MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for July: Jean Silva, Drew Dober deliver blood-soaked banger in Denver

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month award for July.

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

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Nominee: Charles Johnson def. Joshua Van at UFC on ESPN 59

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) showed once again that he has zero quit in him by rallying to upset Joshua Van (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in their flyweight bout.

Johnson was a sizeable betting underdog to hyped prospect Van , and for the first two rounds it looked like he was slightly out of his depth and en route to a decision loss. But then the third round began, and Johnson stunned Van with a crisp punch followed by a huge uppercut that led to the knockdown and stoppage win.

Nominee: Arnold Allen def. Giga Chikadze at UFC 304

[autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]’s (20-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) path to victory was a bit unexpected but he got the job done in statement making fashion against Giga Chikadze (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC).

In case there were questions, Allen proved he could stand with one of the division’s best strikers, as he defeated Chikadze by unanimous decision in an exciting and technical matchup and ultimately it was death by a thousand papercuts for Chikadze, who was slowly bloodied and bruises by Allen’s aggressive attack.

Nominee: Gregory Rodrigues def. Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC 304

[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) proved to be too big of a step up for Christian Leroy Duncan (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in their middleweight clash.

Rodrigues landed heavy blows and multiple takedowns on Duncan to win a unanimous decision and continue to find success among the up-and-coming names in the weight class.

The winner

The winner: Jean Silva def. Drew Dober at UFC on ESPN 59

Jean Silva entered enemy territory on short notice to face an always-dangerous Drew Dober, and picked up his second win in two weeks.

Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) not only stepped up as a replacement for the injured Mike Davis on short notice, but also moved up a weight class to meet Dober (27-14 MMA, 13-10 UFC) at lightweight. The fight turned out to be an incredible battle that ended at 1:28 of Round 3 due to a nasty cut over Dober’s right eye.

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Jean Silva def. Drew Dober at UFC on ESPN 59: Best photos

Early on, it was apparent the judges' input was not likely to be needed. The feel-out process didn't last long, as Dober and Silva began firing hard shots as the opening round progressed. The cut that would eventually lead to the stoppage of the fight was opened on Dober during an exchange.

In Round 2, the striking intensity continued at a high pace as Dober stalked forward. In the closing moments, a Silva spinning back elbow connected flush to Dober, rocking him in a big moment just before the horn.

The ringside doctor assessed Dober's cut between rounds, but the fight was allowed to continue.

Silva continued to land well in the final round, causing the cut to open up even more, and became too much for referee Herb Dean to ignore. After the doctor took another look, the fight was waved off.

Silva competed two weeks prior at UFC 303, defeating Charles Jourdain in a featherweight bout by second-round knockout. However, the victory was tainted by Silva's weight miss by 1.5 pounds.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for July: Jean Silva, Drew Dober deliver blood-soaked banger in Denver