The 13 Greatest ‘That-Guy-Is-Dead’ Finishes In MMA

[Kemal]

At its best, MMA can be a technical and entertaining sport for aficianados and casual fans alike. But in the end, most of us are looking for finishes that are equal parts brutal and decisive. Which is nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes those finishes are so brutal or decisive that they leave you with at least a slight worry for the guy on the receiving end.
Without further ado, here are 13 finishes which, in my opinion, would certainly fit that category. Obviously, this list is not exhaustive as there have been hundreds of these kinds of knockouts.
These are just the ones that are memorable to me or have been quite recent. Let’s get it on!

#13 – Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva
Alistair Overeem just came off a devastating win over Brock Lesnar and with his Incredible Hulk-like physique, looked near invincible. Antonio Silva just came off an impressive win against Travis Browne, but was still regarded as a stepping stone for The Reem.

Then Alistair’s ego got the better of him and he decided it would be good idea to fight with his guard down versus a 265-pound plus behemoth like Antonio Silva. That didn’t end well.

[Kemal]

#12 – Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell
Reaching for the stars is never a bad thing in any career. But Brendan Schaub took that a little too serious after he got blasted in the face by Ben Rothwell. He looked like he wanted to tell Jesus personally about the great fight he just had.

[Kemal]

#11 – Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
Not too lang ago, Fedor Emelianenko was still widely regarded as the best fighter ever. Andrei Arlovski was always a contender and in those days, a very dangerous one at that. The match was one that MMA fans had been wanting for some years already, and here it was.

Many thought that Arlovski was going to be the one to dethrone “The Last Emperor”.
And surprisingly (or not, depending on your perspective) Andrei did really well. So well even, that he thought he should try a flying knee while he was ahead on the scorecards. One of the worst decisions he ever made and one he never fully recovered from.

[Kemal]

#10 – Mark Hunt vs. Junior dos Santos
Mark Hunt was widely regarded to be un-KO’able, until he walked head first into a Melvin Manhoef hook, which is kind of like trying to commit suicide. Even after that, he was still regarded as having one of the best chins in the business.

So what could JDS do? Obviously being one of THE best heavyweights in the business, he was expected to win. However, with the power and steel chin of Hunt, anything could happen, right?

And indeed, Hunt did very well and was never really out of the fight. However, JDS is on another level and he showed us just that with a beautiful spinning heel kick right on the jaw of Hunt.
Steel chin or not, Hunt went down like a sack of potatoes and looked like one as well.

[Kemal]

#9 – Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida
Up until his fight with Evans, Lyoto was regarded as “elusive” which is just another word for “boring” in the eyes of many, apparently. So, he had something to prove to give a little boost to his image.

And that he did. In a strange but brutal knockout where Rashad seemed more busy talking than punching, Lyoto blasted Rashad in the face and gave us the meme that will never go away: Shad Face.

[Kemal]

#8 – Tank Abbott vs. Steve Nelmark
Tank Abbott, (real first name: David), was known as a scary dude back in the day. He had punching power like no other and was just a bad-ass despite looking pretty out of shape (he could still bench 600 lbs though).

Unfortunately for Steve Nelmark, he was in Tank’s way and had to be knocked out. Which is exactly what happened. Note that Nelmark, years later, has stated that he wasn’t actually knocked out. His body shut down but he was never really “out”. Uh, ok Steve buddy. You judge for yourself.

[Kemal]

#7 – Tank Abbott vs. John Matua
Another victim in Tank’s early career. John Matua LOOKED like a big, dangerous guy. In addition, he practiced the Hawaiian art of bone breaking, whatever that is. Sounds pretty dangerous, right? However, Tank practiced the art of punching faces really, really hard. Which is exactly what he did.

To add insult to injury, Tank mocked Matua by imitating his post-fight seizure-like twitching. Needless to say, sportsmanship was NOT high on Tank’s agenda.

[Kemal]

#6 – Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Not too long ago, Cro Cop entered the UFC and was expected to kick every Heavyweight’s ass within minutes. After dispatching Eddie Sanchez in his first UFC fight, all seemed well. However, in Gabriel Gonzaga he was facing an unfrozen caveman with tremendous power in his right leg.

In addition and in hindsight, Cro Cop was also already on the down-slope of his career. That never became more obvious after he got “Cro Copped” by Gonzaga. He was never the same since.

[Kemal]

#5 – Brad Kohler vs. Steve Judson
Brad Kohler was and is an unheralded journeyman who recently took up MMA again. Back in the day, he faced Steve Judson, a fighter of the same caliber.

However, unfortunately for Judson, Kohler’s muscles had muscles back then. Which spells bad news if you keep your hands down when he telegraphs a sledgehammer of a punch and let you hit him with it. Which is precisely what Steve Judson did.

[Kemal]

#4 – Ricardo Arona vs. Quinton Jackson
Ricardo Arona is a retired MMA fighter. In PRIDE’s heyday, he was one of the better and stronger grapplers. As a matter of fact, he was getting the better of a young Quinton Jackson during their fight.

However, Jackson was known for his devastating power-bomb slams. Trying to get him into a triangle can be a bad idea if it’s not fully locked in. Arona knew that after the fight as well.

[Kemal]

#3 – Gary Goodridge vs. Paul Herrera
Gary Goodridge was, back in the old days of the UFC, billed as a master in the mysterious and probably very much non-existent martial art of Kuk Sool Won. In reality he was a 260 pound bad-ass who was going to pound Paul Herrera’s face in. Herrera, being a good wrestler, thought that ending up on the ground with Big Daddy was a good idea though and would give him an advantage. He was wrong.

[Kemal]

#2 – Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping thought it would be a good idea to talk shit to a man whose right hand has its own nickname. When that nickname is “H-Bomb” you know that’s a bad idea.
Bisping found that out the hard way.

[Kemal]

#1 – Travis Fulton vs. Jeremy Bullock
The classic, all-time-most-brutal finish that will be remembered for years to come. Jeremy Bullock looked like he had no business being in any cage, let alone one fit for MMA. Travis Fulton has had so many fights that I think he doesn’t know anything but being in a cage. This ended just has it had begun; painfully and awkwardly. To Bullock’s credit he wasn’t ENTIRELY dead though. Needless to say he never competed in MMA again.



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[Mastenbroek]

Ik mis Overeem - Teixeira in het rijtje

edit: ooh lees nu dat het over MMA gaat, my bad.

[mmacentral]

Idd, maar het is ook geen definitieve lijst verder, puur wat in me opkwam. Het leuke aan dit soort artikelen is dat je ze oneindig kan blijven maken

[Conor McGregor]

Vind dat deze ook wel in het rijtje mag

[breahule]

Mooie filmpjes heren, Thnx!

[Justinian]

Ik mis Pardoel vs. Wiet in dit rijtje