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David Tua hits really hard.

I’ve done this Sunday Punch series for months now and not once have I done a piece on one of my favorite heavyweights ever, David Tua.

Tua never won a major title and frankly it’s a shame that he only ever had one actual major championship fight. But in the meantime, he usually entertained fans by knocking people unconscious and displaying one rock solid chin. Against John Ruiz on March 15th, 1996, there was no need to talk about the chin and every need to marvel at the knockout.

Ruiz was 25-2 while Tua was 23-0. It was a well-matched fight on a card that was filled with other young (at the time… obviously) heavyweights such as Shannon Briggs, Andrew Golota, and Danell Nicholson. This bout stole the attention because Tua knocked Ruiz into next week. Ruiz was rocked by Tua’s trademark left hook, and then got annihilated by a combo from hell that was capped off by another hook that damn near decapitated John. Over and out in 19 seconds.

Watch the video above!

This was Ruiz’s first knockout loss and he wouldn’t have another one until he was stopped by David Haye in 2010, after which he retired with a record of 44-9-1-1 NC (30 KOs). Ruiz was never known as an exciting fighter but he did enjoy some time as the WBA heavyweight champ in the early 2000s.

As for Tua (52-5-2, 43 KOs) he retired in 2013 after losing to Alexander Ustinov. Tua was a revered hitter and he had a classic with Ike Ibeabuchi that I highly recommend you check out, because those two threw bombs and never even went down. In fact, the New Zealander was never knocked down until his penultimate fight against Monte Barrett. His knockouts of Ruiz, Michael Moorer, Hasim Rahman, and countless others are all worth your time.

Tuaman forever!

Former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar made his bantamweight debut on Saturday night at UFC on ESPN 15 against top ranked 135er Pedro Munhoz and it was a classic Frankie fight, right down to a decision win in his favor.

Well, a split decision.

One that many people didn’t feel he actually earned.

So as we do when it comes to controversial fights, here’s the scorecards for the fight.

Two judges, Derek Cleary and Eric Colon, saw it 48-47 for Edgar with Cleary scoring the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th for “The Answer” while Colon saw the 1st, 2nd, and 5th for Edgar. Lone dissenter Sal D’Amato had it 49-46 for Munhoz with Edgar only earning the 2nd in his eyes.

As for how the MMA press saw the fight, MMADecisions.com has the bout going to Munhoz pretty heavily. Only four contributors scored the fight for Edgar, while 17 felt the fight should have gone Munhoz’s way. A robbery? Well, two thirds of those saying Munhoz won gave him the fight 48-47 so it was hardly a blowout.

Let us know what you think in the comments, Maniacs!

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Pedro Munhoz won a unanimous decision against Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC Vegas 7 after five evenly fought rounds.

In the main event of UFC Vegas 7, Frankie Edgar earned a split decision win against Pedro Munhoz after a back and forth five rounds.

What was the high point of the fight?

There was a lot of action in the first round with both men trading shots for the feet for its entirety. Edgar was landing combinations and moving well as Munhoz was more flat-footed and attacked the legs of “The Answer.” Neither man was slowing down come the midpoint of the fight, but it was clear Edgar’s lead leg was hurt after the high output of leg kicks from Munhoz.

Munhoz started to get the better of the striking exchanges come the championship rounds, but Edgar was still very much in the fight. Edgar’s movement on his front leg continued to worsen but he was still landing heavy combinations as Munhoz stalked him down towards the fence.

Where do both men go from here?

Given the fight was so close, it’s a bitter pill to swallow for Munhoz. It’s the first time in the Brazilian’s career he has lost consecutive fights, with “The Young Punisher” losing a decision to Aljamain Sterling last year. A fight with Jimmie Rivera who is ranked just under Munhoz at bantamweight is a good one to make next.

Edgar’s debut at bantamweight couldn’t have gone any better. “The Answer” proved at 38-years-old he is far from done in the sport, and he has what it takes to compete with the best of the division. A fight against fellow veteran Dominick Cruz would be a great one for Edgar next.

Watch it now, later or never?

It was a fight full of non-stop action, watch it now.