By Felix Rodriguez | Photo by Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Celebrating 20 years of KO’s in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
#19 The Blitz – Vitor Belfort vs Wanderlei Silva: UFC Brazil – Oct 16, 1998 – Vitor’s barrage of machine-gun quick left and rights started at Vitor’s side of the cage and ended 44 seconds later with a helpless Wanderlei laying at the opposite end of the cage.
#18 Spinning Ish – Renan Barao Vs. Eddie Wineland: UFC 165 –Sept. 21, 2013 – Eddie Wineland is no slouch on his feet, but he fell victim to a perfectly timed spinning kick to the mid section by Barao. Wineland fell back spectacularly and was then swarmed by Barao.
#17 Sweet Chin Music – Yves Edwards vs. Josh Thomson: UFC 49 – Aug 21, 2004 – Texas was represented well by the Thug Jitsu Master who chased down a fleeing Thomson and took a baseball like swing with his leg right on Thomson’s chin for the win.
#16 Shock Therapy – Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon: UFN 8 – Jan 25, 2007 – This was Rashad’s first statement victory. When Suga was done punting Salmon’s face into the stands Salmon lay stiff with his legs twitching in unconscious convulsion.
#15 Gone in 11 Seconds– BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno: UFC 34 – Nov 2, 2001 – It took Penn all of 11 seconds to evade a flying knee, pin Uno down against the cage and blast away at his face with one hand while holding the back of his head. Uno looked dead when Penn was done.
#14 Just Horse Meat- Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem: UFN 26 – Aug 17, 2013 – Alistair Overeem has a weak chin, while Travis Brown has anvils for hands and feet and combining these two elements in a cage resulted in a spectacular KO once Browne’s heavy foot connected with the Dutchman’s glass jaw.
#13 Lucky Number 3 – Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva 3: UFC 92 – Dec 27, 2008 – It seemed as if Wanderlei had Rampage’s number with two previous stoppage wins in Pride FC, but it turned out the third time was the charm for Rampage. Jackson ducked out of a wild Wanderlei right and uncorked a beautiful left hook counter that vindicated his previous two losses against the Ax Murderer.
#12 Getting Hammered – Pete Williams vs. Mark Coleman: UFC 17 – May 15, 1998 – Petie Williams’ win over Mark “The Hammer” Coleman is particularly significant because it was the first time ever that a fight was finished by head kick in the Octagon. Furthermore, the thud that his foot made after connecting with Coleman’s face was downright scary.
#11 Craning Couture – Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture: UFC 129 – April 30, 2011 – Lyoto-San painted the fence with Captain America’s face after unleashing a Crane kick that would have made Mr. Miyagi proud. What other iconic movie kick will we see unleashed in the UFC next?!
#10 Holy Crap – Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Lidell: UFC 88 – Sep 6, 2008 – This was the end of Chuck Lidell’s rain and the man went out on his shield. Rashad’s barbaric one two left the Iceman out cold for a scary amount of time. The KO was so brutal that a rumor began spreading amongst many hardcore fans that believed Chuck had actually crapped his pants after being knocked out by Rashad.
#9 New Sheriff in Town – Chuck Lidell vs. Tito Ortiz: UFC 47 – April 2, 2004 – Tito Ortiz had finally run out of reasons not to fight Lidell who was ready to take on the Huntington Beach Bad Boy. The fight was a title eliminator with the winner facing the winner of the Randy Couture and Vitor Belfort rematch for the 205 belt. Lidell stalked Ortiz and savaged him with a barrage of those wide looping punches that made him a staple of the Octagon for so many years.
#8 When Ace was King – Rich Franklin vs. Nate Quarry: UFC 56 – Nov 19, 2005 – Before there was Anderson Silva there was Rich Franklin. At one time Ace was considered a hard to beat champion. True Story. His vintage KO win over Nate Quarry helps illustrate why Franklin was the best of the rest after the Spider for so many years. Franklin starched an overmatched Quarry with a thunderous left hand that turned Quarry’s switch off for the night and made him a highlight reel for years to come.
#7 Solving the Riddle – Shogun Rua vs. Lyoto Machida: UFC 113 – May 8, 2008 – Many believed that Shogun had been robbed when he and Machida first met for the 205 belt. Shogun took what he learned from their first fight and made sure the judges would have no say in the matter the second time around though. He countered a knee to the body with a beautiful right that set the wheels in motion for the previously unbeaten Machida to lose in stunning fashion when Shogun KO’d him with strikes from the mount.
#6 The Farm Slam – Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton: UFC 34 – Nov 2, 2002 – Matt Hughes’ mentor, Pat Miletich, had lost the belt to Newton and Hughes was his first title defense. He did not disappoint, winning the belt by slamming his way out of a triangle. The win was not without controversy, as it seemed like Hughes was already asleep when he sent Newton crashing to the mat.
#5 The Iceman Cometh – Chuck Lidell vs. Randy Couture: UFC 52 – April 16, 2005 – This fight marked the beginning of Chuck’s memorable reign over the UFC’s light heavyweight division. It came in true Chuck fashion, the formerly iron-jawed fighter swung through traffic fearlessly, because he knew that all he needed to do was touch Couture’s chin. And that he did! A hurt Couture could not recover from vicious hammer fists and a new champ was crowned that night.
#4 ‘Merica!! – Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping: UFC 100 – July 11, 2009 – For people like Dan Henderson talk is cheap. Hendo would rather let you know how he feels with his signature H-Bomb right hand. If he’s feeling particularly chatty he’ll also express himself with a lunging forearm as an exclamation point. If you don’t believe us then go ask Michael Bisping.
#3 The Napao Nap – Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Crocop: UFC 70 – April 21, 2007 – Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery is how the saying used to go. Gonzaga got the memo and turned the tables on Crocop when he blasted him with a head kick that seemed right out of the Croatian’s playbook. This KO put Gonzaga on the map and left Crocop a shadow of his former self, undoubtedly one of the most brutal and surprising upsets in UFC history.
#2 The Robot – Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim: UFC 142 – Jan 14 2012 – Barboza went Jean Claude Van Damme on Etim and the results were cringe inducing. His spinning heel kick knocked Etim up on impact and stiffened him up on his way to the canvass. The kick was so ferocious that it looked as if Etim was pulling off a dance move, doing the Robot on his way to lala land.
#1A Is Normal Is Normal – Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva: UFC 162– July 6, 2013 – It looked like Weidman was going to fall into the Spider’s trap and get baited into trading blows –a sure fire way to end up as another notch on Silva’s belt. Weidman was having none of it though and knew where to strike and not to let off. The Spider was so out of it that he tried to recover guard…on Herb Dean!
#1B The Seagal Kick – Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort: UFC 126 – Feb 5, 2011 – Prior to this fight the traditional front kick to the face had been an underused strike in MMA. Anderson Silva had claimed that his training with Steven Seagal would play a key role in his victory over Belfort. Whether this was true or just the Spider being the Spider we’ll never know, but the kick was a thing of beauty. Silva used his front foot almost like a thrusting straight punch and knocked out an unsuspecting Belfort in a short and somewhat anticlimactic fight.
