Everyone struggles, everyone falls. It’s through those same trials and tribulations that true character is determined. That’s where UFC lightweight Sam Stout finds himself now. Recently, the heavy-hitting Canadian returned to action on Janu…
Everyone struggles, everyone falls. It’s through those same trials and tribulations that true character is determined. That’s where UFC lightweight Sam Stout finds himself now.
Recently, the heavy-hitting Canadian returned to action on January 14, when he took on Thiago Tavares in his native Brazil, as the UFC returned to Rio de Janeiro.
After three rounds of action, Tavares was declared the winner by decision. Though a fight without victory is grueling enough for any fighter, Stout has been suffering much more than just any loss. Truth be told, the Ontario native is glad that’s it’s only an “L” that he had to endure in Rio.
“I got off to a slow start, but I started to find my groove as the fight went on and I’ll be ready for the next one,” said Stout while speaking with Bleacher Report about his recent bout with Tavares.
The bout proved especially detrimental for Stout, as it marked his initial return after suffering the loss of his long-time trainer and brother-in-law Shawn Tompkins—a revered figure in the sport of mixed martial arts, who passed away last August due to a heart attack in his sleep.
“It was my first fight without Shawn,” recalled Stout.
“I’m happy to get that one behind me, to be honest with you. I’m happy to get in there and get through that first fight, because it was something that I was a little bit worried about. I survived it.”
Prior to his battle in Brazil, Stout was originally scheduled to face Dennis Siver last October. Stout opted to pull out of the bout in order to mourn the loss of his friend and coach.
Despite having an allotted amount of time to grieve, Stout admits that Shawn’s death still weighed heavily on his mind in the days leading up to his recent outing in Rio.
“I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t going to let it, but really, there’s no question that it was in my head,” began the 27-year-old.
“It was the first fight in my entire career—from my first kickboxing fight—it was the first fight without having Shawn, not only in my corner, but training me for the whole camp.
“It was a big adjustment for me and I’m not going to say that’s why I lost, but I don’t think it was my best performance and I think that was a big reason as to why.”
Familiar faces, such as former title challenger Mark Hominick, were in Stout’s corner at UFC 134, but even “The Machine”—another longtime friend and training partner—couldn’t fill the vacancy left by Tompkins.
“It was weird hearing a different voice calling out combinations and telling me what to do, but Mark (Hominick) did a great job and I think I blame myself more than anything,” said the fighter nicknamed “Hands of Stone.”
“There was definitely a point when I’m hearing Mark’s voice and I just felt like I couldn’t pull the trigger, whereas with Shawn I kind of was just so used to hearing his voice that it was just like second nature to me.”
After taking in the sites in Brazil, Stout returned home a few days later and has already started his regular regimen at the Adrenaline Training Center. He is already looking forward to a summer Octagon return.
It’s a difficult period even still, but with the help of his fellow brethren—like Chris Horodecki and Hominick, among others—Stout continues to help fill the void that Shawn has left behind. Gone but not forgotten, it’s time for the former lightweight contender to move forward with his career, with Shawn in mind but not in sight.
“I feel like I’m getting everything I need, it’s just been an adjustment period right now,” said Sam.
“It’s really not that much different, because all the guys that I’m training with are guys that I’ve been with for years.
“We’re all trying to do it collectively. No one of us can do what Shawn did, but we figure that the best way to try and do it is for all of us to do it collectively.”
Everyone struggles, everyone falls. It’s through those same trials and tribulations that true character is determined. That’s where UFC lightweight Sam Stout finds himself now. Recently, the heavy-hitting Canadian returned to action on Janu…
Everyone struggles, everyone falls. It’s through those same trials and tribulations that true character is determined. That’s where UFC lightweight Sam Stout finds himself now.
Recently, the heavy-hitting Canadian returned to action on January 14, when he took on Thiago Tavares in his native Brazil, as the UFC returned to Rio de Janeiro.
After three rounds of action, Tavares was declared the winner by decision. Though a fight without victory is grueling enough for any fighter, Stout has been suffering much more than just any loss. Truth be told, the Ontario native is glad that’s it’s only an “L” that he had to endure in Rio.
“I got off to a slow start, but I started to find my groove as the fight went on and I’ll be ready for the next one,” said Stout while speaking with Bleacher Report about his recent bout with Tavares.
The bout proved especially detrimental for Stout, as it marked his initial return after suffering the loss of his long-time trainer and brother-in-law Shawn Tompkins—a revered figure in the sport of mixed martial arts, who passed away last August due to a heart attack in his sleep.
“It was my first fight without Shawn,” recalled Stout.
“I’m happy to get that one behind me, to be honest with you. I’m happy to get in there and get through that first fight, because it was something that I was a little bit worried about. I survived it.”
Prior to his battle in Brazil, Stout was originally scheduled to face Dennis Siver last October. Stout opted to pull out of the bout in order to mourn the loss of his friend and coach.
Despite having an allotted amount of time to grieve, Stout admits that Shawn’s death still weighed heavily on his mind in the days leading up to his recent outing in Rio.
“I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t going to let it, but really, there’s no question that it was in my head,” began the 27-year-old.
“It was the first fight in my entire career—from my first kickboxing fight—it was the first fight without having Shawn, not only in my corner, but training me for the whole camp.
“It was a big adjustment for me and I’m not going to say that’s why I lost, but I don’t think it was my best performance and I think that was a big reason as to why.”
Familiar faces, such as former title challenger Mark Hominick, were in Stout’s corner at UFC 134, but even “The Machine”—another longtime friend and training partner—couldn’t fill the vacancy left by Tompkins.
“It was weird hearing a different voice calling out combinations and telling me what to do, but Mark (Hominick) did a great job and I think I blame myself more than anything,” said the fighter nicknamed “Hands of Stone.”
“There was definitely a point when I’m hearing Mark’s voice and I just felt like I couldn’t pull the trigger, whereas with Shawn I kind of was just so used to hearing his voice that it was just like second nature to me.”
After taking in the sites in Brazil, Stout returned home a few days later and has already started his regular regimen at the Adrenaline Training Center. He is already looking forward to a summer Octagon return.
It’s a difficult period even still, but with the help of his fellow brethren—like Chris Horodecki and Hominick, among others—Stout continues to help fill the void that Shawn has left behind. Gone but not forgotten, it’s time for the former lightweight contender to move forward with his career, with Shawn in mind but not in sight.
“I feel like I’m getting everything I need, it’s just been an adjustment period right now,” said Sam.
“It’s really not that much different, because all the guys that I’m training with are guys that I’ve been with for years.
“We’re all trying to do it collectively. No one of us can do what Shawn did, but we figure that the best way to try and do it is for all of us to do it collectively.”
Before the UFC 142 pay-per-view card kicks off from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, FX will be airing four fights from the preliminary card, featuring the return of veteran lightweight striker Sam Stout as well as formerly-retired heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga. Follow us after the jump for round-by-round results from the live prelims broadcast starting at 8 p.m., courtesy of rookie CagePotato liveblogger Anthony Gannon. Porra, you guys!
Before the UFC 142 pay-per-view card kicks off from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, FX will be airing four fights from the preliminary card, featuring the return of veteran lightweight striker Sam Stout as well as formerly-retired heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga. Follow us after the jump for round-by-round results from the live prelims broadcast starting at 8 p.m., courtesy of rookie CagePotato liveblogger Anthony Gannon. Porra, you guys!
Sup, Potatoheads. I’m known around these parts as Gan. I look sort of like a mini Butterbean, just without the shorts pulled up to my jugs and the toughness. I enjoy sophomoric humor, ridiculously large burritos, and Friday night bubble baths with a nice Chardonnay, except if it’s a 2004 of course, which everyone knows was simply an appalling year for subtle, buttery whites. That aside, I’m here for you tonight. So let’s do this.
This one is basically Brazil vs. The World, and if it’s anything like the last Brazil card, then the home field advantage will be immense. At UFC 134, with the exception of Luis Cane – who lost by blitzkrieg to Stanislav Nedkov – all of the other seven Brazilians who faced foreigners won their fights. Luis brought shame onto his country and has subsequently been exiled to Nepal. They play for keeps in Brazil. Somewhere out there at this very moment, the Nog Brothers, Anderson Silva, and Steven Seagal are sitting around a fire pit making final preparations for world subjugation by forcing us to change the way we pronounce our R’s.
First up is Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle. Pyle is reppin’ the USA as the lone American on the undercard.
Round 1: They touch gloves and it’s on. Pyle throws knuckles, Funch blocks. Funch with a nice leg kick. They clinch and trade knees. Pyle is winging hooks, but it’s a straight right that finds its way in. Oof, a beautiful knee to the beard drops Funch and Pyle swarms in with punches. Mario Yamasaki steps in and saves Funch from further damage.
Mike Pyle wins by TKO at 1:22 of Round 1. The crowd is not pleased.
Next up is Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa. And luckily we are treated to more commercials. Hot Hooter’s girls are advising us to beware of bad wings. Pretty ironic.
Round 1: Leon Roberts is our ref, and here we go. They come out hard, Omigawa walks into a heavy knee. Yuri lands another nasty knee to the midsection. Omigawa looks miserable already. Yuri lands a big left. Omigawa is getting his freak on in there, and he lands a left. Spinning back fist misses. “A” for effort. Yuri lands a nice combo. Head kick by Yuri misses. Yuri lands another big left. Huge knee to the body by Yuri, then a huge left has Omigawa rocked. Yuri takes his back and is dropping bombs. But Omigawa reverses ends up on top in Yuri’s guard. Omigawa moves to half guard and is landing a few pitter-patter shots. Yuri with a quick armbar, but Omigawa is saved by the bell.
Round 2: Yuri with a head kick, blocked by Omigawa. Omigawa lands a left. Uppercut whiffed by Yuri. Big left drops Omigawa, and Yuri is in butterfly guard. He moves to half guard, but Omigawa is looking for a leg. Yuri is having none of it. He takes Omigawa’s back, one hook in, and is punching him in the side of the head. Yuri going for a choke, looks good,but Omigawa escapes. Omigawa gets back to guard. Yuri lands a couple of shots, but this is a positional battle right now. Yuri escapes guard, is in half guard, but Omigawa is slippery. Yuri lands a couple shots, Omigawa is bleeding from the ear. Good round for Yuri.
Round 3: Yuri misses a knee while Omigawa lands a short left. Omigawa is still getting his freak on, Yuri looks a little fatigued. Omigawa lands, Yuri whiffs a big hook. Omigawa tries another spinning backfist, it grazes Yuri. Yuri lands a couple big lefts. Yuri punches Omigawa right in his bloody ear. Yuck. Yuri throws a head kick, Omigawa blocks. Both guys are winging punches. Omigawa lands an elbow to the temple, then takes Yuri down. He’s stuck in guard. Omigawa with some ground and pound, but he’s got to know he’s down 2 rounds to 1. He needs to do something dramatic. The ref stand sthem up with 15 seconds to go. Yuri with a throw, lands in full mount, and the bell sounds.
Charles Barkley pimps Weight Watchers. WTF?
Yuri Alcantara scores a unanimous decision victory. He also has one of the nastiest cauliflower ears I’ve ever seen. Even still, he has the gratitude to thank the Almighty.
Rogan and Goldy are selling the main event. Hopefully now that we’re on FX we won’t have to watch Rogan and Dana White close out the broadcast by screaming at the top of their lungs over “Teenage Wasteland” while Rogan’s neck veins explode.
Next we have Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira. Gonzaga, best known for knocking out Crop Cop with one of the greatest head kicks ever, and for grossly spitting a bloody loogey onto Randy Couture’s back, was retired, but came back to fight Parker Porter a couple of months ago. Now he makes his Octagon return. And thankfully, it appears that finally he has someone in his camp who realizes the importance of Nairing the shoulders.
Round 1: They touch, and it’s a go. They’re feeling each other out. Ednaldo is utilizing the jab, trying to gauge the distance. Gabe misses with a right, but lands a body punch. Ednaldo lands to the head. Gabe with a big takedown. Ednaldo gets to his feet, and Gabe plants him again. He’s in half guard, and looking to land. Gabe takes the back and secures a rear naked choke.
Gabriel Gonzaga wins by rear naked choke at 3:22 of Round 1. Gabe acts as his own interpreter, much respect for that.
Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho
Round 1: Antonio with a takedown. In half guard. He’s dropping hammerfists to the body. Moves to side control. They roll and Antonio ends up on top. Now they’re up. Antonio has a headlock on and is throwing knees. Antonio moves to full mount. He’s winging shots, but Felipe escapes and lands a knee. Felipe sticks a nice jab. And another. Spinning back kick missed by Felipe. Antonio tosses a high kick and it’s blocked. And again, but it completely misses. Felipe with a high kick of his won, blocked. They’re trading bones, and Felipe looks to be the more fluid striker. Jumping knee by Felipe, but Antonio absorbs it and grabs a leg, cannot get the takedown. Close round.
Round 2: Felipe misses a kick. Then lands one to the ribs. Oh he’s chucking now. Antonio doing a good job of covering up though, he avoids most of the onslaught. Head kick by Antonio blocked. Nice leg kick by Antonio. High kick returned by Felipe, blocked. Felipe lands a body kick, and they clinch. Antonio has Felipe against the cage, trying for a takedown. Felipe defends well, and is free. Felipe lands a front kick. Takedown attempt by Antonio, defended. Felipe lands a nice straight right. Antonio misses on his combination. Felipe grabs a clinch, knee to the body. Nice leg kick by Felipe too. And another. The round ends with mutual shots.
Round 3: They touch to start the final frame. Antonio lands a leg kick after missing a hook. Felipe responds in kind. They trade leg kicks. Jumping knee by Felipe, grazes. Snapping high kick misses by Antonio. Antonio wanted this fight on the ground and pulled guard to get it there. He’s using the rubber guard, but lets it go. Felipe lands a couple of elbows, and Antonio is cut. Felipe landing some good shots on the ground, including another elbow right to the cut. Antonio working a high guard, but cannot keep it. Felipe goes body, head with punches. Antonio is up but eats a knee. He’s tossing hard, looking for some payback. Spinning kick misses, badly. Knee by Felipe. Felipe lands a huge right. Antonio charges forward but is missing everything he tosses. The clock sounds, and it looks like Felipe has this one locked down. We’ll see.
Felipe Arantes scores himself a unanimous decision victory.
Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares up next.
Round 1: Thiago charges forward, they clinch. He scores an easy takedown, not good for Stout. He’s gotten very good on the ground, but the key for him lies in takedown defense in this one. He’s posted, and looking to stand up. Thiago is working the back, but Stout gets free. Stout catches a kick, tosses Thiago off. Thiago clinches up and scores another takedown. Stout is trying to wall walk and eats one to the chops forit. Now he’s up, but Thiago scoops him up and slams him. Stout back against the cage, trying to get up. Thiago relentless with the takedown. Sam is up, but Thiago grabs his neck and pulls guard for a guillotine. Stout escapes and is up. They roll, and Thiago goes for a leg, nothing happening with that. Stout lands right hand. They both chuck, and miss. Thiago lands a hook to the head, and another. Good round for Thaigo.
Round 2: Stout changes, Thiago lands. Stout with a short right. Thiago with a jab. Stout misses an uppercut. Thiago closes the distance and wants a takedown, not happening. Thiago lands a nice right, then a body kick. He shoots but gets shrugged off. Thiago throws a bomb and misses badly. Nice combination by Thiago. And he’s going for a takedown, Stout defends. Stout plods forward but cannot seem to get anything going. Then he lands a body shot. Thaigo grazes a head kick. Stout to the body, and he’s bleeding from behind his ear. Thiago misses a kick, and Stout goes to the body. Stout lands a job while Thiago misses an overhand. Stout lands a nice body kick, then a body punch. Nice leg kick by Thiago, and that’s the round. Close round.
Round 3: Thiago wings one, misses. Then he lands a good one to the chops. Stout with a low kick. Whoops, there’s a boot to the pills. Thiago is down and in pain. He’s up, and trying to walk it off. He lays back down. Now he’s up, and looks ready to go. Stout apologizes,and we’re back on. Thiago throws two kicks, both blocked, misses another overhand. Thiago shoots, Stout defends. Thaigo then lands a hard leg kick. Stout pushing forward, Thiago goes for a takedown, Stout defends again. Stout lands. Another leg kick by Thiago, as Stout lands a hook. Thiago lands a jab. Stout lands two jabs in a row, pretty sweet. Thiago lands a big right. Body kick by Thiago, caught by Stout. Stout with an inside leg kick of his own. Stout with a jab. Leg kick by Stout. Stout drops thiago with a right, and again. And yet again. Stout finished strong, but it may too little too late.
Thiago Tavares wins the unanimous decision.
Well that’s it for me, people. Thanks for getting your live blog on with me. I’m outty. Enjoy the main card.
It was a fight that easily could have gone either way, and in fact all three rounds were close enough that they could have gone either way. The individual scores were not announced at the end of the fight, but Tavares won on all three judges’ cards.
The win improves Tavares’s MMA record to 17-4-1. Stout, who was fighting for the first time since the death of his coach, close friend and brother-in-law Shawn Tompkins, suffers a tough loss and falls to 17-7-1.
“Sam Stout was the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced and this is the biggest win of my career. I thought about this fight for a long time,” Tavares said afterward. “I have to be honest: of all the ways I saw this fight going, I never expected to beat him striking. I tried to take the fight to the ground, but he has great takedown defense. The fight stayed on the feet and I was able to win there. I want another big name next.”
Early in the first round Tavares made it obvious that his game plan was to get the fight to the ground, and he generally executed that game plan effectively, clinching with Stout, slamming him down and briefly attempting a guillotine choke. But Stout did a nice job of getting out of the choke and into a dominant position before getting back to his feet and landing some good punches late in a close and fairly even first round.
In the second round it became much more Stout’s kind of fight, as he kept it standing and began to land effectively, although Tavares also landed a kick that opened up a cut on the side of Stout’s head. Each of the first two rounds was close enough that it was conceivable for the judges to score it either way.
Tavares seemed to be comfortable and in control for most of the third round, and it appeared that the fight was going his way. At the end of the round, however, Stout began to unload, landing some hard shots in the final 20 seconds of the round. Tavares appeared to be hurt as the fight came to a close, but Stout hadn’t done quite enough, and Tavares escaped with a win.
“I thought I took rounds two and three, but I just struggled to find my rhythm,” Stout said. “My head wasn’t in it in the first round. I had a slow start and I have no one to blame but myself for that.”
UFC 142 goes down this Saturday from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and though it doesn’t feature quite as epic a lineup as the UFC’s return to Brazil at UFC 134, the fact that the card has still maintained its two marquee match-ups is something to brag about, if only due to how cursed a card this has been. So if you, like Siyar Bahadurzada, Paulo Thiago, Stanislav Nedkov, and Fabio Maldanado, find yourself watching the action from the sidelines on Saturday night and suddenly in need of some extra dough, then we are here to help. Check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for some sound betting advice.
Preliminary Card
Antonio Carvalho (-225) vs. Felipe Arantes (+175)
Mike Pyle (-460) vs. Ricardo Funch (+340)
Yuri Alcantara (-195) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+160) Sam Stout (EV) vs. Thiago Tavares (-140) Gabriel Gonzaga (-120) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (-110)
UFC 142 goes down this Saturday from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and though it doesn’t feature quite as epic a lineup as the UFC’s return to Brazil at UFC 134, the fact that the card has still maintained its two marquee match-ups is something to brag about, if only due to how cursed a card this has been. So if you, like Siyar Bahadurzada, Paulo Thiago, Stanislav Nedkov, and Fabio Maldanado, find yourself watching the action from the sidelines on Saturday night and suddenly in need of some extra dough, then we are here to help. Check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for some sound betting advice.
Preliminary Card
Antonio Carvalho (-225) vs. Felipe Arantes (+175)
Mike Pyle (-460) vs. Ricardo Funch (+340)
Yuri Alcantara (-195) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+160) Sam Stout (EV) vs. Thiago Tavares (-140) Gabriel Gonzaga (-120) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (-110)
The Main Event: While there is little denying Jose Aldo’s dominance up to this point, a glaring factor leading into his fight with Chad Mendes is that he has NEVER EVER faced a wrestler as strong as “Money.” And though he’s brought in Gray Maynard to help him prepare for the Team Alpha Male standout, you can only catch up so quickly to a PAC-10 wrestler of the year who has achieved the rank of All-American as well. If Mendes wants to win this, it’s obvious that he’s going to have to take it to the ground, which is easier said than done against a guy like Aldo. Kenny Florian tried it for the majority of five rounds to little avail, but Mendes might just have a speed advantage over the champ which could allow him to put “Scarface” on his back early and often.
And of course, there is always that cardio factor to contemplate. We’ve seen Aldo go five rounds on multiple occasions, but he has shown a tendency to coast, if you will, in the championship rounds. Mendes, on the other hand, has yet to go five rounds, but has never looked even remotely tired in any of the eight decision victories he has collected in eleven fights. But Aldo will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd, so you can damn well rest assured that he’ll be trying to end things early and get back to the sex filled game of beach volleyball that is Brazilian life.
The Good Dogs: At first glance, it seems a little odd that Sam Stout would be billed as a slight underdog against Thiago Tavares, who has never been a man of consistency in his octagon career. But perhaps the bookies are basing Stout’s mindset heading into this one on that of his teammate, Mark Hominick, who didn’t exactly look like himself in his seven second knockout loss at the hands of Chan Sung-Jung. Personally, we’re not buying that, and think Stout should easily hand Tavares an ass whooping, though it won’t really net you much if he does.
Michihiro Omigawa also looks pretty tempting at +160; he showed some crisp, varied striking attacks in his most recent win over Jason Young, and should really be on a two fight win streak considering the fact that everyone but the judges knew he beat Darren Elkins at UFC 131. You could place a bet on Terry Etim if you feel so inclined, but there was little to take away from his 17 second guillotine of Edward Faaloloto (which was Etims first fight in nearly two years, BTW). We recommend you take any leftover cash you might have and make a side bet with your friends as to which limb of Mike Massenzio’s Rousimar Palhares is going to tear off, or how long he will hold the submission after the ref intervenes, or how early he will begin to celebrate, or…
Stay the Hell Away From: The Johnson/Belfort match, for obvious reasons. This is Johnson’s first fight in a weight class remotely close to the one he should be fighting in, and if he feared Dan Hardy’s hands enough to warrant a three round grapple fest, God knows what he’s going to do against a guy like Belfort. Just sit back and enjoy this one, because it ain’t going the distance. We were going to add the recently un-retired Gabe Gonzaga to this list, but if the man is good at one thing, it’s crushing relative unknowns (and we’re secretly praying that Oliveira comes down with a case of the octagon jitters). Also, Rousimar Palhares. Just stay away from him in general.
Official CagePotato Parlay: This one is tough, because a lot of the favorites are listed miles ahead of their competitors, so we’re going to have to stretch out our parlay if we want some real return.
Aldo + Barboza + Pyle + Palhares+ Gonzaga
50 bucks gets you $207.91 back. Not bad for a parlay composed entirely of favorites.
(“Look kid, I’m gonna find the man who did this to you. And when I do, so help me God, I’m gonna dock him one point for shorts-grabbing.” / Photo of Stout vs. Edwards aftermath via ESPN)
With a little help from the Potato Nation, we spent the last couple days gathering videos of the nastiest, ugliest, most-painful looking knockouts and submissions from this year. Finding 25 of them was the easy part. (Damn, MMA fighters. You seemed especially angry this year. Problems at home?) Putting them in order was a little more challenging.
Obviously, Frank Mir snapping Nogueira’s arm at UFC 140 was the people’s choice for #1. But how do you rank a head-kick knockout against a spinning-backfist knockout, when they both leave their victims zombie’d on the mat with their eyes open and their arms in the air?
So here’s what we’ll do. Instead of arranging these brutal stoppages in some arbitrary order, we’ll arrange them in groups. Use the links below to navigate through the sections, and take a moment to appreciate the human devastation that our great sport has caused in the last 12 months. And all this without a single death! Enjoy…
(“Look kid, I’m gonna find the man who did this to you. And when I do, so help me God, I’m gonna dock him one point for shorts-grabbing.” / Photo of Stout vs. Edwards aftermath via ESPN)
With a little help from the Potato Nation, we spent the last couple days gathering videos of the nastiest, ugliest, most-painful looking knockouts and submissions from this year. Finding 25 of them was the easy part. (Damn, MMA fighters. You seemed especially angry this year. Problems at home?) Putting them in order was a little more challenging.
Obviously, Frank Mir snapping Nogueira’s arm at UFC 140 was the people’s choice for #1. But how do you rank a head-kick knockout against a spinning-backfist knockout, when they both leave their victims zombie’d on the mat with their eyes open and their arms in the air?
So here’s what we’ll do. Instead of arranging these brutal stoppages in some arbitrary order, we’ll arrange them in groups. Use the links below to navigate through the sections, and take a moment to appreciate the human devastation that our great sport has caused in the last 12 months. And all this without a single death! Enjoy…
Everyone struggles, everyone falls. It’s through those same trials and tribulations that true character is determined. That’s where UFC lightweight Sam Stout finds himself now.
In a hard-fought 15-minute battle at 
