5 of the greatest front kick knockouts in UFC history

#3. Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture - UFC 129

Lyoto Machida unleashed his inner karate kid to take out Randy Couture at UFC 129

A third Dan black belt in Shotokan karate, Lyoto Machida used his unorthodox striking to climb all the way to the top of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division, winning UFC gold in 2009.

His style often earned him the label of ‘The Karate Kid’ – but few fans expected him to use a famous technique from the 1980’s movie of the same title inside the octagon to devastating effect.

The technique in question was the ‘crane kick’, a hopping front kick to the jaw that – in movie canon at least – there was “no defense” for.

Machida unleashed it in one of the biggest fights of his career, against legendary former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 129.

After struggling with Machida’s pinpoint striking in the first round, it was clear that Couture needed to close the distance to find any kind of success.

However, as he attempted to close in, ‘The Dragon’ used more lengthy strikes to keep him at bay – and when he spotted Couture drop his hands for a moment, he struck – hopping forward off his left leg before unleashing a right leg front kick to the jaw that sent Couture crashing down.

The fight was immediately declared over, as UFC announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were stunned at the use of the ‘crane kick’ in the octagon.

In the years that have followed, we’ve seen a number of front kicks used to stop fights in the UFC – but never one that looked quite so much like it’d come out of a movie.

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#1. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort – UFC 126

Anderson Silva changed UFC history when he used a front kick to knock out Vitor Belfort at UFC 126

While Magomed Ankalaev’s front kick knockout was perhaps the most brutal in UFC history, and Lyoto Machida’s was the most movie-esque, the most memorable front kick knockout in the octagon remains the original one.

Prior to February 2011’s UFC 126, the front kick was considered a transitional or set-up strike at best, with fighters tending to use it to keep their foe at a distance while they attempted to use a more traditionally devastating strike.

That all changed when Anderson Silva defended his UFC middleweight title against Vitor Belfort. The two Brazilian fighters had built up quite the rivalry, and fans were expecting fireworks when they finally locked horns inside the octagon.

The opening minutes, however, saw both men look surprisingly reluctant to exchange, clearly wary of the other’s power.

Things suddenly sprung to life when Belfort landed a left hand and followed it by throwing Silva to the ground. The champion sprung back to his feet, and after dodging some more punches from Belfort, he threw a front kick to the jaw literally from nowhere.

The kick connected perfectly, dropping Belfort to the ground, and two more punches knocked him completely unconscious.

To say that UFC fans were blown away would be an understatement. Silva had essentially changed the UFC for good, as prior to this, nobody had ever used a front kick to stop an opponent inside the octagon.

A year or so later, the kick was ranked at the top of the UFC’s ‘100 greatest knockouts’, a countdown that also included finishes from Strikeforce, WEC, Affliction and PRIDE. It was a deserving award for such an incredible moment.