an Ortega punch connected on an off-balance Volkanovski, who fell backward. Ortega dove on top and grabbed hold of a mounted guillotine choke. Somehow, Volkanovski bucked and kicked his way out of danger. Both fighters scrambled, covered in blood. Volkanovski landed in guard, only to be met by an Ortega triangle attempt.

Volkanovski once again expertly avoided danger. On top again, Volkanovski rained down dozens of ground-and-pound punches on Ortega, who covered up. Referee Herb Dean gave warnings, but Ortega was saved by the bell.

Swollen and busted, Ortega was examined by the cageside physician, who determined Ortega was OK to continue. In Round 4, Ortega had another chance – a guillotine choke. However, Volkanovski escaped again and exploded into full-on ground-and-pound mode while Ortega threw up triangles.

The ground-and-pound kept coming, however, as did a series of warnings by Herb Dean. Somehow, someway Ortega survived to get to his feet before the end of the round.

Before the final round, Ortega once again passed the doctor’s test. Despite all of the damage absorbed, Ortega continued to put up a fight – and found success. He landed a series of punches on Volkanovski and marched forward. Volkanovski’s output wasn’t as extreme in Round 5, as the champion used his footwork to circle around the cage.

In the final seconds of the fight, Ortega landed perhaps his best shots of the fight – a pair of hard one-punch combinations that were acknowledged by Volkanovski. The siren sounded and the two fighters, who served as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter,” Season 29 embraced in a showing of respect in the center of the cage.

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