(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.
Filed under: UFCIf I could look into my crystal ball into the future of one rising star on the UFC 142 card, it would be Edson Barboza. While I’m not ready to call him a surefire lightweight contender just yet, he certainly has flashed a skill set that…
If I could look into my crystal ball into the future of one rising star on the UFC 142 card, it would be Edson Barboza. While I’m not ready to call him a surefire lightweight contender just yet, he certainly has flashed a skill set that’s worthy of cracking the division’s top 5. Now he has to continue delivering.
So far throughout his UFC career, Barboza has used his skills the same way Chuck Liddell used to; his defensive wrestling keeping him upright where he has the advantage against nearly anyone he faces.
But there are still questions about Barboza. For one, will his wrestling hold up against the division’s best? Remember, this is a weight class heavy on former collegiate wrestling studs. From champ Frankie Edgar to No. 1 contender Ben Henderson to Gray Maynard and beyond, Barboza will have to prove himself able to handle a top level guy before we can anoint him the next great lightweight. That said, it’s been exciting to watch his educated limbs deliver violence in new ways.
The comparison has been made between Barboza and featherweight champ Jose Aldo, and in terms of style, it’s not all that far off. But lightweight is a much deeper division than featherweight, so Barboza has a long climb ahead.
On to the matchups…
Jose Aldo
It was nice to see Aldo flash the finishing instinct that made him a star in his early days under the Zuffa banner. While he’s been accused of playing it safe his last few fights, his perfectly timed knee to the face that led to the finish is a strictly offensive move. If he missed it, he would have been off-balance to defend the takedown that was coming as Mendes went low. Instead, Aldo landed it flush and closed out the show. While many would like to see him move up a weight class, he’s still just 25 years old and I’d like to see him cement a legacy at one division before moving up to another. Anderson Silva‘s become a huge star because he runs his weight class with an iron fist. Fans love dominance, and Aldo’s slowly but surely building himself that kind of aura. Prediction: Aldo fights the winner of February’s Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski bout.
Chad Mendes
The bad news for Mendes is that he lost, but the good news is that he’s not going to fall very far in the featherweight pecking order. While he struggled to take Aldo down — he was 0-for-7 by FightMetric’s count — at least we know Mendes still has room to grow his offensive arsenal. That’s because he’s only been in the sport for about four years. While he’ll still be in the upper tier of the division, he needs to work on his striking to be better equipped to deal with Aldo next time around. If there is a “next time.” Prediction: He fights Diego Nunes Vitor Belfort
We already know Belfort’s next assignment. He’ll be the head coach of the first Brazilian edition of The Ultimate Fighter, alongside Wanderlei Silva, and after the conclusion of the show, the two will face off in a rematch of their 1998 match, a bout which Belfort won by knockout in just 44 seconds.
Anthony Johnson
What a nightmare of a middleweight debut for Johnson, who pulled off a triple dose of fail by missing weight, losing by submission and getting cut. Despite the disastrous evening, Johnson is just 27 years old and has reached a level of popularity that will make him a sought-after commodity in other organizations. But Johnson also has to take a good hard look at himself, realize that he’s blown a couple of opportunities, and find a way to fix it, or otherwise risk never reaching the heights many expected him to. Prediction: Johnson signs with Bellator
Rousimar Palhares
It’s getting harder and harder to ignore Palhares as a contender after a third straight win. Amazingly, it was his fourth heel hook submission win in his last six UFC bouts. Most of the UFC’s 10 best has their date book filled, so Palhares might have to play the waiting game for a bit until something opens up. Two available fighters right now though are Chris Weidman and Alan Belcher. Prediction: Belcher gets the call to face Palhares
Erick Silva
It seems like every time we turn around, there’s another Silva advancing into the upper echelons of the MMA world. The latest is the 27-year-old welterweight who lost by disqualification due to punches that were ruled to be illegal. He’ll appeal the ruling, and regardless of the outcome, Silva will be treated as the winner when it comes to booking his next fight. Since he is still early in his UFC career, don’t expect Silva to be rushed into fights with major names just yet. Prediction: He faces Seth Baczynski
Edson Barboza
After four straight wins, the undefeated Barboza (10-0) looks just about ready to step into the shark tank against the lightweight division’s big guns. He looks to have the complement of skills that make him a scary proposition for anyone, particularly with killer standup and great defensive wrestling. The only potential issue I see from Barboza is that he sometimes tends to step off the gas pedal. I’d match him up against a fighter known for forward aggression and wrestling and see how he does. Prediction: He faces Danny Castillo
Gabriel Gonzaga
Kudos to Gonzaga, who returned to the UFC with a first-round submission win. Just as impressive was the fact that prior to the fight, he said he wanted to stop engaging in striking wars and return to his jiu-jitsu roots. He did just that. According to FightMetric, he wasn’t hit a single time by opponent Ednaldo Oliveira in the 3-minute, 22-second fight. That’s about as clean a win as you can hope for. It was a performance that was not only great for career longevity but also came with a finish, something that always makes fans and management happy. Prediction: He faces the winner of UFC on Fox 2’s Mike Russow vs. Jon Olav Einemo
The Good
• Edson Barboza‘s astounding spinning heel kick knockout of Terry Etim. Mike Goldberg might have been exaggerating a bit when he called it “maybe the most spectacular knockout in UFC history,” but it’s certainly the early front-runner for Greatest Knockout of 2012. And props to Joe Rogan for immediately recalling Baraboza’s prior use of the kick against Anthony Njokuani. As Rogan mentioned, it’s an under-utilized technique that we may start to see come in-vogue in 2012, much like the crane kick in 2011.
• Gabriel Gonzaga needed a good performance to provoke any sort of excitement in his return to the UFC’s heavyweight division. Even sweeter than his early finish was his proclamation that we can expect to see him return to the submission base that generated so much interest in his first run at UFC contention.
• After two highly energetic Brazilian shows within a year, the UFC has found its most passionate and dedicated audience. The crowd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro was loud, enthusiastic, and everything one would expect from a bunch of rowdy Brazilian fight fans. There was a good amount of variation in the chants throughout the night — from “U.S.A., to “Thiago,” to the famous soccer anthem “ole ole ole” — and a surreal crowd-surfing celebration from defending featherweight champion Jose Aldo capped off the incredible fan involvement.
The Good
• Edson Barboza‘s astounding spinning heel kick knockout of Terry Etim. Mike Goldberg might have been exaggerating a bit when he called it “maybe the most spectacular knockout in UFC history,” but it’s certainly the early front-runner for Greatest Knockout of 2012. And props to Joe Rogan for immediately recalling Baraboza’s prior use of the kick against Anthony Njokuani. As Rogan mentioned, it’s an under-utilized technique that we may start to see come in-vogue in 2012, much like the crane kick in 2011.
• Gabriel Gonzaga needed a good performance to provoke any sort of excitement in his return to the UFC’s heavyweight division. Even sweeter than his early finish was his proclamation that we can expect to see him return to the submission base that generated so much interest in his first run at UFC contention.
• After two highly energetic Brazilian shows within a year, the UFC has found its most passionate and dedicated audience. The crowd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro was loud, enthusiastic, and everything one would expect from a bunch of rowdy Brazilian fight fans. There was a good amount of variation in the chants throughout the night — from “U.S.A., to “Thiago,” to the famous soccer anthem “ole ole ole” — and a surreal crowd-surfing celebration from defending featherweight champion Jose Aldo capped off the incredible fan involvement.
The Bad
• Referee Dan Miragliotta’s stand-ups in the Belfort/Johnson fight were far too quick. In both instances, Miragliotta should have allowed Anthony Johnson more time to improve his position or inflict some damage from the top. [Ed. note: A Bleacher Report column went as far as to suggest that Miragliotta was paid to make things difficult for Johnson, but the article has since been removed from the site.] If Johnson were in any position to complain, he might have a case; however, nobody wants to listen to any more of this guy’s excuses. Hope the free agent market treats you well, AJ.
• For a channel trying to brand itself as the new home of the UFC, FX did not seem to put much effort into their promo for this Friday’s upcoming UFC on FX 2 card during their prelims broadcast. All they could manage was a promo that featured split-second highlights of Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller and an animated fighter made out of chain-link fence that pretended to punch the screen. Needless to say, it seemed like a missed opportunity.
• Felipe Arantes looked pretty silly jumping on the cage in celebration prior to confirmation that he had edged out a unanimous decision win over Antonio Carvalho, in their card-opening match on Facebook. Obviously, Arantes wanted to soak in what he was sure would be an appreciative hometown crowd but it seemed excessive for a performance that lacked the fight-ending dominance we’ve come to expect from post-fight cage jumps.
The Ugly
• Even though Rousimar Palhares’s submissions are a thing of beauty for leg-lock fanatics, they serve as an ugly reminder of the hideous damage that the “Tree trunk” can inflict on his opponents. When Palhares gets within snatching distance of an opponent’s leg, there is a large part of me that wants to scream at the referee to stop it already for the love of God before he inflicts permanent damage on this poor man! Get in the cage with Palhares and there’s a good chance he will get hold of your leg and tear some of the major tendons, ligaments and muscles. If that’s not ugly, I don’t know what is.
• The “Keys to Victory” segment has got to go. It was a horrible feature when Frank Shamrock did it on CBS and it’s horrible now. If the UFC insists on breaking something down in such a simplistic and grossly misleading manner, they should at least get somebody other than Joe Rogan to deliver it. As the color commentator, he’s already influencing audience perceptions about each fighter’s skills. It would make sense to mix things up by having a veteran like Randy Couture or Kenny Florian breaking things down.
• Mario Yamasaki may have made a bad call in disqualifying Erick Silva for what he deemed to be illegal shots to the back of the head but Joe Rogan challenging him about it post-fight was even more cringe-inducing. Joe should stick to interviewing fighters, not referees. It was disrespectful to Mario, a mainstay in the Brazilian MMA community. Mario seemed none too pleased with being called out and paced anxiously in the background as Rogan continued to rip on the decision while interviewing Silva. It was an uncomfortable moment in the broadcast and the empathy it invoked on behalf of Yamasaki almost seemed to negate his poor judgment in the fight.
Gabriel Gonzaga should fight in Brazil more often.The former heavyweight title contender impressed in his octagon return at UFC 142 on Saturday night, picking up a first-round submission victory over undefeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt Edna…
The former heavyweight title contender impressed in his octagon return at UFC 142 on Saturday night, picking up a first-round submission victory over undefeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt Ednaldo Oliveira.
Gonzaga, a world-renowned BJJ specialist, has been criticized in the past for ignoring his grappling strengths and opting to stand and bang. This certainly wasn’t the case at UFC 142. Fans finally saw a Gonzaga who was committed to getting the fight to the ground and utilizing his submission skills.
There are still a plethora of doubters surrounding Gonzaga’s recent resurgence. Despite a steep skid in recent years, Gonzaga is still a relevant name in the heavyweight division. It’s going to take much more than a submission win over Oliveira to convince fans Gonzaga has finally seen the promised land.
The Brazilian superstar was cut from the UFC back in 2010 following back-to-back losses to Junior Dos Santos and Brendan Schaub.
If Gonzaga has truly learned from past mistakes, he has the skill set to be a dark horse in the heavyweight division.
Brazilian fans are credited with being the most raucous audience in the world, and last night’s fighters gave them plenty to cheer about. Six of the nine bouts ended via knock out or submission*, with five of those stoppages coming in the first round.
Chokes, knees, and even a spinning wheel kick punctuated last night’s fights (*as did a controversial referee stoppage). Pop on in for a motion picture tribute to UFC 142.
Brazilian fans are credited with being the most raucous audience in the world, and last night’s fighters gave them plenty to cheer about. Six of the nine bouts ended via knock out or submission*, with five of those stoppages coming in the first round.
Chokes, knees, and even a spinning wheel kick punctuated last night’s fights (*as did a controversial referee stoppage). Pop on in for a motion picture tribute to UFC 142.
UFC veteran and former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga (12-6) returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing to Brendan Schaub to take on newcomer Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1) on the preliminary card at UFC 142.Since losing to S…
UFC veteran and former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga (12-6) returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing to Brendan Schaub to take on newcomer Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1) on the preliminary card at UFC 142.
Since losing to Schaub, Gonzaga has contemplated retiring from the sport. After earning a submission win over Parker Porter in October, Gonzaga was called to replace Rob Broughton to face Oliveira, who trains with Junior dos Santos.
Gonzaga’s future in the UFC relies on him winning this fight and doing so in impressive fashion. That could be a tough task for the 32-year-old, as his opponent is focused, undefeated and motivated to win. He may even be more motivated than Gonzaga, as he hasn’t been on the losing end of any fights so far in his career and trains with the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.
If Gonzaga is to win this bout, it will most likely come from him using his big size advantage to take down his opponent and work from on top. Oliveira is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black-belt and may be able to avoid the submission attempts of his opponent, but he has considered dropping to light-heavyweight and may be at a big strength disadvantage as well. If Gonzaga locks something up, don’t expect Oliveira to get out of it too easily.
Oliveira should have an advantage standing, and Gonzaga has shown in past performances to be hesitant until unleashing powerful blows that have put out opponents like Mirko Cro Cop and Josh Hendricks.
Not hesitating to strike or submit is the key to success for Gonzaga, and doing so will have him on the losing end of tonight’s bout.
The UFC 142 pay-per-view kicks off at 10 p.m. ET and will feature a main event between UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and No. 1 contender Chad Mendes.
In the co-main event, Anthony Johnson will fight Vitor Belfort in a catchweight bout.
Other main card fights include Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim, Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio and Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater.
If I could look into my crystal ball into the future of one rising star on the 
UFC veteran and former heavyweight title challenger 
