With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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Nominees
Nominee: Brandon Moreno def. Amir Albazi at UFC Fight Night 246
After taking a self-imposed hiatus from competition, former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) returned to the win column with a stellar performance against Amir Albazi (17-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC).
Moreno styled on Albazi over the 25-minute fight, earning unanimous scores of 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45. The Mexican was in his flow state essentially from the opening bell, bloodying and battering Albazi, who hung tough until the end, but ultimately had no real answers for Moreno.
Nominee: David Onama def. Roberto Romero at UFC 309
Short-notice octagon newcomer Roberto Romero (8-4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) nearly made a stunning debut upset over David Onama (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in their featherweight bout, but ultimately had to settle with an exciting loss.
Romero hurt Onama early in their matchup and almost had the fight won. His more experienced foe hung on, however, and managed to rally back late in the fight to secure a unanimous decision in his favor and get much applause from the fans in the process.
Nominee: Petr Yan def. Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Fight Night 248
Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) masterfully defeated former flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo (24-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) in a highly anticipated headlining matchup. Yan won by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45), using a brilliant combination of striking and counter-grappling to largely shut down Figueiredo and prove that he is still among the top of the heap in the stacked 135-pound weight class.
The winner: Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler at UFC 309
Charles Oliveira largely dominated Michael Chandler in their rematch, but it wasn’t without a scare.
After four rounds of superior fighting from Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) in the grappling department, he had to dig deep to survive a late onslaught from Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC). He ultimately won by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45).
In each of the first three rounds, Oliveira took down Chandler. And once there, it was his world. However, Chandler’s defense was good enough to fend off constant rear-naked choke attempts. In Round 2, Oliveira also landed some solid strikes on Chandler, who appeared to struggle with his footing, tripping over the cage at some points.
But much of the most memorable action took place in a wild Round 5. After a push kick by Oliveira seemed to wobble Chandler’s lead leg, the former Bellator champion got him back. Chandler landed a big punch that wobbled Oliveira and sent him on the retreat. Oliveira tried to grab hold but Chandler dumped him to the canvas. Chandler then unloaded more than 12 punches, many of which appeared to be to the back of the head, though not in the eyes of referee Keith Peterson. Chandler sat in Oliveira’s guard for a bit before eventually getting back to his feet. Once there, Chandler waved on Oliveira, only to be dragged to the canvas again.
In the final minutes, Oliveira grabbed Chandler’s back. Chandler then stood up not once, but twice, with Oliveira on his back. Each time, Chandler slammed Oliveira with a backdrop, but the Brazilian hung on tight as the final bell sounded.
With the win, Oliveira moves to 2-0 against Chandler. The two fought for the vacant lightweight title in May 2021 when Oliveira knocked out Chandler in the opening seconds of Round 2.
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for November: Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler deliver rematch thriller
