It’s the second to last installment of the Best of 2013 series and it’s been a fun experience. This week we’re going over the most explosive finishes in the top 10 knockouts of 2013.
As usual the picks were made by members of the MMA Freak writing staff. There were those knockouts that were nominated but did not receive enough votes to make the top 10. However they will be listed in the honorable mentions:
~ Honorable Mentions ~
Yoel Romero‘s knockout of Clifford Starks by flying a knee and punches at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez (Knockout of the Night)
Robbie Lawler‘s technical knockout of Josh Koscheck by a knee and punches at UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche (Knockout of the Night)
Alexander Shlemenko‘s knockout of Doug Marshall by a punch to the body at Bellator 109
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua‘s knockout punch of James Te-Huna at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot (Knockout of the Night)
Ricardo Lamas‘ technical knockout of Eric Koch by elbows and punches at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson
Dong-Hyun Kim‘s knockout punch of Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields (Knockout of the Night)
Cain Velasquez‘s technical knockout of Junior dos Santos at UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3
Junior dos Santos’ knockout of Mark Hunt by spinning hook kick and punch at UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2 (Fight of the Night)
Renan Barao‘s knockout of Eddie Wineland by spinning back kick and punches at UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson (Knockout of the Night)
Jessica Rakoczy‘s technical knockout of Roxanne Modafferi by slam and punches during The Ultimate Fighter 18 (Knockout of the Season)
Hector Lombard‘s knockout punches of Nate “The Great” Marquardt at UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3
Kalib Starnes knockout by elbows of Dwayne Lewis at World Series of Fighting 7: Karakhanyan vs. Palmer
Mike Richman‘s technical knockout due to punches of Akop Stepanyan at Bellator 106
Jeremy Stephens‘ knockout of Rony Jason by head kick at UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson
Tyron Woodley‘s knockout by punches of Josh Koscheck at UFC 167: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks (Knockout of the Night)
Mark Hunt‘s technical knockout of Stefan Struve by punches at UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann (Knockout of the Night)
Lyoto Machida‘s knockout by head kick of Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz (Knockout of the Night)
Josh Thomson‘s technical knockout of Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez (Knockout of the Night)
Here we go with the top 10 knockouts of 2013:
~ 10 ~
Wanderlei Silva’s knockout of Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann
Leading into this fight, both men were in dire need of a win. Brian Stann had just lost a match to Michael Bisping whereas Wanderlei Silva had just lost to Rich Franklin for the second time.
Needless to say both fighters went in and gave it their all. We got to see a glimpse of the ‘Pride era Silva’ as he was able to come away with a highlight real knockout. Both men earned Fight of the Night honors, Silva was awarded Knockout of the Night, and a verbal war with Chael Sonnen would eventually lead to the two coaching opposite each other on TUF: Brazil 3.
~ 9 ~
Vitor Belfort’s knockout of Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson
In reality this match up didn’t make logical sense. Leading into this fight Vitor Belfort was on a two fight win streak, whereas Dan Henderson was on the opposite streak, having dropped two in a row to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans in close decisions.
However, the two did have a background in that they met back in Pride with Henderson coming away with the decision. The match didn’t last eighty seconds before Belfort was able to take out Henderson with a head kick and punches that found “Hendo” stunned on his back. Belfort walked away with Knockout of the Night honors and it essentially guaranteed Belfort a title shot against Chris Weidman now set for May 24 at UFC 173.
~ 8 ~
Travis Browne’s knockout of Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen
This match was a prospect versus veteran match to say the least. Both men shared the common opponent of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva who both handed them losses, leaving Alistair Overeem looking for a rebound win, and Travis Browne having just found a rebound win against Gabriel Gonzaga.
The match started out with Overeem getting the better of the striking and almost finishing Browne at one point. However, Browne was able to recover and used his lanky legs to throw front kicks until one of them found Overeem’s chin. The upset and comeback win gave Browne Knockout of the Night honors and a match against Josh Barnett which he also won by knockout.
~ 7 ~
Demetrious Johnson’s knockout of Joseph Benavidez at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2
2013 was without a doubt the year of the “Mighty Mouse” and this match solidified it. Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez had met once before for the inaugural UFC Flyweight Championship and Johnson came out on top via a close decision.
Since that time Johnson defended his title twice and earned two bonus awards whereas Benavidez went 3-0 since their bout to earn the rematch. However, unlike their previous match up, Johnson was able to use his improved striking to place an overhand right on Benavidez’s upper jaw just into the second minute of round one. Johnson won Knockout of the Night honors and was awarded Fighter of the Year by many publications.
~ 6 ~
Emanuel Newton’s knockout of Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal at Bellator 90
After this match one of the fighters actually became more well known. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal was expected to win his first Bellator tournament and second time participant Emanuel Newton was expected to be just a stepping stone.
This however would not be the case. Roughly half way through the first round of their semi-final match, Emanuel Newton threw a spinning back fist which found Lawal’s chin and sent him falling face first onto the canvas. Newton would go onto win the tournament and would defeat Lawal again the for Interim LHW title.
~ 5 ~
Vitor Belfort’s knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping
This was the first match in Vitor Belfort’s three fight winning streak that earned him the title shot. Belfort was just coming off of a loss at light heavyweight to Jon Jones and was looking for a rebound.
In comes Michael “The Count” Bisping. Belfort and Bisping met at UFC on FX and Belfort was able to throw a head kick and once again hand Bisping some humble pie. Belfort got Knockout of the Night honors.
~ 4 ~
Vitor Belfort’s knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold
All three of Vitor Belfort’s 2013 fights made this list and his second one was ranked the highest. Fresh off of his win over Michael Bisping, Belfort proceeded to welcome Strikeforce import Luke Rockhold to the Octagon.
While Rockhold was able to hold his own during the match, Belfort was able to use a spinning heel kick to put Belfort on the ground. Belfort was awarded Knockout of the Night and the match set up for his match with Dan Henderson. This makes Belfort the most recurring member of this list.
~ 3 ~
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva’s knockout of Alistair Overeem at UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar
This was the match that goes to show that anything can happen in MMA. Antonio Silva came into this fight with a win over Travis Browne while Alistair Overeem was just coming off a drug suspension. The fight for the first two rounds consisted of Overeem out striking and at times almost finishing “Bigfoot.”
However in the third round, Overeem got overconfident and Silva was able to rock and then knockout Overeem. In the process Silva earned a title rematch with Cain Velasquez and earned Knockout of the Night honors as well.
~ 2 ~
Uriah Hall’s knockout of Adam Cella during The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen
The Ultimate Fighter has been known to turn out great prospects and this is no exception. Uriah Hall was a former Ring of Combat Middleweight Champion and Adam Cella was another promising prospect. The match was pretty much even until the last few seconds of the fight when Hall dealt Cella a spinning hook kick.
The kick was so severe that Cella started having breathing problems on the Octagon floor. The win earned Hall the Knockout of the Season and Hall would eventually make it to the finals of season 17.
~ 1 ~
Chris Weidman’s knockout of Anderson Silva at UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman
This was probably the most high profile match of 2013 not to mention the Knockout of the Year by multiple publications. Until this point Anderson Silva was still the pound for pound king and had been for years but Chris Weidman was considered the best man to go in and dethrone him.
The first round for the first time in a while Weidman went in and did indeed dominate Silva by utilizing ground and pound. Then in the second round Weidman started striking on Silva who was using his head movement but Weidman was able to find Silva’s chin and do something no one had every done, knock him out. Weidman earned Knockout of the Night honors and MMA Freak’s Knockout of 2013.
Stay tuned for the final installment of the Best of 2013 series next week.