MMA Gif Tribute: 9 ‘Lawn Chair’ Knockouts


(If anyone can explain what is going on in this photo, we’ll give you Carmen Valentina’s digits.) 

After Edson Barboza’s spinning heel kick KO over Terry Etim gave birth to the phrase “falling tree” knockout here on CP, we got to thinking, what other classifications of devastation existed in the MMA highlight-o-sphere? Debates got heated, egos got crushed, and limbs got mangled, but we were eventually able to agree that the next category of KO’s in need of appreciation was that of the “lawn chair.”

What is a “lawn chair” knockout, you ask? Well, it’s that special kind of knockout, perhaps the complete opposite of a “falling tree,” in which the victim’s legs give out from underneath them almost instantaneously after the lethal blow is delivered, often forcing their body to collapse into itself like that of a common lawn chair. And to add insult to injury, the poor son of a bitch often receives an unnecessary strike courtesy of his own knee on the way down. Here are nine of the finest examples, in no particular order.

Chuck Liddell v. Guy Mezger

Ricardo Lamas v. Bendy Casimir

Check out seven more beautiful examples of this phenomena after the jump.


(If anyone can explain what is going on in this photo, we’ll give you Carmen Valentina’s digits.) 

After Edson Barboza’s spinning heel kick KO over Terry Etim gave birth to the phrase “falling tree” knockout here on CP, we got to thinking, what other classifications of devastation existed in the MMA highlight-o-sphere? Debates got heated, egos got crushed, and limbs got mangled, but we were eventually able to agree that the next category of KO’s in need of appreciation was that of the “lawn chair.”

What is a “lawn chair” knockout, you ask? Well, it’s that special kind of knockout, perhaps the complete opposite of a “falling tree,” in which the victim’s legs give out from underneath them almost instantaneously after the lethal blow is delivered, often forcing their body to collapse into itself like that of a common lawn chair. And to add insult to injury, the poor son of a bitch often receives an unnecessary strike courtesy of his own knee on the way down. Here are nine of the finest examples, in no particular order.

Chuck Liddell v. Guy Mezger

Ricardo Lamas v. Bendy Casimir

Rafael Dos Anjos v. George Sotiropoulos 

Pablo Garza v. Fredson Paixao

Anderson Silva v. Vitor Belfort

If Either Tito Ortiz or Forrest Griffin Get Their Way, Then We Will Be Seeing Ortiz/Griffin 3


(That moment when Punch face becomes Troll face.) 

As we all know, inspirational icon Tito Ortiz plans to call it a career after his next fight, or so he has claimed. He has also stated a desire for his final fight to take place on 4th of July weekend, and against either Forrest Griffin or Chuck Liddell. Talk about specific. And while Liddell can’t compete for obvious reasons (specifically, Jackrack commercials), Griffin has already come out in favor of a rubbermatch, and it seems the trilogy’s completion is all but inevitable at this point. On a recent episode of “Inside MMA,” Griffin received a surprise, but pre-recorded (for even more obvious reasons) video call-out from “The People’s Champ,” who all but begged Griffin for another rematch, as if FoGriff was somehow in charge of making those kinds of decisions:

Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!

Well, not to get technical Tito, but you’ve actually lost your last two, and six of your last eight. Join us after the jump for Forrest’s response.


(That moment when Punch face becomes Troll face.) 

As we all know, inspirational icon Tito Ortiz plans to call it a career after his next fight, or so he has claimed. He has also stated a desire for his final fight to take place on 4th of July weekend, and against either Forrest Griffin or Chuck Liddell. Talk about specific. And while Liddell can’t compete for obvious reasons (specifically, Jackrack commercials), Griffin has already come out in favor of a rubbermatch, and it seems the trilogy’s completion is all but inevitable at this point. On a recent episode of “Inside MMA,” Griffin received a surprise, but pre-recorded (for even more obvious reasons) video call-out from “The People’s Champ,” who all but begged Griffin for another rematch, as if FoGriff was somehow in charge of making those kinds of decisions:

Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!

Well, not to get technical Tito, but you’ve actually lost your last two, and six of your last eight. Anyway, join us after the jump for Forrest’s response.


(Skip to :30 to see….wait, what is Laura Prepon doing there?)

Other highlights from FoGriff include:

On making the Ortiz fight happen: “Do you wanna know how fights get done now? If enough people get on Twitter, it’ll happen.” [As sad as it is true.] 

On his Inside MMA stats: “Now, I’m looking at your ranking, let’s be honest. Speed…I’m a slow son of a bitch. I am so slow.”

On fears: “I’m scared of a lot of things. But, you know, no offense, [Tito’s] not one of them.”

So, is anyone as stoked for this one as Donna Pinciotti, or stoked at all for that matter?

-J. Jones

Babalu vs. Manhoef to Headline One FC’s Third Event in March

Robbie Lawler Melvin Manhoef Strikeforce MMA photos
(No matter how many times his trainers warned him against it, Melvin was convinced that he would become the first person to pull off the Statue of Liberty play in mixed martial arts competition.)

Exciting news today comes compliments of upstart Asian promotion One Fighting Championship. In addition to signing a ten year television partnership with ESPN Star Sports, One FC announced at a press conference this morning that their third event will be headlined by Strikeforce veterans Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Melvin Manhoef squaring off in a light heavyweight contest.

After a successful debut event back in September of 2011, One FC signed a huge partnership deal with over 15 smaller promotions and 23 gyms and announced plans to put on 3 different shows in 3 different countries in 2012. The second show, titled “Battle of Heroes,” will transpire on February 11th from Jakarta, Indonesia, and features a heavyweight tilt between Bob Sapp and Rolles Gracie as well as a headlining lightweight bout pairing Pancrase one-timer Felipe Enomoto against 5-2 K-1 veteran Ole Larson.

One FC 3, which is set to go down on March 31st from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, will also feature Japanese leglock master Masakazu Imanari facing off against undefeated prospect Kevin Belingon, Eduard Folayang, Zorobabel Moreira, and Eddie Ng taking on unnamed opponents, and Singapore’s own Nicole Chua making her MMA debut. It’s nice to see a small promotion gaining some momentum, no?

We last saw Babalu suffer a first round KO loss to Dan Henderson back in their December 2010 rematch; apparently the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has been recovering over the past year from a brutal snowboarding accident that happened shortly thereafter. Who would’ve guessed? Fun fact: Babalu was the focus of a 2009 music video from Massachusetts based heavy metal kings Shadows Fall.

Manhoef has not fought a MMA match since falling to a first round submission (go figure) at the hands of Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson in March of 2011, and has dropped 5 of his last 7 mixed martial arts contests. His luck in the kickboxing world has not been much better; Manhoef last competed just three days ago at It’s Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden, where he dropped a unanimous decision to 7th ranked heavyweight contender Tyrone Sprong. You can find that video after the jump, courtesy of IronForgesIron.

Robbie Lawler Melvin Manhoef Strikeforce MMA photos
(No matter how many times his trainers warned him against it, Melvin was convinced that he would become the first person to pull off the Statue of Liberty play in mixed martial arts competition.)

Exciting news today comes compliments of upstart Asian promotion One Fighting Championship. In addition to signing a ten year television partnership with ESPN Star Sports, One FC announced at a press conference this morning that their third event will be headlined by Strikeforce veterans Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Melvin Manhoef squaring off in a light heavyweight contest.

After a successful debut event back in September of 2011, One FC signed a huge partnership deal with over 15 smaller promotions and 23 gyms and announced plans to put on 3 different shows in 3 different countries in 2012. The second show, titled “Battle of Heroes,” will transpire on February 11th from Jakarta, Indonesia, and features a heavyweight tilt between Bob Sapp and Rolles Gracie as well as a headlining lightweight bout pairing Pancrase one-timer Felipe Enomoto against 5-2 K-1 veteran Ole Larson.

One FC 3, which is set to go down on March 31st from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, will also feature Japanese leglock master Masakazu Imanari facing off against undefeated prospect Kevin Belingon, Eduard Folayang, Zorobabel Moreira, and Eddie Ng taking on unnamed opponents, and Singapore’s own Nicole Chua making her MMA debut. It’s nice to see a small promotion gaining some momentum, no?

We last saw Babalu suffer a first round KO loss to Dan Henderson back in their December 2010 rematch; apparently the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has spent the past year recovering from a brutal snowboarding accident that happened shortly thereafter. Who would’ve guessed? Fun fact: Babalu was the focus of a 2009 music video from Massachusetts based heavy metal kings Shadows Fall.

Manhoef has not fought a MMA match since falling to a first round submission (go figure) at the hands of Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson in March of 2011, and has dropped 5 of his last 7 mixed martial arts contests. His luck in the kickboxing world has not been much better; Manhoef last competed just three days ago at It’s Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden, where he dropped a unanimous decision to 7th ranked heavyweight contender Tyrone Spong. You can find that video after the jump, courtesy of IronForgesIron.

Manhoef/Spong

In other fight booking news, TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Yves Edwards at the TUF 14 Finale, is set to take on 67 fight veteran Dennis Hallman at UFC on Fox 3 on May 5th. Hallman, who, after missing weight for his UFC 140 fight with John Makdessi and forcing the bout to be held at a catchweight, was able to score a first round submission over the Canadian to keep his Zuffa future safe for the time being. We would go into the incident that originally put Hallman on thin ice, but no one really wants to relive that.

What say you, Potato Nation, who takes these?

-J. Jones

On This Day in MMA History: “The Gladiator” Got Axed

Today is truly a sad day for the MMA world, one that no amount of Office Space parodies or Korean television can resolve. For today, a great man has died, and therefore has taken a piece of us all with him. We’re talking, of course, about none other than the unacknowledged gladiator who’s trials and tribulations were once synonymous with the beginning of every UFC event. We’re talking about the nameless, faceless warrior who could grind sand into…well, sand, in the palm of his hand whilst an epic chorus sang in the background. Though we never knew what lied beyond the blinding white he so courageously stepped into night after night, it seems now that the mysterious abyss was in fact the UFC vault. The Underground was the first to break the story:

Tonight, UFC President Dana White revealed exclusively to the Underground that the opening sequence for its PPV broadcast has been redone and the new introduction will be revealed this Saturday for UFC 143. The event will feature Nick Diaz fighting Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight championship in the main event.

The opening sequence, which has shown a Roman gladiator preparing for battle has often been critiqued by fans and although the sequence hasn’t been used by the UFC on its FOX and Fuel TV broadcasts, it had been present as most recent as this past UFC 142.

To quote the UFC President directly: “He’s been cut.”

We know what you’re thinking, what does this mean for Stemm?

Today is truly a sad day for the MMA world, one that no amount of Office Space parodies or Korean television can resolve. For today, a great man has died, and therefore has taken a piece of us all with him. We’re talking, of course, about none other than the unacknowledged gladiator who’s trials and tribulations were once synonymous with the beginning of every UFC event. We’re talking about the nameless, faceless warrior who could grind sand into…well, sand, in the palm of his hand whilst an epic chorus sang in the background. Though we never knew what lied beyond the blinding white he so courageously stepped into night after night, it seems now that the mysterious abyss was in fact the UFC vault. The Underground was the first to break the story:

Tonight, UFC President Dana White revealed exclusively to the Underground that the opening sequence for its PPV broadcast has been redone and the new introduction will be revealed this Saturday for UFC 143. The event will feature Nick Diaz fighting Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight championship in the main event.

The opening sequence, which has shown a Roman gladiator preparing for battle has often been critiqued by fans and although the sequence hasn’t been used by the UFC on its FOX and Fuel TV broadcasts, it had been present as most recent as this past UFC 142.

To quote the UFC President directly: “He’s been cut.”

We know what you’re thinking, what does this mean for Stemm? Well, we simply can’t answer that at the moment, but as long as “Face the Pain” isn’t replaced by one of those terrible Bee Gees/50 Cent mash-ups we are forced to sit through in between fights at actual UFC events, we imagine it will be fine. [Author’s note: I actually saw Stemm open for Chimaira back in ’04, unaware that they were the band behind the UFC theme song at the time. They put on a hell of a show, believe it or not. If you’re a fan of metal, check out one of their better songs IMO here.] It does appear, however, that Canadian trainer Hovig Tchaderian will be taking the place of “gladiator guy” in the new sequence, which will apparently consist of a hand wrapping scene and a glorified entrance. Thrilling stuff.

Now, whether or not you were a fan of the gladiator sequence (and really, who was?), you have to admit that all these changes the UFC has been undergoing is getting a little foreboding. Don’t follow? Perhaps you are familiar with the tale of how Utah came to be, as told by Stumpy. Be careful what you wish for, Potato Nation; our Papa Muntz statue has just been hauled off the figurative mountain.


R.I.P. Gladiator Guy 
? – January 30th, 2012
“Now You Are Free” 

-J. Jones

So Fedor Totally Fought Chan Sung Jung the Other Day [Video]


(We’re not the only ones who see a woman in a bear suit in the background, right?)

It’s a new week, Potato Nation, and with it brings change. I, for one, will be shedding the DangadaDang “nom de plume” if you will, in favor of my actual name from now on. Will the writing be any gooder? Perhaps, but for every change, something must stay the same, as they say. And in the ever changing landscape that is the current MMA scene, it’s comforting to know that we can count on the stability of at least one thing: Fedor Emelianenko‘s desire to toss around Asian men he outweighs by a good 70 pounds. You get caught with your hand in the (fortune) cookie jar once, it’s forgivable. You get caught twice, and you’re moving into full blown fetish territory, Mr. Emelianenko.

Yes, the former PRIDE heavyweight champion recently appeared on the South Korean TV show, “Star King,” to reenact the end of the Tim Boetsch/David Heath scrap with the help of fast rising featherweight contender Chan Sung Jung. Aside from being a reminder of how much better Asian television shows are than ours (oh MXC, where hast thou gone?), the sparring session is at the minimum a silver lining in the storm cloud of disappointment that was the second UFC on Fox broadcast. Like we said, it’s a new day, and let’s just shed the memory of that card with a good old fashioned freak show exhibition to start the work week, shall we?

Join us after the jump for the glorious video, but for the love of God, turn off your speakers before you do so. If you’ve ever ordered take out from P.F. Chang’s, then you are familiar with the chaos that awaits you.


(We’re not the only ones who see a woman in a bear suit in the background, right?)

It’s a new week, Potato Nation, and with it brings change. I, for one, will be shedding the DangadaDang “nom de plume,” if you will, in favor of my actual name from now on. Will the writing be any gooder? Perhaps, but for every change, something must stay the same, as they say. And in the ever changing landscape that is the current MMA scene, it’s comforting to know that we can count on the stability of at least one thing: Fedor Emelianenko‘s desire to toss around Asian men he outweighs by a good 70 pounds. You get caught with your hand in the (fortune) cookie jar once, it’s forgivable. You get caught twice, and you’re moving into full blown fetish territory, Mr. Emelianenko.

Yes, the former PRIDE heavyweight champion recently appeared on the South Korean TV show, “Star King,” to reenact the end of the Tim Boetsch/David Heath scrap with the help of fast rising featherweight contender Chan Sung Jung. Aside from being a reminder of how much better Asian television shows are than ours (oh MXC, where hast thou gone?), the sparring session is at the minimum a silver lining in the storm cloud of disappointment that was the second UFC on Fox broadcast. Like we said, it’s a new day, and let’s just shed the memory of that card with a good old fashioned freak show exhibition to start the work week, shall we?

Join us after the jump for the glorious video, but for the love of God, turn off your speakers before you do so. If you’ve ever ordered take out from P.F. Chang’s, then you are familiar with the chaos that awaits you.

Was that a scarf hold armlock Fedor just pulled off? Someone’s clearly a Minowaman fan. And hey, this match was still a hell of a lot more competitive than Emelianenko/Ishii. Or Jung/Hominick, for that matter.

– J. Jones