With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from September 2026: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for September.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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Nominees: Losene Keita def. Muhammad Naimov at UFC Fight Night 287
Nominees: Axel Sola def Fares Ziam at UFC Fight Night 287
Nominees: Sean King III def. Jessie Rosas at Noche UFC
Nominees: Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331
The winner: Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson at UFC 331
Sean Sharaf, a massive 11-to-1 underdog, pulled off an all-time shocker by knocking out Olympic gold medalist and heavily hyped prospect Gable Steveson in just 12 seconds at UFC 331.
And with that, Steveson’s aura of invincibility vanished.
In the buildup to the fight, things got personal between Sharaf (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Steveson (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) after Sharaf brought up 2019 allegations of sexual assault against Steveson. No criminal charges were ever filed against Steveson and another then-University of Minnesota wrestler due to insufficient evidence.
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Sharaf’s trash talk served only to cause Steveson to lean into playing the bad guy during the UFC 331 pre-fight press conference and into the ceremonial weigh-ins as he was booed by the L.A. crowd. That continued Saturday as he walked out to the octagon with Jon Jones by his side – and then again when Steveson left the arena before the result was announced by Bruce Buffer.
At 12 seconds, Sharaf’s finish was the third fastest in UFC heavyweight history. The result gave Sharaf his first UFC win in three tries. Steveson suffered a loss for the first time in his five-fight MMA career that began just last year.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for September: Gable gets got – in 12 seconds
