We’re only in July, but here are five decisive finishes that should find favor with even the pickiest MMA fan.
If there’s one thing that’s never in short supply in the UFC, it’s a
wide array of spectacular knockouts. Of course, that makes this usually
the toughest category to come up with a top five list, and we’re only
in July. But here are five decisive finishes that should find favor
with even the pickiest MMA fan.
5 – Rich Franklin Halts the Comeback of Chuck Liddell
The main event of UFC 115 was one of those tough fights for diehard
fans to watch, mainly because it pitted two longtime fan favorites
against each other, making it nearly impossible to pick just one
fighter to root for. But as long as it lasted, former champions
Franklin and Liddell went to war, with Franklin battling through an arm
broken by a Liddell kick to ice ‘The Iceman’ with a flush right hand
late in the opening round. See UFC 115
4 – Paul Daley’s Left Hook Finishes Dustin Hazelett
Former UFC welterweight Paul Daley goes by the nickname “Semtex”, and he certainly lived up to his explosive moniker at www.ufc.com/liveUFC
108 in January, blasting out jiu-jitsu ace Dustin Hazelett with a
single frightening left hook. It looked like the start of a good year
for the Brit, but unfortunately his next big punch came after his three
round loss to Josh Koscheck in May, earning him an ouster from the
organization. See UFC 108
3 – Shogun Rua gets his Title with Finish of Lyoto Machida
The oft-repeated mantra in combat sports is ‘don’t leave it up to the
judges.’ Well, after a controversial five round loss in his first title
bout against Lyoto Machida last October, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua took
those words to heart at UFC 113 in May and separated ‘The Dragon’ from
his championship belt and the ranks of the unbeaten with a first round
right hand followed by a furious barrage of ground strikes. See UFC 113
2 – Cain Velasquez KO’s Minotauro Nogueira
It was a changing of the guard of sorts at UFC 110 in February, as
unbeaten heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez defeated MMA legend
‘Minotauro’ Nogueira in the first round. What was truly impressive
about the win was not just that Velasquez took out the durable former
PRIDE and UFC champ in a single round, but that he did it with a crisp
standup attack punctuated by a thudding three punch combination that
was audible throughout Acer Arena. See UFC 110
1 – Mike Russow Stuns Todd Duffee
It wasn’t a seven second blitz like he scored in his UFC debut against
Tim Hague, but Todd Duffee was on his way to another Octagon victory
when he took on Mike Russow at UFC 114 in May. 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. See UFC 114
Honorable Mention: Harris-Branch, Serra-Trigg, Howard-Roberts,
Jones-Vera, Johnson-Blackburn, Davis-Goulet, Diabate-Cane,
Leben-Simpson, Guillard-Lowe
