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In the world of the UFC, it's often quite hard to become an overnight sensation. Usually it takes a handful of fights at least, even for stars like Conor McGregor.
Despite this, there have been some fighters who scored crazy knockouts that instantly propelled them to stardom, even if they'd already been around the UFC for a while.
Often, these knockouts were simply impossible for these fighters to follow up, while on some occasions, the fighter in question went on to achieve even more success.
Here are five UFC fighters who became overnight sensations after scoring crazy knockouts.
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#5. Joaquin Buckley - UFC welterweight contender
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This weekend's UFC Fight Night event will see Joaquin Buckley face off against his toughest test to date in the form of Vicente Luque. If he wins, 'New Mansa' should enter the top-15 at 170 pounds.
However, even if he does become a welterweight title contender, it's unlikely that Buckley will ever regain the hype he had around him back in 2020.
That October, 'New Mansa' faced off with Impa Kasanganay in a Fight Night preliminary bout that was flying way under the radar. At the time, Buckley was 0-1 in the octagon, while Kasanganay was 1-0.
In the second round, though, Buckley scored a knockout that ensured he stole the entire show, despite future champions Dricus du Plessis and Tom Aspinall also hitting highlight reel finishes later.
After catching a low kick from his foe, Buckley leapt into the air and hit Kasanganay in the temple with a spinning back kick, stiffening him up instantly. Kasanganay fell to the ground, and 'New Mansa' instantly went viral.
Literally millions of people viewed the knockout on social media, with the clip becoming the UFC's most-watched Instagram video ever.
In the end, the video generated more than 65 million views across all platforms, and for a while at least, Buckley was an overnight star.
Unfortunately, 'New Mansa' couldn't keep up his red-hot streak, with a knockout loss to Alessio Di Chirico sending him sliding back down the card just three months later.
#4 Scott Smith - former UFC middleweight contender
Back in 2006, when the UFC put together the cast for TUF 4, which featured octagon veterans competing for title shots at 170 pounds and 185 pounds, a few names were flying under the radar.
One such name was Scott Smith. Barely a proper veteran, 'Hands of Steel' had fought just once in the octagon, losing to David Terrell in a preliminary bout earlier that year.
When Smith lost to Travis Lutter in his lone fight on TUF, it felt like his career with the promotion was all but over.
However, when he was matched with his good friend Pete Sell at the finale event, that all changed. Smith and 'Drago' threw caution to the wind, and brawled wildly before a truly crazy ending.
Sell nailed Smith in the body, and 'Hands of Steel' was hurt so badly that he doubled over. 'Drago' closed in to put him away, but dropped his hands in doing so - and that allowed Smith to uncork the only punch he had left in him, a right hand haymaker that instantly turned Sell's lights out.
Nobody could believe what they were seeing, particularly when Smith collapsed to the ground rather than celebrating.
The knockout turned him into an instant sensation, and suddenly, Smith was a staple of main cards and then went onto a main event run in Elite XC and StrikeForce. His knockout is still revered today.
#3 Uriah Hall - former UFC middleweight contender
During the filming of TUF 17 in early 2013, word began to come out of the UFC that a brand-new middleweight title contender had been discovered amongst the cast.
This 'TUF beast', as they became known, turned out to be Uriah Hall.
'Prime Time' came into the reality show with a solid enough reputation, but he instantly became a star after his first fight aired.
Faced with Adam Cella, Hall uncorked a spinning wheel kick to the head of his foe that knocked him out instantly.
Cella was so badly hurt by the knockout that he was loaded into an ambulance and taken away, and even Hall seemed shaken by what he'd done.
From there, it became clear that none of the other castmates really wanted to face 'Prime Time', and when two more stoppage wins put him in the finals, it seemed like a superstar had been unearthed.
Unfortunately, once he got to the octagon proper, Hall just couldn't live up to the hype. He lost to Kelvin Gastelum in the TUF finals, and despite showing flashes of brilliance in the decade that followed, he never quite developed into the title contender he'd been made out to be.
#2 Gabriel Gonzaga - former UFC heavyweight contender
Back in 2007, when the UFC signed Mirko Cro Cop from their promotional rivals PRIDE, shockwaves were sent through the MMA world.
Suddenly, it felt like the UFC had become the big dogs in the promotional yard, and more importantly, it felt like they'd almost certainly signed a future heavyweight champion.
Cro Cop easily beat Eddie Sanchez in his octagon debut, and was then matched with Gabriel Gonzaga in a top contender's bout.
To say everyone was writing Gonzaga off would be an understatement. 'Napao' was 3-0 in the octagon, but had barely impressed in those fights, with his bout with Kevin Jordan being an all-time snoozefest.
However, he turned everything on its head when he fought Cro Cop. After battering the former PRIDE star on the ground with elbows, he uncorked the kind of head kick Cro Cop himself had become famed for, knocking him absolutely senseless.
Suddenly, Gonzaga and not Cro Cop was positioned as the promotion's next big heavyweight star. Although he never claimed the title, 'Napao' remained a popular headliner for the best part of a decade off the back of this one crazy knockout.
#1 Jorge Masvidal - former UFC BMF champion
Perhaps the best example of a fighter who became an overnight sensation in the UFC after one wild knockout is Jorge Masvidal.
Not only was 'Gamebred' propelled to stardom by his finish of Ben Askren in the summer of 2019, but he also followed it up by winning gold in the octagon in his next fight.
Prior to his win over Askren, Masvidal was widely seen as a tough, yet inconsistent journeyman. He'd been with the UFC since 2013, but had never really been able to move into contention despite holding some solid wins.
However, after taking over a year off following a loss to Stephen Thompson in 2017, 'Gamebred' returned at the start of 2019 with a new look, a new attitude, and a new drive to succeed.
He knocked out Darren Till in his return bout, and then produced something special in a big grudge match with Askren.
Before the decorated amateur wrestler even had a chance to get going, Masvidal sprinted out of his corner and waylaid him with a flying knee that knocked him unconscious instantly.
The whole fight took just five seconds, setting the record for the fastest KO in UFC history.
It sent Masvidal viral and pushed him into the stratosphere instantly, and a few months later, he defeated Nate Diaz to become the first ever 'BMF' champion.
Remarkably, 'Gamebred' never won another fight in the octagon before his retirement in 2023, but remained one of the promotion's top stars and drawing cards - all off the back of this crazy knockout.
