Ten Best – The Knockouts of 2010

What were the top 10 knockouts of 2010? The Highly Unofficial awards continue below... If there’s one thing that’s never in short supply in the UFC, it’s a wide array of spectacular knockouts. Of course, that makes this usually the toughest category to come up with a top ten list. But here is a Highly Unofficial selection of decisive finishes from 2010 that should find favor with even the pickiest MMA fan.

10 – Gomi Resurrects Career with KO of Griffin
Yes, we all know that former PRIDE lightweight champ Takanori Gomi packs dynamite in his gloves, but after an average 4-2 run in Japan after his 2007 no contest against Nick Diaz and a lackluster three round loss to Kenny Florian in his UFC debut earlier this year, fans wondered whether they would ever see Gomi in “Fireball Kid” form ever again. The answer? A knockout of Tyson Griffin, a fighter who UFC followers had never seen rocked, let alone stopped. But when a right hand to the head sent Griffin face first to the mat, Gomi’s star was on the rise again.

9 – Condit’s Quick Draw Ends The Night of “The Outlaw”
The pre-fight trash talk was heated, as it usually is in a Dan Hardy fight, and when the bell rang at the O2 Arena this past October, it was clear that neither Nottingham’s “Outlaw” or Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit were going to be content with a three round decision win. These two welterweights were out for blood, and in the final minute of the opening round, both fighters looked to finish it with simultaneous left hooks. Condit’s got there a split second earlier, and it was lights out in London.

8 – Rich Franklin Halts the Comeback of Chuck Liddell
The main event of UFC 115 was one of those tough fights for diehard fans to watch, mainly because it pitted two longtime fan favorites against each other, making it nearly impossible to pick just one fighter to root for. But as long as it lasted, former champions Franklin and Liddell went to war, with Franklin battling through an arm broken by a Liddell kick to ice ‘The Iceman’ with a flush right hand late in the opening round.

7 – Cain Velasquez KO’s Minotauro Nogueira
It was a changing of the guard of sorts at UFC 110 in February, as unbeaten heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez defeated MMA legend ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira in the first round. What was truly impressive about the win was not just that Velasquez took out the durable former PRIDE and UFC champ in a single round, but that he did it with a crisp standup attack punctuated by a thudding three punch combination that was audible throughout Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

6 – Harris’ Grand Slam
For over two rounds, the bout between middleweight prospects Gerald Harris and Dave Branch was nothing to write home about. But in the third, New York’s Branch tried to make something happen as he pulled guard in the hopes of sinking in a triangle choke. Harris, aware of the approaching danger, chose to pick Branch up over his head and slam him to the mat. Mission accomplished, as the “Hurricane” not only broke Branch’s grip, he knocked him out, earning a spot on ESPN’s highlight reels for much of the next week.

5 – Garza Announces Arrival with Frightening Finish of Paixao
It’s a move you will see at practically every UFC event, but rarely – if ever – does it score with such devastating results. Facing jiu-jitsu ace Fredson Paixao, UFC newcomer Pablo Garza did what many fighters do when their opponent shoots in for a takedown: he tried to catch Paixao with a knee. On this night in Vegas though, Garza landed flush with the knee as Paixao shot in, and the Brazilian was out as soon as he got hit. On the mat for a few scary minutes, Paixao eventually got up and made it out of the Octagon under his own power, but it was a stark reminder that yes, folks, this is a contact sport.

4 – Mike Russow Stuns Todd Duffee
It wasn’t a seven second blitz like he scored in his UFC debut against Tim Hague last year, but Todd Duffee was on his way to another Octagon victory when he took on Mike Russow at UFC 114 in May. But nothing’s guaranteed in this game until the fight is over, and Duffee learned that lesson the hard way, as Russow pulled out a right hand from nowhere in the final round that starched Duffee at the 2:35 mark, stunning all in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

3 – Penn Goes Uno on Hughes
BJ Penn’s 11 second knockout of Caol Uno in their first bout in 2001 was a seminal moment in the career of “The Prodigy”. And while he went on to two world championships and great things in the years past, you wondered if you would ever see that fiery Hawaiian kid again. In November, he showed up in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and in just 21 seconds he concluded his trilogy with Matt Hughes in a fashion no one expected. Penn even capped off the win with a run out of the cage, much as he did when he defeated Uno nine years ago. It was a rebirth for Penn, and a sight to see for everyone who had followed the ups and downs of his storied Octagon stint.

2 – Shogun Rua gets his Title with Finish of Lyoto Machida
The oft-repeated mantra in combat sports is ‘don’t leave it up to the judges.’ Well, after a controversial five round loss in his first title bout against Lyoto Machida in October of 2009, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua took those words to heart at UFC 113 in May and separated ‘The Dragon’ from his championship belt and the ranks of the unbeaten with a first round right hand followed by a furious barrage of ground strikes.

1 – And New…Velasquez dethrones Lesnar
When it comes to aesthetics, Velasquez’ KO of Nogueira was more notable, but when we’re talking about impact – both now and for the UFC history books – there was no more meaningful knockout this year than Velasquez’ finish of Brock Lesnar to win the UFC heavyweight title. Following Lesnar’s come from behind win over Shane Carwin, the talk was that if the unbeaten Velasquez got the big man from Minnesota in similar trouble, he would have the gas tank to finish it. And that’s just what Velasquez did, fighting off an early assault from Lesnar to hurt the champion and then finish him off at 4:12 of the opening round. It was a stunner to casual fans, but to those who had followed Velasquez’ career and heard insiders speak glowingly of him for years, it was just a coronation waiting to happen. Next up for the new champ is a 2011 title defense against Brazilian KO king Junior dos Santos in a bout that may wind up on next year’s best knockouts list, regardless of the man whose hand is raised when it’s over.

Honorable Mention: Stefan Struve-Christian Morecraft, Junior Dos Santos-Gilbert Yvel, Frank Mir-Mirko Cro Cop, Paul Daley-Dustin Hazelett, John Howard-Daniel Roberts, Jon Jones-Brandon Vera, Matt Serra-Frank Trigg, Edson Barboza-Mike Lullo

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Brutal Knockouts Headline Strikeforce ‘Henderson vs. Babalu’

Dan Henderson (right) stopped Renato Sobral: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

ST. LOUIS -- Knockouts reigned supreme Saturday night at Strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu II” as the evening’s three biggest fights each ended in violence, electrifying the Scottrade Center.

In the main event, former two-division Pride champion Dan Henderson destroyed Renato “Babalu” Sobral in a rematch of the pair’s first fight 10 years earlier in the Rings promotion.

As is typical, Henderson had his right hand cocked and ready from the get-go. Sobral ducked under one bomb early and tried to keep his distance as The Team Quest product attempted to close the gap. Henderson fired off a “Superman” punch, but “Babalu” rolled with it and avoided taking any damage. Henderson charged, winging haymakers and pushing Sobral against the cage.

The Brazilian shot for a takedown, but Henderson maintained top position, stacking Sobral and raining down vicious right hands that put the former Strikeforce champion to sleep. The brutal end came at 1:53 of round one.

Scott Smith’s welterweight debut did not disappoint, but not in the way that “Hands of Steel” would have preferred.

British bomber Paul Daley ended Smith’s night at 2:09 of the first round, knocking him out in spectacular fashion.

There was no feeling out process, as Daley winged a right hand immediately and got caught with a jab for his efforts. Smith appeared content in the early going to measure the distance, using his jab and lead leg as a rangefinder. Daley clipped him with a nice one-two about a minute in that dropped Smith, but “Hands of Steel” recovered quickly. As Smith moved forward, “Semtex” landed a tight left hook that staggered the UFC veteran.

Undeterred, Smith surged ahead and found himself on the receiving end of the exact same punch. There would be no recovery for the comeback kid this time, however, as Smith went limp before falling flat on his face as John McCarthy waved off the contest.

Matt Lindland’s night was over almost before it started, as “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler found the veteran’s chin less than a minute into the first round with a wicked right hook and followed the crumpling Team Quest founder to the mat, relieving Lindland of his consciousness with another bomb on the ground.

Both men came out quickly to start, engaging in the pocket. Lindland didn’t appear eager to clinch, and the 40-year old ended up paying for it. Lawler seemed intent on timing the Olympic silver medalist as he moved in, and missed on several attempts before finally hitting the jackpot with a colossal right hook.

Lindland still had his senses when he hit the floor, but as he turned to defend himself from further punishment, he was met with another Lawler fist. This marks the second devastating knockout Lindland has suffered in his last four fights.

The official time was 0:50 of the first.

After an early scare, former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva took care of business, stopping a game but outmatched Mike Kyle in the second round of their heavyweight tilt.

Though Silva took the center of the cage to start, Kyle used his speed advantage to land two sharp right hands, the second of which dropped the massive Brazilian. Kyle pounced on his foe, throwing dozens of punches and hammer fists. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt survived, however, and calmly recovered half guard.

As Silva shrimped, he tried to turn the position into a single-leg takedown, but Kyle’s base proved stout. The American Kickboxing Academy product bloodied Silva’s cheek before the larger man recovered full guard. From there, Kyle landed two comical -- though illegal -- headbutts to Silva’s abdomen and was admonished by referee John McCarthy.

Silva dove for a single to start round two, but Kyle stepped out of it before eating a right. The American Top Team representative shot again, this time securing the takedown and transitioning beautifully to the north-south position. As Kyle rolled to his stomach, Silva locked up what looked to be a fight-ending anaconda choke. To the American’s credit, he managed to escape the position, but Silva simply would not be denied. “Bigfoot” climbed on top of his foe, securing the mount and clobbering Kyle with sledgehammer blows until McCarthy stopped the contest at 2:49 of the round.

In the first televised fight of the evening, light heavyweight prospect Ovince St. Preux dominated an undersized Benji Radach en route to an easy unanimous decision victory.

Neither man impressed to start, but St. Preux drew figurative first blood with a hard liver kick. Radach retaliated with a takedown, but the former University of Tennessee linebacker popped right back up. After both men traded blows standing, St. Preux took the fight to the floor, securing Radach’s back and landed powerfulpunches on the floor. After dishing out considerable punishment, the former Volunteer tried to end the fight with a rear-naked choke on two occasions. St. Preux looked puzzled at points, as referee Mike England refused to stop the contest.

Round two would bring more of the same, as mere seconds into the second frame, St. Preux dropped Radach with a short left hook and followed him to the ground, riding the knockout puncher and looking to dig in his hooks once Radach exposed his back.

In the third, Radach came out with something to prove. Fighting through exhaustion, the 30-year-old landed a heavy right hand that staggered St. Preux before eating a sharp left that dropped him to the canvas. From there, it was déjà vu, as the Tennessean landed more punches on the canvas. A late stand up by England gave Radach hope, but it was too little too late.

Scores were 30-27, 30-26, 30-25 for St. Preux.

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