5 best finishes from the stars of UFC Fight Night: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas
This weekend, the UFC heads back to its Las Vegas APEX for another Fight Night, and while the card's not star-studded, it could be fun.
UFC Fight Night: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas features a number of seriously dangerous fighters with plenty of nasty finishes to their name.
Whether they can repeat these kinds of finishes tonight remains to be seen, but it'd be nice for the fans watching on TV if they can.
Here are five of the best finishes from the stars of UFC Fight Night: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas.
#5. Cameron Saaiman vs. Terrence Mitchell - UFC 290
South African bantamweight prospect Cameron Saaiman was building a lot of momentum prior to his recent defeat to an overweight Christian Rodriguez, and he'll hope to gain some back tonight when he fights Payton Talbott.
One of the biggest reasons that he built such momentum was his deadly finishing ability, and we saw a prime example of that at UFC 290 when he fought Terrence Mitchell.
The fight was a showing of complete domination, as not only did Saaiman land the better strikes on the feet, but he also bossed proceedings on the ground.
After forcing a takedown, the South African was able to find a dominant position from the top, and after flattening Mitchell out, he battered him with non-stop punches.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take too long for referee Mark Smith to step in to halt the bout, giving Saaiman his third straight win in the octagon. It didn't earn him a $50k bonus, but this finish was vicious and gave fans a glimpse of what the South African could offer.
#4. Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane - UFC 293
Tonight's co-headliner will see heavyweights Justin Tafa and Karl Williams do battle, and realistically, the bout will probably go one of two ways.
Either things will end early with a violent knockout, or we could be treated to a sloppy brawl that lasts the distance and isn't exactly fun for anyone to watch.
With any hope, the former will happen - just as it did when Tafa took on Austen Lane for the second time at UFC 293.
Their first bout had ended in controversy, as Tafa suffered an accidental eye poke, resulting in a No Contest being declared.
'Bad Man' clearly came into their rematch in an angry way, and sure enough, Lane ended up paying the consequences.
After suffering another eye poke, Tafa began to swing for his foe wildly. While the punches hardly came with the cleanest technique, they packed a ridiculous amount of power, and a clubbing left hook dropped Lane to the ground.
From there, a series of brutal hammer fists followed that left Lane unconscious and gave Tafa his revenge - as well as a nice $50k bonus, too.
#3. Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brad Tavares - UFC 244
Middleweight prospect Edmen Shahbazyan has seen his stock fall badly over the past couple of years. 'The Golden Boy' has now lost four of his last five bouts and could have his back to the wall against AJ Dobson tonight.
It's a far cry from a few years ago when he was widely recognized as one of UFC's best young 185-pound fighters.
Shahbazyan's excellent early run was punctuated by a brutal finish of veteran Brad Tavares at UFC 244 in late 2019, a knockout that suggested he had the potential to become a title contender.
Tavares, who was in his 9th year in the promotion, had gone the distance with the likes of Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero before and was expected to test 'The Golden Boy' heavily.
That wasn't the case, though. Instead, it took Shahbazyan just over two minutes to dispatch him.
A right hand started things off, dropping the Hawaiian, and when he scrambled back up, Shahbazyan wouldn't let up.
He nailed Tavares with another flurry that rocked him, followed by a brutal head kick that instantly switched out the veteran's lights, giving 'The Golden Boy' a tremendous finish.
The performance remains a sign of what Shahbazyan is capable of, and he'll be hoping to regain that kind of form tonight.
#2. Amanda Ribas vs. Luana Pinheiro - UFC Fight Night 232
Strawweight contender Amanda Ribas has picked up some huge wins in her UFC career, beating the likes of Mackenzie Dern and Paige VanZant. Tonight, she'll be hoping to claim her biggest yet when she fights former titleholder Rose Namajunas.
The Brazilian's best finish was produced in her most recent fight just five months ago.
Taking on Luana Pinheiro, most fans expected Ribas to come out on top, but few could've seen the highlight reel finish she ended up producing coming.
After two wild, back-and-forth rounds that Pinheiro arguably got the better of, Ribas came out looking for the finish in the third - and got it with a wonderful combo.
She stunned her fellow Brazilian with a right hand, then landed a spinning wheel kick that essentially froze her in time. A follow-up flurry followed, and the fight was swiftly stopped.
This was the first spinning wheel kick finish from a female fighter in UFC history, and it quite rightfully earned Ribas a $50k performance bonus. If she can produce similar tonight, a title shot could be on the way.
#1. Rose Namajunas vs. Weili Zhang - UFC 261
Ever since her UFC career began on TUF 20, Rose Namajunas has been widely recognized as one of the deadliest finishers in the promotion.
'Thug Rose' has so many violent endings to her name that you could easily make an entire list like this centered purely around her, but one of her stoppages stands out above the rest.
This stoppage, of course, was the one that won her the strawweight title for the second time. It came at UFC 261 in April 2021 and saw her dispatch then-champ Weili Zhang in insane fashion.
The fight was expected to be a war, largely because of the history of both women. In fact, Zhang's last fight had seen her involved in a ludicrous brawl with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, which was widely recognized as the greatest women's fight in MMA history.
Instead, it turned out to be a quick and violent affair in favor of 'Thug Rose'. After some feeler strikes, she stepped in and landed one of the cleanest left head kicks ever seen in the octagon, instantly knocking 'Magnum' unconscious.
The knockout was the first time Zhang had ever been finished in her MMA career and still stands as a scary reminder of Namajunas' abilities. She hasn't hit such form since but will be hoping to produce something just as special tonight.