#1 Kenny Robertson vs. Brock Jardine – UFC 57: Rousey vs. Carmouche – 02/23/13
Trending
From one of the best knockouts in UFC history to one of the best submissions.
Kenny Robertson has rarely been in entertaining fights in his UFC tenure and he’s rarely delivered memorable finishes, but here he was somehow able to pull out something genuinely special. He was coming into this fight off back-to-back losses, while opponent Jardine had lost his UFC debut to Rick Story.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
The fight seemed like a coin flip to most observers.
There aren’t many cooler types of submission than leglocks – something about them always seems more violent than armlocks or chokes. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that a heel hook or knee bar can suddenly cause serious damage to a limb in a way that a kimura or armbar doesn’t usually do.
Either way, they’re definitely cool. And not only was the leglock that Robertson used to submit Jardine cool, but it was thoroughly unique, at least in the UFC.
After an early takedown and a guillotine attempt from Jardine, Robertson was able to pass the guard and found himself in side mount. After a brief scramble, he took Jardine’s back and slapped both of his hooks in.
A rear naked choke attempt did not work for Robertson and so as Jardine moved into a kneeling position with Robertson still clamped onto his back, Kenny moved higher up – usually a no-no as it allows the defending fighter to escape through the back door.
There would be no escape for Brock Jardine here. Robertson instead reached down and clasped hold of Jardine’s left leg, and then pulled it forward, while at the same time forcing his hips and body backwards using his own legs as hooks.
After a few moments, Jardine was in agony and tapped out. The announcers called the move a kneebar, but it was in fact something much more painful-sounding – a hamstring stretcher.
Nothing like this move had been seen in the UFC before and unlike other initially unique moves – see the front kick to the face popularised by Anderson Silva, or the wheel kick introduced by Edson Barboza – it’s never been seen again, to the best of my knowledge.
While he may have been involved in a number of dull fights, this will always be the top highlight reel moment for Kenny Robertson and it belongs firmly on the list of greatest UFC finishes.
Well, that’s that. Are there any more forgotten fights or finishes you can think of? Add them in the comments below.
Until next time....
Send us news tips at [email protected]
