MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for March 2025: Ruffy def. Green

Yuneisy Duben entered her octagon debut against Carli Judice off a spotlighted knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series, but exited on the other side of the equation.

In the strawweight matchup, Duben (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was knocked out by Carli Judice (4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a head kick and punches sequence with the stoppage coming less than two minutes into the opening round.

Priscila Cachoeira’s first victory since August 2022 was one for the highlight reel when she put Josiane Nunes out cold in their women’s bantamweight matchup.

With her UFC career hanging in the balance, Cachoeira (13-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC) scored a clean knockout of Nunes (10-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC), landing a clean uppercut that immediately shut the lights off before the three-minute mark of the first round.

Jamall Emmers has another highlight on the reel courtesy of a battering of Gabriel Miranda in their featherweight matchup.

Emmers (21-8 MMA, 4-4 UFC) landed early and often on Miranda (17-8 MMA, 1-3 UFC) with a technical onslaught before a thunderous combination put a stamp on a violent performance. While Miranda was stunned on the feet, Emmers drove a knee up into the Brazilian’s midsection against the cage. He then landed a knockdown punch followed by two hellacious hammerfirsts.

When Joaquin Buckley drilled Impa Kasanganay with an unbelievable spinning kick to the face, no one had ever seen such a knockout in MMA history. Seemingly a once-in-a-lifetime feat, Buckley exploded into infamy as the kick went viral.

Pro debutant Jaron Lothrop did the equally unthinkable – as he recreated the knockout in a nearly identical manner. Lothrop (1-0) had a left kick to the body caught by opponent Yevgeni Shinkarevsky (2-1) in the late stages of Round 1. As Shinkarevsky clutched his heel, Lothrop jumped, spun, and booted the Irsaeli fighter straight in the face.

The winner

Mauricio Ruffy took advantage of the biggest spot of his career against King Green with a Knockout of the Year contender.

Ruffy (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) added to the octagon success of The Fighting Nerds when he uncorked a vicious spinning wheel kick that flatlined Green (32-17-1 MMA, 13-12-1 MMA) at the 2:16 mark of Round 1 in their lightweight bout.

With the stellar knockout, Ruffy stays unbeaten in the UFC and is looking to continue climbing the rankings at 155 pounds.