Michael Bisping knocks out Luke Rockhold
Date: June 4, 2016
Event: UFC 199
Speaking of short-notice opposition and the traditional left-handed blindspots of a southpaw, but how could I leave this legendary finish off of the list?
Getting the call while on a movie set with just two weeks notice, [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] stepped in to face longtime foe and then-champion Luke Rockhold, a man who had dominantly defeated him in competition once before. But despite having the odds heavily stacked against him, Bisping stepped in and showed that you don’t have to swing from a southpaw stance if you mean to find said left-handed blindspot on a lefty – just so long as you have an educated left hook (see Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards).
Max Holloway TKOs Jose Aldo
Date: June 3, 2017
Event: UFC 212
At this point in time, Jose Aldo – the “King of Rio” – has made multiple title defenses in front of his home crowd in Rio de Janeiro, arguably putting on his best UFC performances whenever there.
But in the wake of the McGregor-era shakeup, a Hawaiian champion seemingly snuck up to the top of the mountain with a style that would help mark MMA’s technical evolution – making for a difficult challenge that many didn’t see coming.
Wielding a fighter archetype that I like to refer to as “a builder,” [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]’s vaunted output will build in conjunction with his understanding of a fight’s traffic – steadily using his opponent’s strengths against them. Against Aldo, a fighter who typically needs pockets of time recoup energy, Holloway proved to be stylistic kryptonite, showing the fighting world how to both provide and get paid off by pressure.
*Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2
Date: July 29, 2017
Event: UFC 214
No, the asterisk above is not your imagination, as I do believe this fight finish-turned-no contest deserves to be on here specifically for the controversy it inspires.
The reason that you’re probably seeing [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ name atop many “fighters of the decade” or “top pound-for-pound fighters” lists is that it’s hard to deny both the ass kickings and the level of fighting that the man has produced through the years.
However, despite the UFC’s best efforts to avoid another Vitor Belfort-like scenario, their operating authority (USADA) ended up both housing and harming careers like Jones’, sadly casting a thicker fog over one of the highest-level performances we’ve been privy to between two of the sports greatest pound-for-pound fighters.
The record book reads “no contest,” but not even [autoag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] will deny what happened that night.
Francis Ngannou knocks out Alistair Overeem
Date: Dec. 2, 2017
Event: UFC 218
Outside of the spooky Sonny Liston-Floyd Patterson parallels that I correctly predicted in my initial breakdown of this match, there’s not a ton of technical or historical significance to selecting [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s knockout of [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag].
Honestly, it’s just a great example of how skills and experience can pretty much account for nothing when you’re dealing with heavyweight MMA. And though I hate to even joke about serious injury, this devastating finish was essentially this decade’s “Rampage-Arona” moment.