Episode 5 of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America ended with one of the nastiest knockouts in TUF history, as Team Werdum bantamweight Marlon “Chito” Vera knocked Team Velasquez’s Enrique “Henry Bure” Briones clean out with an upkick from his guard. The timing of the shot was outstanding, as Briones was just getting to his feet; had the kick landed a quarter-second earlier, it would have been illegal. The victory was the first for the multi-national Team Werdum, who lost the season’s first four matches to Velasquez’s all-Mexican squad.
Episode 5 of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America ended with one of the nastiest knockouts in TUF history, as Team Werdum bantamweight Marlon “Chito” Vera knocked Team Velasquez’s Enrique “Henry Bure” Briones clean out with an upkick from his guard. The timing of the shot was outstanding, as Briones was just getting to his feet; had the kick landed a quarter-second earlier, it would have been illegal. The victory was the first for the multi-national Team Werdum, who lost the season’s first four matches to Velasquez’s all-Mexican squad.
Nelson has a famously durable chin and had only been KO’d once before — by Andrei Arlovski six years ago — which just proves how much deceptive power Hunt carries in those fists of his. Full UFC Fight Night 52 results are after the jump…
Nelson has a famously durable chin and had only been KO’d once before — by Andrei Arlovski six years ago — which just proves how much deceptive power Hunt carries in those fists of his. Full UFC Fight Night 52 results are after the jump…
Main Card
Mark Hunt* def. Roy Nelson via KO, 3:00 of round 2
Myles Jury def. Takanori Gomi via TKO, 1:32 of round 1
Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Amir Sadollah via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Miesha Tate def. Rin Nakai via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Richard Walsh via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Jon Delos Reyes via TKO, 3:48 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Masanori Kanehara def. Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Katsunori Kikuno def. Sam Sicilia via submission (rear naked choke), 1:38 of round 2
Hyun Gyu Lim def. Takenori Sato via TKO, 1:18 of round 1
Kyung Ho Kang def. Michinori Tanaka via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)**
Johnny Case* def. Kazuki Tokudome via submission (guillotine choke), 2:34 of round 2
Maximo Blanco def. Daniel Hooker via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
* Earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus
** Both fighters earned $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses
Here’s the absolutely savage finish of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 51 main event, in which Andrei Arlovski floored Antonio Silva with a right hand, dropped some of the nastiest hammerfists in MMA history on Bigfoot’s poor noggin, then did a little shimmy-shake to celebrate.
The performance was a hell of a step up from Arlovski’s snoozer against Brendan Schaub at UFC 174 in June. Do we need to start taking the Pitbull seriously as a UFC heavyweight contender again? And who would you like to see him fight next?
Here’s the absolutely savage finish of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 51 main event, in which Andrei Arlovski floored Antonio Silva with a right hand, dropped some of the nastiest hammerfists in MMA history on Bigfoot’s poor noggin, then did a little shimmy-shake to celebrate.
The performance was a hell of a step up from Arlovski’s snoozer against Brendan Schaub at UFC 174 in June. Do we need to start taking the Pitbull seriously as a UFC heavyweight contender again? And who would you like to see him fight next?
And so, Big Country snaps a two-fight losing streak, and claims his seventh knockout victory in the UFC. Meanwhile, Nogueira has lost four out of his last six fights, and public calls for his retirement will surely pop again. (We’d support that, by the way.)
Check out full results from UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi after the jump. If you watched the event on Fight Pass, please share your thoughts in the comments section.
And so, Big Country snaps a two-fight losing streak, and claims his seventh knockout victory in the UFC. Meanwhile, Nogueira has lost four out of his last six fights, and public calls for his retirement will surely pop again. (We’d support that, by the way.)
Check out full results from UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi after the jump. If you watched the event on Fight Pass, please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Main Card
Roy Nelson def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via KO, 3:37 of round 1
Clay Guida def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Ryan LaFlare def. John Howard via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Ramsey Nijem def. Beneil Dariush via TKO, 4:20 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Jared Rosholt def. Daniel Omielanczuk via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Thales Leites def. Trevor Smith via TKO, 0:45 of round 1
Jim Alers def. Alan Omer via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya ruled No Contest (Yahya was KO’d by accidental headbutt) at 0:39 of round 1
(Gerard Gordeau delivers the first head-kick TKO in UFC history against Teila Tuli back at UFC 1, which took place exactly 20 years today on November 12th, 1993.)
There are literally thousands of ways a mixed martial arts match can end, but one of the most thrilling methods is the head kick knockout.
Over the course of two decades of fights in the UFC Octagon, there have been a number of memorable knockout blows delivered via head kick, and in honor of the UFC’s 20th anniversary, I’ve put together a list of what I believe are the top 20 head kick knockouts in UFC history.
I wanted to keep the list strictly to knockouts that happened during live UFC events, but I’m going to bend the rules a bit and kick off the list with one that happened on TUF.
Of course I’m talking about Uriah Hall’s spinning hook kick KO of Adam Cella, which took place earlier this year during TUF 17. It was a devastating knockout that made UFC president Dana White’s hyperbole raise to a whole new level as he declared Hall the nastiest fighter to ever step into the TUF house (the same house that produced Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin – you know, former UFC champs), and thus the UFC embarked on a social media campaign to play the clip non-stop on every medium in existence.
It was a brutal knockout, and I literally felt sick watching it. Even though Hall never lived up to the massive expectations that were placed on him, his most well-known career highlight deserves a place at #20.
19. Pat Miletich vs. Shonie Carter, UFC 32 (6/29/01)
(Gerard Gordeau delivers the first head-kick TKO in UFC history against Teila Tuli back at UFC 1, which took place exactly 20 years today on November 12th, 1993.)
There are literally thousands of ways a mixed martial arts match can end, but one of the most thrilling methods is the head kick knockout.
Over the course of two decades of fights in the UFC Octagon, there have been a number of memorable knockout blows delivered via head kick, and in honor of the UFC’s 20th anniversary, I’ve put together a list of what I believe are the top 20 head kick knockouts in UFC history.
I wanted to keep the list strictly to knockouts that happened during live UFC events, but I’m going to bend the rules a bit and kick off the list with one that happened on TUF.
Of course I’m talking about Uriah Hall’s spinning hook kick KO of Adam Cella, which took place earlier this year during TUF 17. It was a devastating knockout that made UFC president Dana White’s hyperbole raise to a whole new level as he declared Hall the nastiest fighter to ever step into the TUF house (the same house that produced Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin – you know, former UFC champs), and thus the UFC embarked on a social media campaign to play the clip non-stop on every medium in existence.
It was a brutal knockout, and I literally felt sick watching it. Even though Hall never lived up to the massive expectations that were placed on him, his most well-known career highlight deserves a place at #20.
19. Pat Miletich vs. Shonie Carter, UFC 32 (6/29/01)
I couldn’t do a best-of MMA list without sneaking Pat Miletich and Shonie Carter in it, and thankfully they were both involved in the same fight so I get to kill two birds with one stone here.
At UFC 32 in 2001, Miletich fought Carter in a matchup between two of my personal old-school fan favorites. Miletich was coming off a defeat to Carlos Newton where he lost the UFC welterweight championship, while Carter was coming off an amazing spinning backfist KO of Matt Serra, meaning this fight had serious title implications at the time.
But while many predicted a close matchup on paper, the outcome belonged to “The Croatian Sensation” as he hit “Mr. International” with a head kick so hard it knocked Carter out cold, one of the very rare head kick KOs that took place in the first decade of the Octagon’s existence.
I saw this one on a tape I borrowed from a friend a long time ago and I’ve always wanted to see it again but haven’t had the opportunity to. Fortunately I’ve found a GIF for all of us to enjoy, but if you can track down the entire fight I highly recommend it.
One of the most awesome head kick knockouts in UFC history took place at UFC 126, and no, I’m not talking about the one you’re already thinking of (that will come later). I’m actually talking about the head kick KO that Brit Paul Taylor delivered on Gabe Ruediger, one of the most underrated finishes in UFC history in my opinion and one that I don’t think enough people have seen.
On any other night, Taylor would have claimed a nice $50,000 bonus check for KOTN, but as we all know there was another very good head kick KO that same night. Still, we can give him some props for scoring a classic knockout in what turned out to be his final appearance in the Octagon; Taylor recently announced his retirement from the sport due to a variety of nagging injuries. At least we have this sweet finish to remember him by. (Watch the GIF here.)
Back in 2006, Georges St-Pierre was seen as the future of the UFC welterweight division and at UFC 65 he was able to get his revenge on Matt Hughes (who had earlier submitted St-Pierre with an armbar at UFC 50) when he kicked the Miletich Fighting Systems product in the head and then followed it up with a series of punches on the ground to capture the UFC welterweight title for the fist time in his career.
This head kick is the only part of the fight I really remembered, and I was going to place it higher on the list originally, but since St-Pierre needed the follow-up punches to finish off the job I decided to stick it at #17. Either way, a job well-done by St-Pierre in this fight, and arguably the best finish of his storied career to date. (Watch the GIF here.)
One of my favorite fights of all time took place at UFC FUEL TV 4, an unheralded middleweight bout between Andrew Craig and Rafael Natal. I was actually the reporter who first broke news of this fight back when I worked for theScore.com, and so it always holds a special place in my heart for that. But I’ve broken other fight announcements before, and rarely do the final products turn out to be as good as Craig vs. Natal ended up being.
In the fight, Natal was absolutely beating the crap out of Craig and looking like he was going to cruise to a stoppage win, but at the end of the second round, Craig – who was down big on points – threw a booming head kick out of desperation and caught Natal square on the chin, knocking him out cold.
An absolutely insane fight, and an even crazier knockout. Wow. (Watch the GIF here.)
15. Chuck Liddell vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, UFC 40 (11/22/02)
Back in his prime, Chuck Liddell was an absolute killer, and at UFC 40 he showed that he wasn’t just a power puncher as he head-kicked Renato “Babalu” Sobral into oblivion to earn a shot at the light heavyweight title.
Despite coming from a karate background, this remains one of only two head kick knockouts in Liddell’s storied MMA career (and his only one in the UFC), so let’s savor it since we’ll never get another one of these from “The Iceman” now that he’s happily retired. (Watch the GIF here.)
Mark Hunt is considered by many to have one of the best chins in the history of combat sports, but at UFC 160 Junior dos Santos showed that Hunt is a human being like the rest of us when Cigano spinning wheel kicked Hunt in the temple to knock him to the ground, and then followed it up with a massive punch to put “The Super Samoan” completely out cold.
It was a beautiful, dominant performance by Dos Santos up until the KO, and the finish was just a cherry on top. I still can’t believe that Hunt was finished in this fashion, but then again dos Santos is one of the most powerful punchers the Octagon has ever seen – and, one of the hardest kickers as well, clearly. (Watch the GIF here.)
13. Rory Markham vs. Brodie Farber, UFC Fight Night 14 (7/19/08)
Another knockout that doesn’t get as much love as it should was Rory Markham’s massive head kick KO of Brodie Farber at UFC Fight Night 14. Just watch the GIF and tell me how awesome this is.
It’s too bad that Markham has had so many issues out side of the cage, because when he was in the Octagon he was an absolute killer. But at least he was able to give us this beauty before he rode off into the sunset, and for that we have to give him props.
12. Tim Sylvia vs. Tra Telligman, UFC 54 (8/20/05)
I know Tim Sylvia gets a bad rap from fans these days, but don’t forget that he gave us one of the best head kick knockouts ever witnessed inside the Octagon.
It took place at UFC 54, when Sylvia took on Tracy “Tra” Telligman. Sylvia was coming off a loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51 that cost him a chance to capture the UFC heavyweight title, but after taking Telligman’s head off, Sylvia gained the confidence to make a run up the ladder and eventually capture the belt.
Sylvia has had an underappreciated career and this finish of Telligman is my favorite moment from it. It’s also one of the very few knockouts in UFC history that’s occurred at the 4:59 mark of round one, making it extra special.
11. Alan Belcher vs. Jorge Santiago, UFC Fight Night 7 (12/13/06)
One of my favorite all-time knockouts of any kind took place at UFC Fight Night 7, when a young Alan Belcher took on Jorge Santiago and delivered one of the most damaging head kick finishes in the history of the sport.
I don’t think Santiago was ever the same after this KO, which is a shame because he is a skilled fighter — although he was never able to prove that in the Octagon. As for Belcher, he has had a solid career but there’s no doubt in my mind this is his ultimate career highlight, and it’s for good reason. (Watch the GIF here.)
Ready for the Top 10? Hit that “next page” link and read on…
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for — the public execution of our least favorite TUF 17 castmember. In case you missed last night’s episode of the show, Bubba McDaniel did everything he could to get out of the match. It had already been apparent that Bubba wasn’t mentally prepared to face Uriah Hall, and he also began complaining of exhaustion and pain in his back. Sadly, the doctor cleared Bubba to compete, and he became a quick meal for the show’s front-runner.
The nine-second knockout had onlookers speaking of Hall in lofty terms. “This guy is the nastiest guy in Ultimate Fighter history,” said UFC president Dana White. Chael Sonnen even called him a contender for the middleweight title. Hmm. That might be the case, but when Hall officially makes it to the UFC, he’ll eventually have to face guys who aren’t terrified of being in the cage with him.
Uriah will compete again in next week’s semifinals episode, where he’ll face Dylan Andrews, who TKO’d Luke Barnatt last week. On the other side of the bracket, 21-year-old prodigy Kelvin Gastelum will go heads-up against Josh Samman, who finished Jimmy Quinlan in last night’s episode. You can check out highlights from that scrap after the jump.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for — the public execution of our least favorite TUF 17 castmember. In case you missed last night’s episode of the show, Bubba McDaniel did everything he could to get out of the match. It had already been apparent that Bubba wasn’t mentally prepared to face Uriah Hall, and he also began complaining of exhaustion and pain in his back. Sadly, the doctor cleared Bubba to compete, and he became a quick meal for the show’s front-runner.
The nine-second knockout had onlookers speaking of Hall in lofty terms. “This guy is the nastiest guy in Ultimate Fighter history,” said UFC president Dana White. Chael Sonnen even called him a contender for the middleweight title. Hmm. That might be the case, but when Hall officially makes it to the UFC, he’ll eventually have to face guys who aren’t terrified of being in the cage with him.
Uriah will compete again in next week’s semifinals episode, where he’ll face Dylan Andrews, who TKO’d Luke Barnatt last week. On the other side of the bracket, 21-year-old prodigy Kelvin Gastelum will go heads-up against Josh Samman, who finished Jimmy Quinlan in last night’s episode. You can check out highlights from that scrap after the jump.
As we enter the Final Four, Team Jones and Team Sonnen both have their #2 and #7 picks remaining…
Team Sonnen Luke Barnatt
Uriah Hall – semifinalist, defeated Adam Cella and Robert “Bubba” McDaniel Zak Cummings Tor Troeng Jimmy Quinlan Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum – semifinalist, defeated Robert “Bubba” McDaniel and Collin Hart
Team Jones Clint Hester
Josh Samman — semifinalist, defeated Tor Troeng and Jimmy Quinlan Robert “Bubba” McDaniel Gilbert Smith Collin Hart Adam Cella
Dylan Andrews — semifinalist, defeated Zak Cummings and Luke Barnatt
