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The 411 MMA Year-End Awards: Part Six– The Best Knockouts of 2016
Welcome back to the MMA Top 5, year-end awards edition! What we are going to is take a topic and all the writers here on 411 MMA will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, and the end, based on where all of these topics rank on people’s list, we will create an overall Top 5 list. It looks a little like this…
1st – 5
2nd – 4
3rd – 3
4th – 2
5th – 1
At the end we tally the scores and get our overall top 5! It’s highly non-official and final, like WAMMA. From best and worst fight to best fighter and KO of the year, the staff will come together to share out best. Thanks for joining us, and lets get down to work.
5. Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman – UFC 205
4. Patricky Pitbull Freire vs. Ryan Couture – Bellator 148
3. Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold – UFC 199
2. Yair Rodriguez vs. Andre Fili – UFC 197
1. Sheldon Reid vs. Julio Calcina – Shinobi War 7 – This was an amateur bantamweight fight out of Liverpool in the spring. In the first round, Julio accidentally kneed Sheldon in the groin while in the clinch. After taking about two minutes to collect himself, upon the restart, Sheldon landed a beautiful front kick and knocked Julio out cold.
5. Michael Bisping’s Left Hook vs. Luke Rockhold – UFC 199
4. Yair Rodriguez’s Jumping Switch Kick vs. Andre Fili – UFC 197
3. Alex Garcia’s Overhand Right vs. Mike Pyle – UFC 207
2. Yoel Romero’s Flying Knee vs. Chris Weidman – UFC 105
1. Lando Vannata’s Spinning Heel Kick vs. John Makdessi – UFC 206 – OK, so this fight may not have had the implications of some others on my list, but good grief was this a brutal and violent knockout. Plus this did have value, Vannata nearly finished Tony Ferguson on short notice and this outing proved it wasn’t a fluke. I can still hear the crack of that kick landing, and the set up was a thing of beauty as Vannata baited Makdessi into circling right into the attack. Easily the most memorable KO for my money.
5. Alex Garcia’s overhand right KO of Mike Pyle – UFC 207
4. Yair Rodriguez’s Jumping Switch Kick KO of Andre Fili – UFC 197
3. Michael Bisping’s left hook KO of Luke Rockhold – UFC 199
2. Yoel Romero’s flying knee KO of Chris Weidman – UFC 205
1. Lando Vannata’s spinning heel kick of John Makdessi – UFC 206 – 2016 was not short on amazing knockouts and it was difficult narrowing down the list. Plenty are deserving of any spot on this list. Some had major implications (think Conor McGregor’s combination knockout of Eddie Alvarez) while other lacked the implication but delivered in tremendous violence; outright brutality. This is why Lando Vannata’s spinning heel kick knockout of John Makdessi stands out. It was brutal and, as Vannata needed no follow up, he walked-off echoing that of Mark Hunt. It was a marvelous display of craft and violence and edges out the number one spot in my book.
5. Yoel Romero’s Knee Crushes Chris Weidman
4. Hendo Back Elbows Hector Lombard into Bolivian – UFC 199
3. Yair Rodriguez Leaps and His Foot Gets Touchy Fili – UFC 197
2. Groovy Lando Spins his Foot into John Makdessi’s Face – UFC 206
1. MVP Caves in Cyborg’s Skull – Bellator 158 – I separate knockouts into two distinct categories: there are those that break the human skull, and there are those that do not. I contend that those that fall into the former category are more impressive than those in the latter, particularly if they occur by flying knee. Therefore, I submit that Michael Page had the best knockout of the year by putting a dent in Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos’ head.
5. Stephen Thompson Spinning Back Kick TKO of Johny Hendricks – UFC Fight Night 82
4. Patricky Pitbull Freire vs. Ryan Couture – Bellator 148
3. Lando Vannata’s Spinning Heel Kick vs. John Makdessi – UFC 206
2. Yair Rodriguez Leaps and His Foot Gets Touchy Fili – UFC 197
1. MVP Caves in Cyborg’s Skull – Bellator 158 – Michael “Venom” Page CAVED IN ANOTHER HUMAN BEING’S SKULL, broke his melon split his wig. That’s a first for me.
5. Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman – UFC 205 – 6 points
4. Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold – UFC 199 – 8 points
3. MVP Caves in Cyborg’s Skull – Bellator 158 – 10 points
2. Lando Vannata’s Spinning Heel Kick vs. John Makdessi – UFC 206 – 15 points
1. Yair Rodriguez vs. Andre Fili – UFC 197 – 18 points
THE 2016 411 MMA AWARDS:
* The Biggest Stories of 2016: Zuffa Sells UFC to WME-IMG for $4 BILLION – 29 points
* The Most Disappointing Fighters of 2016: Johny Hendricks – 28 points
* The Breakout Fighters of 2016: Cody Garbrandt – 25 points
* The Worst Fights of 2016: Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000 – Bellator 149 – 25 points
* The Best Submissions of 2016: Mackenzie Dern’s Imanari choke vs. Montana Stewart – LFC 61 – 20 points
* The Best Knockouts of 2016: Yair Rodriguez vs. Andre Fili – UFC 197 – 18 points
* The Best Fights of 2016: TO BE DETERMINED (January 25th)
* Fighter of the Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 26th)
