Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a sport that allows the usage of various striking and grappling manoeuvres to end the fight. In spite of this availability of a vast arsenal of finishing techniques at an MMA fighter’s disposal, it’s safe to say that the most coveted and primal finishing move amongst all is the one-hitter quitter; the one-punch knockout, to be precise.
When we look at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for such exhibitions of exhilarating finishes, the world’s top MMA organization doesn’t disappoint. Let’s take a brief look at a few such one-punch KOs, some relatively old, others a bit recent.
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#5 Shogun sleeps Lidell
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Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (24-10) is a former UFC Light-heavyweight champion and Pride Middleweight Grand Prix champion, with an MMA base of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Muay Thai. Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Lidell (21-8) is also a former UFC Light-heavyweight champion with an MMA base of Kempo, Koei-Kan Karate, BJJ and wrestling.
Shogun fought Lidell at UFC 97 in 2009. The fight started with Lidell coming out in his usual crouched stance, spamming looping overhands at his Brazilian foe. Shogun kept his cool and pivoted out of the pocket. Once out-of-range, Shogun surprised Lidell with a wide left-hook catching the Iceman clean and folding him like a lawn-chair.
Shogun followed up with a bit of ground-and-pound, but the fight was essentially over when the aforementioned monstrous hook connected on Lidell’s dome. Lidell was so out-of-it that the ground-and-pound shots apparently brought his consciousness back.
Now granted that Lidell was past-his-prime at the time, but the Pride FC legend Shogun thrashed Lidell regardless, and drove the arena nuts in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
#4 Conor McGregor shatters Jose Aldo’s chin
‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor (21-3) is a former UFC Featherweight champion and the current UFC Lightweight champion with an MMA base of boxing and kick-boxing. Jose Aldo Jr. (26-2) is a two-time UFC Featherweight champion and current Undisputed UFC Featherweight title-holder, with an MMA base of capoeira, BJJ and Muay Thai.
McGregor fought Aldo at UFC 194 in December of 2015, in one of the most hyped-up fights in the sport’s history. After a few cagey-exchanges at long range, Aldo leapt in with a loaded right-hand, McGregor slipped the attack and simultaneously countered Aldo with a left hook to the jaw.
Aldo was knocked out on his feet but managed to land a left hook that caused a cut on ‘Notorious’’ face, who followed-up on Aldo with a couple of unnecessary ground-and-pound shots.
Jose Aldo was knocked out cold for the first time in his legendary career 13 seconds into round 1, by the man he loathed the most- Conor McGregor.
#3 Cigano scrambles Cain Velasquez’s brain
Junior ‘Cigano’ Dos Santos (18-4) is a former UFC Heavyweight champion with an MMA base of BJJ and boxing. Cain Velasquez (14-2) is a former 2-time UFC Heavyweight champion and NCAA-Div 1 All-American, with an MMA base of wrestling and kick-boxing.
After dethroning Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, Velasquez defended his Heavyweight strap against Cigano in the UFC’s 1st event on the FOX network. The fight was brief and cagey while it lasted, with Cigano measuring Velasquez with jabs to the body and Velasquez trying to chop down his boxing-centric opponent’s lead leg.
After about a minute of these exchanges, Cigano caught Velasquez with an overhand right behind the ear. A few ground-and-pound shots later, Cigano was the new champion.
Velasquez later revealed that Cigano’s overhand disabled his sense of equilibrium, with the punch landing around his ear. He also credited Cigano’s power and strategy. Cigano timed Velasquez from the exact opposite angle of the earlier body-jabs, tricking him with the change of angles.
#2 Mark Hunt paralyses Frank Mir
Mark ‘Super Samoan’ Hunt (12-10) is a former K-1 kickboxing champion and MMA cult figure, with a base of kick-boxing characterized by his mind-numbing KO power. Frank Mir (18-11) is a former UFC Heavyweight champion and former interim-UFC Heavyweight champion, with an MMA base of American Kenpo, BJJ, wrestling and boxing.
Hunt took on Mir in a 5-round main event matchup in March of 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. Both fighters came out tentative trying to gauge distance with their jab. In hindsight, we can see that this is where Mir made a critical error. Both fighters ducked while throwing the jab, but Mir did so way more than necessary.
Hunt being the legendary striker that he is, read this pattern and timed a hesitant Mir, catching him with a perfect right hand behind the ear. Mir later revealed that although his consciousness and vision were intact after the knockdown, he completely lost control over the rest of his body, with Hunt’s punch rendering him paralyzed, albeit temporarily.
Hunt scored yet another walk-off KO, with Mir undergoing the spine-chilling scenario of temporary paralysis. Scary indeed!
#1 Rumble takes Glover’s Teixeira’s consciousness and a couple of teeth
Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson (22-5) is one of the best finishers in the sport of MMA, with a base of kick-boxing and wrestling. Glover Teixeira (25-5) is a BJJ savant with good boxing and decent wrestling.
Teixeira called out Johnson after knocking out Johnson’s mentor Rashad Evans. Johnson accepted the challenge and the two of them faced off at UFC 202 in August of 2016. Teixeira came out aggressively trying to catch Johnson with a left hook in the pocket. Johnson backpedalled and slid in effortlessly to catch Teixeira with a rear-hand uppercut- all this in just 13 seconds.
Johnson sent Teixeira’s teeth flying (seriously! a couple of Glover’s teeth can be seen in the slow-motion replays). Teixeira had trouble standing up and regaining his senses way after the fight was called off. What makes this KO even more impressive is the sheer fluidity and precision of Johnson’s right uppercut.
Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson is violence personified.
From Shogun’s looping left hook, to McGregor’s measured pull-counter; Cigano’s overhand right from hell to Hunt altering Mir’s neurological functions. Add Rumble to the equation and you have all-out mayhem. Keeping up with our combat tradition, I’d like you, the reader, to chime in with your own examples of brutal one-hitter quitters.
Till then kids, keep training and remember don’t hunt the knockout, the KO is always effortless and smooth.
