5 UFC fighters who scored a highlight reel knockout but failed to follow it up

#4. Gabriel Gonzaga – former UFC heavyweight contender

Gabriel Gonzaga looked like a future champion when he knocked out Mirko Cro Cop, but he failed to hit those heights

There’s probably an argument to suggest that Gabriel Gonzaga, who departed the UFC in 2016 after putting together a record of 12-10 in the octagon, is one of the most underrated heavyweights of his generation.

However, ‘Napao’ is also largely remembered for one single moment in his decade-long career with the world’s biggest MMA promotion, and while he did score some strong finishes later down the line, it’s safe to say that he never truly lived up to the hype of that big knockout.

The knockout in question, of course, saw him destroy former PRIDE superstar Mirko Cro Cop with a devastating head kick in the headline bout of UFC 70 in April 2007. Not only was it one of the most visually stunning knockouts in octagon history, but it also saw the Brazilian turn the tables on Cro Cop, who was renowned for taking out his foes with head kicks.

Unfortunately, while everyone expected Gonzaga to go onto claim the UFC heavyweight title in his next bout, he fell to a TKO defeat at the hands of champion Randy Couture. When he followed that loss with another – to Fabricio Werdum – the bloom was firmly off the rose for him.

To be fair to ‘Napao’, he did bounce back well and produced a number of other decent knockouts in the rest of his tenure – but it’s telling that he never claimed another ‘Knockout of the Night’ award in his career. Essentially, Gonzaga scored the ultimate highlight reel finish, and could never quite match it again.

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#3. James Irvin – former UFC light-heavyweight contender

James Irvin produced two classic finishes in the octagon but failed to live up to the hype created by both

James Irvin is perhaps the most interesting entry onto this list, and also the most unique. That’s because ‘The Sandman’ actually produced two highlight reel knockouts during his tenure with the UFC – but failed to follow either one up with anything of real substance.

The first finish came in his first fight for the promotion at 205lbs. As a heavyweight, Irvin was badly undersized, but he looked much more physically suited to the light-heavyweight division – and when he sparked out Terry Martin with one of the best flying knees in MMA history, it looked like he was destined for stardom.

However, ‘The Sandman’ lost his next two fights, one in the UFC to Stephan Bonnar and one in the WEC to Lodune Sincaid. The defeats threatened to derail his career entirely, but he did manage a return to the octagon and picked up a pair of wins over Hector Ramirez and Luiz Cane to get back on track.

It was his knockout of Houston Alexander in April 2008 – the first time a fighter had stopped an opponent with a superman punch in the octagon – that firmly put him back on the map, though. The finish was arguably one of the best of the year.

Sadly, ‘The Sandman’ again failed to live up to the standards he’d set. He lost to Anderson Silva in his next fight, which obviously wasn’t anything to be ashamed of – but his next two fights saw him lose to far lesser opponents in Alessio Sakara and Igor Pokrajac.

Essentially, Irvin appeared to always have a special finish in his arsenal, but at the highest level, he simply couldn’t produce them often enough.