Now available on Pay-Per-View, the Ultimate 100 Knockouts show presents three hours of the most spectacular finishes ever seen in mixed martial arts from Liddell to Gomi, Cro Cop to Silva, they’re all here, spanning not just the UFC, but the best knockouts from the WEC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, and Affliction as well.
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As a sampler, here’s a look at just 20 of the 100 bouts featured on The Ultimate 100 Knockouts show:
UFC 70 – Gabriel Gonzaga–Mirko Cro Cop
It’s been said that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword, and in a proverbial sense, feared Croatian striker Mirko Cro Cop certainly know what that feels like after Brazilian-Jiu Jitsu black belt Gabriel Gonzaga turned the tables on him and knocked him out in the first round with the weapon he had made his name in the MMA world with – a kick to the head. When it landed, Cro Cop fell like he was shot, grotesquely twisting his knee and ankle in the process. Not only was it shocking, but it was spectacular.
TUF4 Finale – Scott Smith-Pete Sell
For pure aesthetic value, this unbelievable knockout wins every time. Smith and Sell became friends on the fourth season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality show, but they fought like enemies in their bout as they traded power shots. In the second round, Sell looked like he had pulled ahead when he nailed his opponent with a body shot that doubled Smith over in pain as he backpedaled to the fence. Sell ran in recklessly to land the finisher, but Smith caught him with a perfect right hand to the jaw, and just like that, the tables had turned and seconds later, Smith had the TKO victory. It was straight out of a Hollywood script, and one of those endings you truly have to see to believe.
UFC 52 – Chuck Liddell–Randy Couture II
For nearly two years, Chuck Liddell patiently waited for a shot at redemption for his upset 2003 loss against Randy Couture. In April of 2005, he got it, and with his trademark right hand, he exorcised his demons with a spectacular finish of “The Natural” to win the UFC light heavyweight championship
UFC 34 – Matt Hughes–Carlos Newton I
When UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton sunk in a triangle choke on challenger Matt Hughes, it looked like it would just be a matter of time until Newton retained his title. But Hughes took matters into his own hands, lifted Newton over his head, and after some tense moments, he slammed his foe to the mat, winning the fight and knocking loose the 170-pound championship belt in the process.
UFC 34 – BJ Penn–Caol Uno I
After avoiding a wild flying knee from Caol Uno to start the 2001 bout, BJ Penn responded with a barrage of strikes which knocked the Japanese star out against the Octagon fence in just 11 seconds. How did Penn celebrate? By running from the cage and back to his locker room.
Ultimate Brazil – Vitor Belfort–Wanderlei Silva
Though their roles in the MMA pecking order would eventually flip-flop, at the time of their Ultimate Brazil bout in 1998, the undisputed star was Vitor Belfort, and Wanderlei Silva was just a raw up and comer. This prospect didn’t get much time to settle in though, as Belfort blitzed “The Axe Murderer” with a blinding series of rights and lefts en route to a 44 second TKO win.
UFC 126 – Anderson Silva-Vitor Belfort
Anderson Silva was more amped up than usual for his middleweight title defense against former training partner Vitor Belfort, and he made sure “The Phenom” was aware of his intentions as he knocked him out with a front kick to the face that Silva friend (and action film star) Steven Seagal claimed to have taught him.
UFC 17 – Pete Williams–Mark Coleman
Exhausted after over 12 minutes of fighting, former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman was just trying to survive against young contender Pete Williams in their 1998 bout. Williams gave Coleman the rest he craved midway through that 13th minute with a flush kick to the head that became one of the most enduring images of early UFC action.
UFC 8 – Gary Goodridge–Paul Herrera
It was perhaps the most brutal knockout in UFC history, and after hearing that Paul Herrera had delivered some trash talk in his direction before their bout, Gary Goodridge responded by catching Herrera in a crucifix position moments into the fight. What followed was a crushing series of elbows that knocked Herrera out in just 13 seconds.
UFC 100 – Dan Henderson–Michael Bisping
Yes, Michael Bisping talked a lot leading up to his UFC 100 showdown with Dan Henderson. But the Brit’s mouth had nothing to do with his demise at the hands of Hendo. Instead, once the former two-division PRIDE champion realized that Bisping wasn’t hurting him and that he was pulling straight back AND circling into his power hand, the end was inevitable. And when Henderson’s vaunted right hand crashed into Bisping’s jaw in the second, it was lights out, with the final shot delivered to his downed opponent legal, but ultimately unnecessary.
UFC 114 – Mike Russow–Todd Duffee
Hot prospect Todd Duffee was on his way to another Octagon victory when he took on Mike Russow at UFC 114. But nothing’s guaranteed in this game until the fight is over, and Duffee learned that lesson the hard way, as Russow pulled out a right hand from nowhere in the final round that starched Duffee at the 2:35 mark, stunning all in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
UFC 88 – Rashad Evans-Chuck Liddell
In the first round, Rashad Evans fought the perfect fight against Chuck Liddell, using movement and quick flurries to frustrate ‘The Iceman’. So when Liddell came out recklessly and aggressively in the second stanza, Evans ended the perfect fight with the perfect punch, a right on the button that put the former light heavyweight king down and out.
UFC 92 – Quinton Jackson-Wanderlei Silva
As cathartic a knockout as you’ll find in this game, Quinton Jackson finished off a rough 2008 campaign on a high note, not only with a victory, but with a victory over the man who knocked him out twice in PRIDE, Wanderlei Silva. The fact that he knocked out his heated rival with a single left hook made the win even sweeter.
UFC 47 – Nick Diaz–Robbie Lawler
With only one injury-induced loss and concrete blocks for fists, Robbie Lawler wasn’t only expected to be a future UFC champ, but he was the one guy no one wanted to stand with. Well no one except brash groundfighter Nick Diaz, who beat Lawler at his own game and stunned the MMA world by knocking him out with a single right hand that sent Lawler face first to the canvas.
UFC 49 – Yves Edwards–Josh Thomson
It was the last lightweight fight in the UFC for nearly two years, but Yves Edwards made sure that fight fans remembered the 155-pounders, as an attempted back fist by Josh Thomson was met by a flush right kick to the head by Edwards, and it was game over for “The Punk” and a spectacular knockout win for the master and creator of “Thug Jitsu.”
UFC 129 – Lyoto Machida-Randy Couture
In pre-fight interviews, the legendary Randy Couture announced that after his UFC 129 bout against Lyoto Machida he would be retiring. Well, if Couture was having any second thoughts, Machida likely erased them with a flying front kick to the face in round two that looked like it came straight out of the ending of the first Karate Kid film.
UFC 129 – John Makdessi–Kyle Watson
One of the most creative standup fighters in the UFC today, John “The Bull” Makdessi showed off a wide array of techniques in his bout against Kyle Watson, but it was his picture-perfect spinning back fist that will live on in highlight films forever, and not just because it ended the bout in the third round, but due to the way Makdessi set it up with a fake that had Watson completely fooled before the final blow landed.
UFN 8 – Rashad Evans-Sean Salmon
In the lead-up to his bout with Sean Salmon, Rashad Evans started going by the moniker ‘Suga’. Well, the former MSU Spartan showed a little spice in this fight, battling through a sluggish first round to put an emphatic end to Salmon’s UFC debut in the second with a picture perfect right kick to the head that put Salmon out on impact.
UFC 54 – James Irvin–Terry Martin
To say the first five minutes of James Irvin’s light heavyweight debut against Terry Martin was abysmal would be an understatement. But in the first nine seconds of round two, all was forgiven as “The Sandman” drilled Martin with a flying knee to the head that sent the Illinois native to sleep.
UFC 101 – Anderson Silva-Forrest Griffin
If at one point in your life you can say that you witnessed greatness in person, you’re lucky. Those fans in attendance at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia for UFC 101 had that opportunity as middleweight champion Anderson Silva went back to the light heavyweight division and put on a clinic of precision striking in taking out former 205-pound titleholder Forrest Griffin at 3:23 of the first round. Call it over the top, but this performance was a potent mix of a Ted Williams swing, a John Coltrane solo, and a Barry Sanders run out of the backfield.