Knockout of the Day: In Mother Russia, Head Kicks You!

(Props to MiddleEasy for the find.) 

Question: What’s more embarrassing than being knocked out cold in vicious fashion in front of hundreds of thousands of dozens of people? Answer: Getting dropped before the Europop anthem in the background can even drop the beat. Coming to us courtesy of the Russian Muay Thai championships, which went down on June 26th, this beauty of a knockout takes just six seconds to come to fruition in the form of a head kick. Sure, it’s not an Edson Barboza-esque spinning wheel kick, but throwing a well-timed head kick like that isn’t simple. Just ask this fellow Russian:

J. Jones


(Props to MiddleEasy for the find.) 

Question: What’s more embarrassing than being knocked out cold in vicious fashion in front of hundreds of thousands of dozens of people? Answer: Getting dropped before the Europop anthem in the background can even drop the beat. Coming to us courtesy of the Russian Muay Thai championships, which went down on June 26th, this beauty of a knockout takes just six seconds to come to fruition in the form of a head kick. Sure, it’s not an Edson Barboza-esque spinning wheel kick, but throwing a well-timed head kick like that isn’t simple. Just ask this fellow Russian:

J. Jones

Throwback Knockout of the Day: Casey Oxendine (a.k.a. Goatee McBeardsly) KO’s Cornerman While Reffing an Amateur Fight

All praises be to the UG and Fightlinker for unearthing this bit of classic footage, which features none other than co-host of MMA Inside the CageCasey Oxendine (a.k.a. Tiki Ghosn’s evil twin brother a.k.a. the most despised man of the CP comments section) one-punch KO’ing a cornerman named Korey Hayes (a.k.a the coach of the Knoxville-based MMA team Cage Killers). The twist here is that Oxendine was not one of the men participating in the fight, but rather the man that was supposed to be keeping order. Given his popularity amongst you Taters, we figured we had to show you this on the off chance that you had yet to see it.

Though neither man has ever truly come forward with what exactly caused the confrontation in the first place, here’s a snippet of what Oxendine posted on the UG back when the incident occurred, detailing the consequences of his actions:

As the referee in this bout, there was alot of controversy as to whether I was justified in striking Mr Hayes during this incident. I wrote an extensive paragraph, stating that it was unlike me to strike another person outside of a combat sports setting. However, I felt as though I was in a dangerous situation and that he would have struck me if I hadn’t acted.

The event would evolve into the centerpiece of the issues concerning the legalization of the sport in [Tennessee]. When I attended the meeting that saw the state athletic commission finally pass sanctioning of amateur MMA, the incident was brought up. They wanted to make sure that if sanctioning were put in place, this sort of thing would not happend again. Everyone involved expressed openly that the incident cast a dark shadow on the sport, and felt we should move forward for the benefit of the sport.

Last night I attended an event at the National Guard Armory of New Tazwell, promoted Warrior Fighting Challenge. Only moments before my arrival, I was informed that ISKA had pulled their sanctioning, due to lack of insurance and security. The promoter insured me that the event would be run by “Sport Jiu-Jitsu” rules. Having attended the meetings of the State Athletic Commission, I was fully aware that all MMA event HAD TO BE SANCTIONED by one of three sanctioning bodies (ISKA, ISCF, and WKA). Realizing my fighters and cornermen could face later repercussions, I pulled them from the event. I arrived at the venue a few minutes later to collect my fighters. I passed the ticket counter and turned to walk down the hallway with Teammate Erick Jordan and my girlfrend. At this point, I noticed Korey Hayes out of the corner of my eye. Considering the nature of our last meeting and in the best interest of the event, I made it a point to avoid all contact. I did not make eye contact and I did not make any move toward Mr. Hayes whatsoever. However, as I turned my back and made my way toward the lockerooms, Mr Hayes struck me with a looping right punch from behind that shoved me into my girlfriend.

More from this story, including an alternate angle of the knockout, await you after the jump.

All praises be to the UG and Fightlinker for unearthing this bit of classic footage, which features none other than co-host of MMA Inside the CageCasey Oxendine (a.k.a. Tiki Ghosn’s evil twin brother a.k.a. the most despised man of the CP comments section) one-punch KO’ing a cornerman named Korey Hayes (a.k.a the coach of the Knoxville-based MMA team Cage Killers). The twist here is that Oxendine was not one of the men participating in the fight, but rather the man that was supposed to be keeping order. Given his popularity amongst you Taters, we figured we had to show you this on the off chance that you had yet to see it.

Though neither man has ever truly come forward with what exactly caused the confrontation in the first place, here’s a snippet of what Oxendine posted on the UG back when the incident occurred, detailing the consequences of his actions:

As the referee in this bout, there was alot of controversy as to whether I was justified in striking Mr Hayes during this incident. I wrote an extensive paragraph, stating that it was unlike me to strike another person outside of a combat sports setting. However, I felt as though I was in a dangerous situation and that he would have struck me if I hadn’t acted.

The event would evolve into the centerpiece of the issues concerning the legalization of the sport in [Tennessee]. When I attended the meeting that saw the state athletic commission finally pass sanctioning of amateur MMA, the incident was brought up. They wanted to make sure that if sanctioning were put in place, this sort of thing would not happend again. Everyone involved expressed openly that the incident cast a dark shadow on the sport, and felt we should move forward for the benefit of the sport.

Last night I attended an event at the National Guard Armory of New Tazwell, promoted Warrior Fighting Challenge. Only moments before my arrival, I was informed that ISKA had pulled their sanctioning, due to lack of insurance and security. The promoter insured me that the event would be run by “Sport Jiu-Jitsu” rules. Having attended the meetings of the State Athletic Commission, I was fully aware that all MMA event HAD TO BE SANCTIONED by one of three sanctioning bodies (ISKA, ISCF, and WKA). Realizing my fighters and cornermen could face later repercussions, I pulled them from the event. I arrived at the venue a few minutes later to collect my fighters. I passed the ticket counter and turned to walk down the hallway with Teammate Erick Jordan and my girlfrend. At this point, I noticed Korey Hayes out of the corner of my eye. Considering the nature of our last meeting and in the best interest of the event, I made it a point to avoid all contact. I did not make eye contact and I did not make any move toward Mr. Hayes whatsoever. However, as I turned my back and made my way toward the lockerooms, Mr Hayes struck me with a looping right punch from behind that shoved me into my girlfriend.

We bet you think Oxendine just laid down and let this chump kick his ass in front of his girlfriend, right? Think again, Potato Nation:

He continued forward in an attempt to tackle me to the ground screaming something in the nature of, “you will never hit me again”. I grabbed a single leg and drove myself forward until the onlookers separated us. Mr Hayes then exited the bulding in haste.

When the police arrived a few minutes later, I filed a report. While his best haymaker punch from behind was unable to knock me unconcious, I was left with severe lacerations to my lips that required stitches to close up.

While I am irate at the situation, it is primarily due to the involvent of my girlfriend. I have trained with some of hardest hitters in the sport and getting punched is something I can readily deal with. And although I don’t relish having my mouth split open, I will heal as I always have. When our altercation unfolded in Knoxville 2 months ago, it was handled face to face and without the involvement of any innocent persons. My girlfriend is not a fighter and had no place in that disagreement. I would have never placed his wife, girlfriend, or children in harms way over a personal issue between us. This is truly disgracefull behavior, and was intended to gain revenge for the initial event that was unfortunate and I feel that I had little control over to begin with. While I realize that I made a mistake in turning my back to someone that may have harbored resentment toward me, I truthfully felt that his words as a professional superceded his own egotistical agendas.

Korey Hayes demontrated a vengefull nature that showed in both the meltdowns that followed his fighter’s loss in Knoxville and his unprovoked attack last night. After he had left, I was told by one of his loyal students, that it was “even now, because you hit korey and now he hit you back”. It is disappointing to hear that this instructor’s teachings of ethics consist of, “an eye for an eye”, “set him up to take your best shot when he turns his back”, and “do whatever it takes to get revenge no matter how many innocent people it involves and even if it defaces the integrity of the sport”, display his respect for MMA. I assume he was humiliated by the Youtube fiasco and felt he could even the score by attempting to knock me out and embarass me in return. He was unable to do either. I stand rock steady and continue to move myself, my team, and Tennessee MMA forward.

So to sum things up: say what you want about Mr. Oxendine’s choice of facial hair, but there’s no denying his ability to throw and/or punch. On the other hand, perhaps if he chose a style of facial hair that didn’t make him look like the bad guy from a 1980′s motocross film, he would find himself in far fewer of these situations. On that note, we’d like to congratulate Casey for his induction into the CagePotato First-Punch KO Hall of Fame. Surely this bit of redemption will be all he truly needs to squash this beef.

J. Jones

Knockout(s) of the Day: Paul Calland’s Spinning Backfist Destruction of Lewis Bailey, Johnson/Beltran & Barry/Morecraft Fights Released Online

(Props to IronForgesIron for the vid.) 

Yesterday, UK based promotion X-treme Combat held its sixth mixed combat event in Cumbria, North West England. Featuring amateur boxing, semi-pro boxing, and kickboxing matches, the evening was highlighted by a K1-style rules bout between FlexMMA product Lewis Bailey and Salfrod MMA’s Paul Calland. Held in an octagon that can only be described as “replica size” with two of the most eager ringside announcers in recent memory calling the action, the scrap featured several back and forth exchanges in its brief duration.

After whiffing a head kick around the 2:40 mark, Calland decides to turn a turd into gold by unleashing a wild spinning backfist as a follow up. A backfist so wild, in fact, that it wasn’t really a spinning backfist at all, but more of a sloppy, unintentional spinning elbow ala Jon Jones. In either case, it catches Bailey completely off guard, rendering him unconscious before he can even fall to the canvas like a rapidly deflating balloon. Now, our Pikey may be a little rusty, but we believe one of the announcers referred to the shot as “a poop,” which references the fact that Bailey likely shit himself after being hit with such a powerful blow.

And while we’re discussing all things KO-related, we’ve got to give some props to FUEL TV, who recently released full, crystal clear videos of the Lavar Johnson/Joey Beltran and Pat Barry/Christian Morecraft scraps from January’s UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller card to hype up Barry and Johnson’s upcoming clash at UFC on FOX 3. Both were exciting brawls to say the least, and both ended by way of violent KO, so check them out after the jump.


(Props to IronForgesIron for the vid.) 

Yesterday, UK based promotion X-treme Combat held its sixth mixed combat event in Cumbria, North West England. Featuring amateur boxing, semi-pro boxing, and kickboxing matches, the evening was highlighted by a K1-style rules bout between FlexMMA product Lewis Bailey and Salfrod MMA’s Paul Calland. Held in an octagon that can only be described as “replica size” with two of the most eager ringside announcers in recent memory calling the action, the scrap featured several back and forth exchanges in its brief duration.

After whiffing a head kick around the 2:40 mark, Calland decides to turn a turd into gold by unleashing a wild spinning backfist as a follow up. A backfist so wild, in fact, that it wasn’t really a spinning backfist at all, but more of a sloppy, unintentional spinning elbow ala Jon Jones. In either case, it catches Bailey completely off guard, rendering him unconscious before he can even fall to the canvas like a rapidly deflating balloon. Now, our Pikey may be a little rusty, but we believe one of the announcers referred to the shot as “a poop,” which references the fact that Bailey likely shit himself after being hit with such a powerful blow.

And while we’re discussing all things KO-related, we’ve got to give some props to FUEL TV, who recently released full, crystal clear videos of the Lavar Johnson/Joey Beltran and Pat Barry/Christian Morecraft scraps from January’s UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller card to hype up Barry and Johnson’s upcoming clash at UFC on FOX 3. Both were exciting brawls to say the least, and both ended by way of violent KO, so check them out below.

Barry vs. Morecraft

You gotta feel for Christian Morecraft. The poor bastard has easily lost five years off his life thanks to the combined powers of Barry, Matt Mitrione, and Stefan Struve, and we can’t even remember who his lone UFC victory came against. Or perhaps we just don’t want to. Let’s hope Morecraft can bounce back in his next octagon appearance, because to our knowledge, he is still employed by Zuffa, right?

Johnson vs. Beltran

After Joey Beltran’s three round war with Barry at UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 in January of 2011, we thought it would be damn near impossible to “The Mexicutioner,” but leave it to a man who calls himself “Big Johnson” to prove us wrong. Turns out, Johnson must have unlodged about 20 pounds of undigested read meat from Beltran’s colon with that series of uppercuts, because Beltran looks like a completely different person nowadays, and has already picked up a UD win over Anton Talamante last weekend in his light-heavyweight debut.

-J. Jones

Knockout of the Day: “Big Nasty” Kyle Cremeans Levels Jonathan Bunce in Five Seconds


(Taking a page out of Aleksander Emelianenko’s book, Cremeans opted for the pre-fight nose pick to ensure a quick and brutal finish.) 

Meet Kyle “Big Nasty” Cremeans, a 2-1 heavyweight out of Ohio who looks about as intimidating as your average sack of laundry, with a physique that is equally as impressive. He fights out of “Team Destruction,” which should tell you right away that he is not to be taken lightly (as if it were even possible, amirite?!). At first glance, you would expect Cremeans to be the kind of fighter that employs a Greg Stott, R.I.P style of fighting, or maybe the Larry Watts “just throw heat until I am completely unconscious” stratagem. Surely this fat sack of lard would not be able to lift his hands above his waist, let alone deliver a devastating, first punch, walk-off knockout over his slightly less obese opponent, right?

Mike Russow laughs at your ignorant assumptions.

Check out the brilliant one-punch KO, courtesy of IronForgesIron, after the jump.


(Taking a page out of Aleksander Emelianenko’s book, Cremeans opted for the pre-fight nose pick to ensure a quick and brutal finish.) 

Meet Kyle “Big Nasty” Cremeans, a 2-1 heavyweight out of Ohio who looks about as intimidating as your average sack of laundry, with a physique that is equally as impressive. He fights out of “Team Destruction,” which should tell you right away that he is not to be taken lightly (as if it were even possible, amirite?!). At first glance, you would expect Cremeans to be the kind of fighter that employs a Greg Stott, R.I.P style of fighting, or maybe the Larry Watts “just throw heat until I am completely unconscious” stratagem. Surely this fat sack of lard would not be able to lift his hands above his waist, let alone deliver a devastating, first punch, walk-off knockout over his slightly less obese opponent, right?

Mike Russow laughs at your ignorant assumptions.

Skip to the one minute mark for the beginning/end of this one, which went down on the undercard of Ohio based promotion Revelation Fight Organization at their tenth Big Guns event last weekend. Cremeans’ opponent, Jonathan Bunce, was making his professional debut, and it turns out that the touch of gloves would be the closest he would ever get to putting them hands on Cremeans.

Shortly after said glove touch, Bunce tries to close the distance in the quickest possible manner and is promptly sent into a Marquardt/Maia-esque tailspin compliments of a big, nasty left hook. This is an unfortunate side effect of charging in with your hands down that James Thompson has yet to learn in nearly 40 fights. The ref quickly steps in and saves Bunce, who is too busy reaching for the fleeting remnants of his UFC hopes and dreams to realize that the fight was even over. Sad.

Clearly Cremeans draws a lot of power from the American flag shorts he purchased in approximately 1987, because that punch was a thing of beauty, and now stands as the fastest knockout in RFO history. A congratulations is in order for Kyle, who proved once and for all that appearances mean nothing in MMA. Also, never doubt a man with a nickname derived from a McDonald’s hamburger. A fantastic McDonald’s hamburger.

-J. Jones

Ridiculous Knockout of the Day: Referee Waves Off Fight, Then Allows it to Continue


(True to his nickname, Mark “The Great White Shark” Potter prefers his opponents to be grossly overweight and easily capable of being put down. Photo courtesy of David Lethaby.) 

You guys remember that insane Pancrase fighter who couldn’t stop beating the shit out of his opponent despite the ref’s intervention? Meet the complete opposite of that.

Yes, last Saturday’s CFC 12 heavyweight clash between Mark Potter and Larry Watts may have featured the most indecisive moment in refereeing since Matt Brown vs. Pete Sell. After sending Watts tumbling to the mat with his first punch, Potter, who looks like a smaller, fitter version of Sean McCorkle, decides not to continue punishing his clearly rocked opponent. The ref begins to wave off the bout, but decides not to actually step between the fighters while doing so. Unaware of this, Potter only sees that Watts is still conscious and continues his onslaught. And the ref does nothing to stop this. 

Join us after the jump for the madness. 


(True to his nickname, Mark “The Great White Shark” Potter prefers his opponents to be grossly overweight and easily capable of being put down. Photo courtesy of David Lethaby.) 

You guys remember that insane Pancrase fighter who couldn’t stop beating the shit out of his opponent despite the ref’s intervention? Meet the complete opposite of that.

Yes, last Saturday’s CFC 12 heavyweight clash between Mark Potter and Larry Watts may have featured the most indecisive moment in refereeing since Matt Brown vs. Pete Sell. After sending Watts tumbling to the mat with his first punch, Potter, who looks like a smaller, fitter version of Sean McCorkle, decides not to continue punishing his clearly rocked opponent. The ref begins to wave off the bout, but decides not to actually step between the fighters while doing so. Unaware of this, Potter only sees that Watts is still conscious and continues his onslaught. And the ref does nothing to stop this. 

Skip to the 1:50 mark for the beginning of this mess. The first, and what should have been last, punch of the fight lands shortly thereafter. When Potter piles on the punishment, the ref decides that it would be best to just let these two continue on their own terms. Judging by both Watts’ physique and striking “technique,” he must have stumbled into the ring thinking it was the stage for a hot dog eating competition. And let’s not even get into his striking defense, which would make Koji Oishi hang his head in disgust.

We’ll give Watts this, the man does not give up until he is out cold. Unfortunately for him, that moment comes less than ten seconds later, when the brute force of another Potter straight right Potter literally makes Watts’ spine *shiver* and plants the poor son of a bitch face down on the canvas. At this point, the referee looks to Potter, asks him if he is finished, and steps in to officially wave off the fight. Good job, bro.

Don’t ask us how someone with the skill set of Watts managed to fight for a title of any kind, because we simply could not tell you. He must have sick ground game.

-J. Jones

Knockout of the Day: The Falling Tree/Matrix Hybrid of Doom


(Anyone got some chalk?) 

We’ve been watching people get knocked out for a long time, Potato Nation. So long, in fact, that it’s gotten to the point where we’ve begun to categorize these knockouts according to the manner in which a fighter’s lifeless body crumbles to the canvas. Is it insensitive, wrong, and perhaps a little too dark? Sure, but if you were worried about sensitivity and other womanly issues, you probably wouldn’t be here. And that’s why we love you as much as two heterosexual sadists can possibly love one another.

But be warned, the knockout that occurred last weekend at Stichting MMA Nederland, in a fight between Wiebe Brouwer and Nick Gorissen, is perhaps the oddest physical reaction to a knockout that we have ever seen, combining the falling tree knockout with Stefan Struve’s Matrix-esque routine against Travis Browne at UFC 130. It will forever change your outlook on the game (?) of limbo, and may cause simultaneous bouts of hysterical laughter and horrified nausea. It did for the CP interns we forced to watch it on a 24 hour loop, anyway.

Join us after the jump if you dare.


(Anyone got some chalk?) 

We’ve been watching people get knocked out for a long time, Potato Nation. So long, in fact, that it’s gotten to the point where we’ve begun to categorize these knockouts according to the manner in which a fighter’s lifeless body crumbles to the canvas. Is it insensitive, wrong, and perhaps a little too dark? Sure, but if you were worried about sensitivity and other womanly issues, you probably wouldn’t be here. And that’s why we love you as much as two heterosexual sadists can possibly love one another.

But be warned, the knockout that occurred last weekend at Stichting MMA Nederland, in a fight between Wiebe Brouwer and Nick Gorissen, is perhaps the oddest physical reaction to a knockout that we have ever seen, combining the falling tree knockout with Stefan Struve’s Matrix-esque routine against Travis Browne at UFC 130. It will forever change your outlook on the game (?) of limbo, and may cause simultaneous bouts of hysterical laughter and horrified nausea. It did for the CP interns we forced to watch it on a 24 hour loop, anyway.

The beginning of the end comes around the 3:05 mark, when, after escaping an armbar that would have given Ronda Rousey a chick boner, Gorissen gets caught with a looping right hand that appears to liquefy his spine. He crashes to the mat, reminiscent of Zoila Gurgel vs. Rosi Sexton, and is luckily spared of any further punishment. Thank science Cecil Peoples wasn’t refereeing, or this video would have surely become Exhibit A in a future murder trial.

Absolutely brutal, ladies and gentlemen. It takes a few minutes before Gorissen is able to stand up, and a lot more before he is able walk away on his own power, but after that KO, we’re just happy that he could walk at all.

-J. Jones