The MMA Top 10 09.10.10: Top 10 UFC Knockouts Pre-TUF Era

Posted by Todd Bergman on 09.10.2010

From Chuck Liddell taking out Tito Ortiz at UFC 47 to Pete Williams' head kick to Mark Coleman at UFC 17 and Gary Goodridge crushing Paul Herrera at UFC 8, 411's Todd Bergman counts down the top 10 UFC Knockouts that took place before the Ultimate Fighter era! Check out the full article to see which fights made the list and why!

Welcome back to the Top 10 everyone. Last week, we had a rather debated look at the Top 10 Submission Comebacks in UFC history. I was specifically inspired to do the article after watching some old UFC fights, not by the Anderson Silva fight, even though it was the Greatest Submission Comeback in the UFC's history. There's no way around it, Silva had his ass kicked for nearly 25 minutes before he was able to steal the victory. I know that some of you wanted Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin mentioned but I just didn't think that it was more important or better then any other fight that I listed. Yes Lesnar is a bigger name then a Pete Sell or Jon Fitch but those comebacks were way better then anything that happened between Lesnar and Carwin in my humble opinion.

With that stuff out of the way, I just wanted to express my amazement at the first weekend of college football. Dustin James' team the Oregon Ducks did a fabulous job of dominating the lonely Lobos of New Mexico, while my team the Florida State Seminoles were equally as dominate over the Samford Bulldogs. I'm still holding out hope that both Oregon & Florida State will meet up in a BCS Bowl game, just so I can once again say that I'm better then Dustin James. Before I get into the topic of this week, I wanted to send a special shout out to Jeremy Lambert, who is no longer a 411 MMA Zone writer. Lambert has always been a tremendous supporter of mine and was always cool enough to share his Mondays with my MMA SOUP article. Being a professional, Lambert didn't look down on The SOUP, even though it wasn't the most professional of articles. I will miss seeing The Cardio Freak each Monday but my BFF & I still Twitter on a daily basis. If you haven't began following Lambert on Twitter, you should really check him out.

Anyway, it's time to talk about this week's article. Given the usual confusion & arguments that go with a Top 10 article and an anxious Lord Csonka wanting this to happen, I've decided to split the Top 10 list into two different columns for the next two weeks. This week's article will deal with the Pre-TUF era that basically means any knockout from UFC 1 to UFC 50 are fair game. I understand that a lot of you won't be familiar with this era and this should give you the opportunity to go and check out some of these fights as they are something that you don't want to miss.

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Honorable Mention
Concrete Floor (Thanks Plunkett) vs. Kevin Randleman (UFC 24)
Tito Ortiz vs. Evan Tanner (UFC 30)
Tank Abbott vs. John Matua (UFC 6)
Don Frye vs. Thomas Ramirez (UFC 8)
Shonie Carter vs. Matt Serra (UFC 31)
Jens Pulver vs. John Lewis (UFC 28)
BJ Penn vs. Din Thomas (UFC 32)

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10) Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne

Event: UFC 39- The Warriors Return

If you managed to read any of my older Tapping Out With TBerg columns, then you know that Phil Baroni was a frequent guest. Phil is a great guy who has had his share of setbacks in MMA but on this night, he destroyed Menne with a plethora of strikes. Many will remember this fight as the one that Baroni proclaimed himself the "greatest eva." Having previously been stopped due to strikes by Murilo Bustamante, the talk of Menne's glass chin was strongly supported on this evening. The fight started with Baroni landing a vicious right hook that rocked Menne. A total of nine unanswered shots later and the ref was forced to stop the fight albeit very late in the onslaught. Menne was taken out on a stretcher while Baroni did his "unique celebration." The image of seeing Menne lifeless up against the fence with Baroni landing hellacious strikes is what lands this fight here on the list. If you haven't witnessed this KO, then check out one of the old UFC KO DVD's that is hosted by the strangely attractive Kerri Kasem. Many of us here at 411 are still waiting for this Phil Baroni to return and we've turned blue while holding out air.

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9) BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno

Event: UFC 34- High Voltage

If you blinked or took a piss break at the beginning of this fight then you certainly missed a classic knockout. I remember being excited for this show just based on the Hughes/Newton & Couture/Rizzo fights but this fight stole the show. Once referee Larry Landless started the fight, Uno tried some sort of flying knee or kick that completely missed Penn. From there BJ brought the pain with a right and then some other rights that knocked Uno back to Godzilla land. After watching his God-awful performance a few weeks ago, I really miss this BJ Penn that was aggressive and powerful. The Penn of today with the bland countering and letting his opponent come to him is a sign that Penn is either in need of a new camp or is past his prime in fighting. Love him or hate him, there's nothing cooler then seeing Penn destroy Uno and then run up the WWF-style ramp and into the back without hyping himself. A great 11 second KO and a must for any list like this.

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8) Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva

Event: UFC 17.5- Ultimate Brazil

Following an eye opening and embarrassing defeat at the hands of Randy Couture at UFC 15, and an easy win at UFC 15.5, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort returned to the UFC's Octagon to take on Muay Thai wrecking machine and surprising baby faced at this point Wanderlei Silva. The fight was booked to take place in Brazil, which was the breeding ground for both superstars. Many of us were forced to sit through a bad pay per view feed or even worse, a tracking filled VHS copy from the local video store. Personally, I chose to stream the event at a friends house with his AOL internet. So between cybering with who knows how old girls and role-playing via numerous e-feds, we watched the event. As I mentioned above, the talk of the event was the Belfort/Silva showdown. It appeared that the internet didn't know who to pick either as the forums were loading with arguments and breakdowns that all contradicted each other. The fight itself was just one of the more confusing things that plagued this event. First and foremost the event was a production teams worst nightmare as the pay per view graphic for the Belfort/Silva fight listed the fight as a title fight even though the fight wasn't for the Middleweight Title. That title was being defended later in the evening by Frank Shamrock.

There was also an issue with the way that the Brazilian flag was represented in the graphic for the event. With all of that behind the UFC, the fight didn't live up to what many wanted it to as Belfort played cautious for a few seconds before unloading 20 some unanswered shots to the face of Silva within the first minute. The official ruling of the fight was a TKO finish, which I dispute to this day because Silva clearly was out and was crumpled in the corner. With that said, the KO/TKO itself is one of the best in the pre-TUF era given it's symphony of beauty with lefts & rights connecting at will. This was the Vitor Belfort that drew comparisons to Mike Tyson and this is the Belfort that everyone wanted to see. Will we ever see these two compete against each other again? I'm not sure given the most recent situations revolving around Belfort's guaranteed title shot but I would really like to see these two fight again if it makes sense.

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7) Brad Kohler vs. Steve Judson

Event: UFC 22- Only One Can Be Champion

Most people will remember this night for the fucking EPIC showdown between Tito Ortiz & Frank Shamrock. However, this fight is a hidden gem given that both were insanely unknown and to this day, for the most part, remain that way. Kohler was the stereotypical UFC fighter at this point with his mass of muscle and lack of anything but brawling ability. Judson on the other hand was a Pancrase veteran with some legit BJJ skills. Would this fight be a throwback to the older days of the UFC? In a word, well two words, HELL NO! Kohler started the fight off with a massive double leg takedown and tried for a submission but with Judson's abilities on the ground, Kohler stood back up. Following a very brief and I mean brief dancing around session, Kohler unloads a monstrous right hand that destroys Judson and knocks him the fuck out. I'm talking a KO that had you and your buddies feeling bad for Judson.

I remember watching this event and remembering that it took something like 15 minutes for Judson to be carried out of the cage. We as the audience were left to Mike Goldberg filler during those 15 minutes, so I'm not sure who got it worse: the fans or Steve Judson? If you want to compare this killshot to anything that has happened most recently in MMA, then compare it to when Brock Lesnar smashed Heath Herring in the face back at UFC 87 The 30 second KO is rarely mentioned within any list because people forget about it given the Ortiz/Shamrock tussle later in that evening.

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6) Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell

Event: UFC 47-It's On

This was the fight that everyone waited nearly two and a half years to see. I was and still am a pretty big Tito Ortiz fan and really thought that he would win this fight. Much like anything that Tito does and says, it didn't go the way of Ortiz. Tito seemed to be fearful of Chuck even walking out and tried everything that he could to get in his head but nothing worked. Instead, Liddell remained calm and took his time landing at will with power hooks and straight rights. Tito had nothing in the fight and was ultimately dropped and swarmed on in the second round as Liddell hovered over him with brutal strikes. Tito would later state that an eye poke is what caused the KO and when you watch the video, it's obvious that he did get eye poked. However, it was only a matter of time before Chuck did him in given the fight up until that poke. If there were any lasting questions following this fight, Chuck answered them at UFC 66 when he stopped Ortiz again with strikes. I will always be a Tito fan but he simply can't beat Chuck Liddell, plain and simple.

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5) Frank Shamrock vs. Igor Zinoviev

Event: UFC 16- Battle On The Bayou

Before a Hurricane named Katrina wrecked the land of Voodoo and QB's with bad birthmarks, Frank Shamrock ran roughshod through the Bayou. This was the heyday of Frank Shamrock as he was quickly rising through the ranks of the UFC and was destroying anything in his path. Shamrock danced around Zinoviev for a few seconds before shooting in and landing that huge freaking slam. The slam itself was so violent that it instantly knocked out Zinoviev and broke his collarbone. The injury to the collarbone/neck region was so severe that Zinoviev retired after the fight and hasn't fought since. Zinoviev did return to coach the IFL's Chicago Red Bears before the league went extinct. It's crazy to think that after two fights in the UFC, Frank Shamrock had garnered a total of 38 seconds within the Octagon walls. I think that the video above speaks more then anything as you can see that this wasn't much of a fight so there isn't much to break down here. Just a violent slam that rivals anything that Rampage Jackson or Tito Ortiz ever did.

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4) Tank Abbott vs. Steve Nelmark

Event: UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996

Before there were the physically fit MMA bodies of today, there was Tank Abbott and his weekend warrior belly. The event in itself was scheduled to be one of the premier events in the early history of the UFC. Originally scheduled as a eight man-one night tournament featuring the likes of: Mark Coleman, Don Frye, Tank Abbott, & Ken Shamrock. However, much like anything in Mixed Martial Arts, it didn't happen as Coleman pulled out of the event due to a virus. Shamrock himself was injured in his first round fight against Brian Johnston and therefore couldn't continue on to meet Tank in the second round. The once prominent Ultimate Ultimate tournament quickly became a tournament of two names and alternates. The match up of a big name versus alternate quickly cemented this much talked about KO. Nelmark, was a promising UFC fighter who came into this fight with a 2-0 record, who previously in the evening won an alternate fight over Marcus Bossett with a choke. The fight itself wasn't much of a tussle outside of Nelmark nearly sinking in a guillotine choke that ultimately zapped his energy. Leading up to this event, UFC shows were filtered with cage grabbing that prohibited takedowns and allowed fighters to maintain dominate positions.

However, with this event, the UFC was suppose to be enforcing a "strict, no fence grabbing policy" but Abbott managed to hold the fence before crumpling Nelmark up against the fence with a flurry of strikes. It's one of the most violent and terrifying things that I have ever seen in MMA as Abbott just taunted his opponent after the KO. Much like the John Matua fight at UFC 6, Abbott destroyed his opponent and made light of their situation post fight. This fight slightly edges out the Matua fight because of the lasting image of seeing Nelmark bend up against the fence. Shouldn't there be a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame for Tank Abbott?

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3) Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton I

Event: UFC 34: High Voltage

Everyone will remember the slam in this fight but for me the best part was the entrances. Hughes came out to Kid Rock's "American Badass" & Newton (sporting a black afro wig and hot chick carrying his title) came out to "Bootylicious." That's not a typo folks as Newton really did wear an afro. You also add in the fact that Newton was fresh off of that great bulldog choke victory over Matt Hughes mentor Pat Militich and this one turns into a good ole' fashion grudge match. While no one knew it at the time, this fight shaped the UFC Welterweight Division's future for the better part of the next 2 or 3 years. Anyway back to the actual fight, Newton did a tremendous job in this fight of keeping Hughes at bay on the ground and actually reversing Hughes into mount in the first round.

For the first time in a long time, Hughes wasn't going to be able to simply just dominate his opponent on the ground and a game challenger was facing Hughes. The second round of the fight is what everyone remembers and for pretty good reason, I might add. After scoring a huge takedown, Newton locked in an insanely deep triangle choke that had Hughes in deep trouble. However, with the help of his "Xyience Country Breakfast Bars" Hughes was able to pick up Newton and simply place him in the corner of the cage. From there, it's anyone's story as either Hughes slammed Newton or actually passed out from the triangle. I'm going to say that Hughes probably passed out and the slam was just a mere formality of unconsciousness. Once he woke up, Hughes was awarded the Welterweight title and one of the best KO slams in UFC history.

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2) Pete Williams vs. Mark Coleman

Event: UFC 17- Redemption

When you talk about greatest KO's in MMA history, this ending must be included. Originally scheduled to take on Randy Couture at UFC 17, Mark Coleman was matched up against the then 7-1 Lion's Den fighter. Coleman, himself had been out of action for nearly a year after losing his UFC Heavyweight title belt to Maurice Smith at UFC 14. It was the combination of ring rust and cardio that cost Coleman on this evening. After controlling the action early on Coleman & Williams were locked into a stalemate that forced referee John McCarthy to stand both up. At this point, Coleman was completely gassed and left for dead. Coleman's conditioning had left him with very little defense and left him open to big strikes. It was in the three minute overtime round that Williams found his opening that shocked the MMA world. Coleman sensing that he was dead in the water, tried to shoot in and ate a brutal kick to the grill. This KO was also the first big head kick KO in UFC history.

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1) Gary Goodridge vs. Paul Herrera

Event: UFC 8- David vs. Goliath

This is to this day one of the nastiest looking finishes in MMA history. The legend of this fight is that Goodridge broke every single bone in Herrera's face. I've never been able to find confirmation of this but I can see why people would think that. I'm not sure of the logic of Herrera trying to put Goodridge on his back other then just some random bad strategy that ultimately didn't work out for Herrera. Following that shitty takedown attempt, Goodridge secured the crucifix position and began to make it rain with elbows until Herrera's lifeless soul was saved by the official. You would be hard pressed to see a KO like this now-a-days because from what I understand, these elbows are illegal now. Plus, I don't think fighters this day and age are as vicious as they were back then. Goodridge didn't care that Herrera was unconscious, he just continued the onslaught until the ref physically pulled him off. I'm not saying that I want to see KO's like this but I would like to see fighters have that killer instinct when it comes to finishing fights instead of just trying to control their opponents. It was finishes like this that landed Gary Goodridge the nickname of "Big Daddy" and he was once one of the most feared strikers in MMA. Those days have now long past as Goodridge is nothing more then a freak show type fighter.

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So that's the list of the Top 10 UFC Knockouts Pre-TUF Era. I hope that you enjoyed the list and look forward to next week's edition of the Top 10 Knockouts In The TUF Era. Remember to support your local MMA and keep your tapping hand strong.