Molly McCann and 4 other UFC fighters who've mastered the spinning elbow

In the UFC, nothing excites fans more than knockouts. With the breadth of tools at a fighter's disposal, knockouts come in a multitude of forms.

At times, an eager wrestler is intercepted by an uppercut or flying knee as they dive in for a telegraphed takedown. In other instances, an overzealous brawler lunges forward in a straight line, throwing a storm of looping punches before their foe hops backwards, pivots off at an angle, and counters them with a straight down the middle. Yet, there are other knockouts that are even more spectacular.

For example, few will ever forget Edson Barboza's spinning wheel kick knockout —the first of its kind in the UFC — against Terry Etim. Though as thrilling a strike as any, there are others worthy of similar recognition. In recent memory, the spinning elbow has emerged as a staple of UFC highlight reels.

The likes of Molly McCann and the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jiří Procházka are two fighters who have proven themselves experts of the spinning elbow. This list looks at McCann and four other fighters who have used the strike to great effect.

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#5. Calvin Kattar

As a fighter, Calvin Kattar is best known for his boxing. He is the UFC featherweight division's resident expert when it comes to pocket exchanges. Despite his primary game consisting of a sharp jab and solid boxing fundamentals, Kattar is cerebral when it comes to creating openings for his counter-elbows.

Perhaps his best performance to-date (at least when it comes to demonstrating the evolution of his elbow strikes) was his dominant win over then-rising contender Giga Chikadze. Kattar expertly combined his pull-counter with a spinning back elbow to great effect. 'The Boston Finisher' would either use the threat of his jab to draw out Chikadze's rear-hand counter or simply intercept his foe whenever the Georgian kickboxer stepped into range.

Regardless of what would prompt Chikadze into closing the distance, Kattar would retreat, forcing his opponent to overextend in a desperate bid to add extra inches of range to his rear hand. As his foe overextended, Kattar pulled back at the waist before turning on his heel and spinning into an elbow strike that repeatedly crashed into his opponent's face whenever he stepped in-range.

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#4. Ricardo Ramos

Thus far, Brazilian featherweight Ricardo Ramos has recorded two spinning back elbow knockouts in the UFC. His initial spinning elbow knockout came against Aiemann Zahabi, younger brother to renowned MMA coach Firas Zahabi. As spectacular as that knockout was, Ramos' recent win over Danny Chavez was even more impressive.

The setup Ramos used involved a level change. The Brazilian stepped forward, dipping low to drag Chavez's arms low in anticipation of what his foe mistook for a takedown shot. However, as Chavez dropped his arms to dig for underhooks, Ramos exploded upwards, spinning into a thunderous elbow over the top.

The first time Ramos landed the elbow against Chavez, the Brazilian knocked his opponent off his feet. It would not be the last time, as the final strike earned Ramos a stoppage victory in emphatic fashion.

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#3. Tony Ferguson

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is one of the most creative strikers in modern MMA. When 'El Cucuy' is primed for combat, he is a relentless pressure fighter who stabs his opponent's midsection with snapping front kicks. He is also very capable of intercepting fighters with step-in elbows should they parry his kicks and lunges forward.

However, when Ferguson's opponents slip his strikes, 'El Cucuy' quickly turns on his heel, spins, and stuns overzealous opponents with vicious elbows.

The former interim champion even doubles up on his spinning back elbows whenever he misses. Aware that opponents will likely try making him pay for missing the first spinning elbow, Ferguson spins a second time, cracking his foe's chin as they step in under the veil of security.

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#2. Jon Jones

While fight fans have not seen former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones compete since his controversial decision win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, the consensus greatest light heavyweight of all-time was once regarded as one of the most dynamic and creative strikers in the world.

Most of the excitement Jones' striking earned was due to his deep arsenal of kicks. However, his elbows also garnered praise. Like Ricardo Ramos, 'Bones' uses level changes to set up his spinning back elbows. However, Jones is even more effective than the Brazilian due to the established threat of the light heavyweight's strong wrestling.

Furthermore, the former world champion is extremely versatile, possessing other setups in addition to those related to his wrestling skills. Among these setups is his signature jab-right cross combination. Jones throws his jab, then follows it up with a right cross that he deliberately misses to step into an ideal angle that aligns his foes with a spinning back elbow thrown through the opponent's open side.

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#1. Molly McCann

Molly McCann, one of the UFC's rising names, recently punctuated her appearance at UFC Fight Night 208 in London, England with yet another starmaking performance. McCann defeated opponent Hannah Goldy with a spinning back elbow in a very similar fashion to her spinning elbow knockout over Luana Carolina.

Instead of benefitting from a breadth of setups, 'Meatball' seems to have an instinct for when to capitalize on an ideal opening. Against Luana Carolina, McCann caught the Brazilian's kick. As her foe used her forearm to frame against 'Meatball', she turned on her heel and launched a spinning elbow that sliced through Carolina's open side.

Against Hannah Goldy, McCann simply spun for an elbow once her foe was trapped against the fence, aware that her opponent had no space to move towards. 'Meatball' stunned her with the blow before earning the win with a barrage of follow-up punches.