MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for June: Middleweight title contenders go to war

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Nominee: Alex Caceres def. Daniel Pineda at UFC on ESPN 45

Result: Alex Caceres def. Daniel Pinedo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Division: Featherweight
Event: UFC on ESPN 45
Date: June 3, 2023
Updated records: Alex Caceres (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC), Daniel Pineda (28-15 MMA, 5-6 UFC)

Nominee: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Eryk Anders at UFC 289

Result: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Eryk Anders via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Division: Middleweight
Event: UFC 289
Date: June 10, 2023
Updated records: Marc-Andre Barriault (16-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC), Eryk Anders (15-8 MMA, 7-8 UFC)

Nominee: Jared Cannonier def. Marvin Vettori at UFC on ESPN 46

Result: Jared Cannonier def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 48-46)
Division: Middleweight
Event: UFC on ESPN 46
Date: June 17, 2023
Updated records: Jared Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC), Marvin Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC)

Nominee: Chepe Mariscal def. Trevor Peek at UFC on ABC 5

Result: Chepe Mariscal def. Trevor Peek via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Division: Welterweight
Event: UFC on ABC 5
Date: June 24, 2023
Updated records: Chepe Mariscal (14-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC), Trevor Peek (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)

Nominee: Maycee Barber def. Amanda Ribas at UFC on ABC 5

Result: Maycee Barber def. Amanda Ribas by TKO (punches, elbows) – Round 2, 3:43
Division: Women’s flyweight
Event: UFC on ABC 5
Date: June 24, 2023
Updated records: Maycee Barber (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), Amanda Ribas (11-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC)

The winner

The winner: Cannonier vs. Vettori

Cannonier turned in a historic performance against Vettori in the UFC on ESPN 46 main event.

Cannonier’s striking volume placed his name in the history books. After five rounds of finishing out punishment, he earned unanimous scores of 49-45, 49-45, and 48-46 in his favor.

Vettori had a big moment in the opening seconds of the fight by landing a hard left hand that wobbled Cannonier. Vettori swarmed, but a moment later, it would be Cannonier who landed a big punch to get Vettori’s attention. The heavy-handed middleweights continued to exchange with both landing damaging strikes.

Cannonier came out on fire in the second round. Big punches from “The Killa Gorilla” found their mark, putting Vettori on his back foot early. A kick took Vettori off his feet, and Cannonier swarmed with heavy punches from the top. Vettori got back to his feet, but Cannonier continued to unload.

Bruised and bloodied, Vettori remained in the fight, but Cannonier just kept marching forward, swinging and landing hooks. With 30 seconds remaining, somehow, Vettori landed a few punches to keep Cannonier honest.

The toughness and speedy recovery of Vettori was on display early in the third, as he came out trading with Cannonier. Despite landing a few clean strikes, Cannonier began to turn things in his favor again, and added a takedown into the mix of strikes. But just when the momentum shifted, Vettori rallied back into the fight.

The back-and-forth exchanges continued early in the fourth round. Both fighters took their turns firing punches and kicks, but Cannonier would switch it up with a clean takedown. Vettori worked his way back up and returned to the center to offer more punches. Then the left jab of Cannonier began to score repeatedly, setting up combinations.

With just five minutes to go, Cannonier continued to land big, popping back the head of Vettori. As if the strikes didn’t register, Vettori kept firing back, likely causing Cannonier to wonder what it would take to end the fight. After more punches, Cannonier brought the fight to the ground with 90 seconds to go. There, he landed heavy ground and pound, but Vettori got back up, and the fight ended in the clinch at the final horn.

Cannonier set the single-fight record for the most significant strikes landed in a UFC middleweight bout, landing 241 total according to UFC Stats.

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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie