5 best finishes from the stars of UFC 303
UFC 303 goes down in Las Vegas this weekend. With some dangerous fighters on offer, it should be a great show to watch.
UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka 2 not only features some of the world's best fighters, it also features plenty of ruthless finishers. So with violent experts in both knockout and submission in action, this event should be one that fans cannot afford to miss.
Here are the five best finishes from the stars of UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka 2.
#5. Payton Talbott vs. Cameron Saaiman - UFC on ESPN 53
While his fight with Yanis Ghemmouri is not set to be on the main card this weekend, bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott still has a lot of hype around him.
The 25-year-old is just 8-0 in MMA and has two wins to his name in the octagon. However, his flashy but effective striking style has already drawn comparisons to current UFC bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley.
These comparisons came largely because of his excellent showing against Cameron Saaiman in March. Not only did Talbott pick apart the South African fighter, showing poise and skill, but he finished him in vicious fashion too.
Saaiman had already been dropped twice in the first round, but Talbott hadn't quite been able to finish him off for good.
That changed just 21 seconds into the second. As the South African lunged forward, Talbott countered with a short left hook that put him down for a third time, and then sealed the deal with a series of nasty follow-up shots.
It was a remarkably clean knockout considering the shot was such a short one, but it was an excellent display of Talbott's slick skills overall. If he can produce similar this weekend, expect his hype to grow further.
#4. Ian Machado Garry vs. Daniel Rodriguez - UFC on ABC 4
UFC 303 will see welterweight prospect Ian Machado Garry put his unbeaten record on the line against former Bellator star Michael 'Venom' Page.
Page is well renowned as one of MMA's most unorthodox and dangerous strikers, but based on what we've seen from Garry so far, he can crack just as heavily as anyone at 170 pounds.
'The Future' holds wins over both Geoff Neal and Neil Magny, but his best finish almost certainly came over Daniel Rodriguez just over a year ago. 'D-Rod' was seen at the time as a major step up in competition for the Irishman, but when it came to the bout, it didn't seem that way at all.
After some early trading, Garry quickly found his range, and from there, it didn't take long for him to hurt Rodriguez. He landed a nasty head kick that stunned his foe, and quickly followed up with a series of punches, bowling him over for the stoppage.
It was the first time that Rodriguez had ever been stopped via strikes, and it was a definite sign that 'The Future' was for real, something he's proven on multiple occasions since.
#3. Diego Lopes vs. Sodiq Yusuff - UFC 300
UFC 303's co-headliner will see a battle of dangerous featherweight finishers, as former title challenger Brian Ortega takes on Diego Lopes.
Ortega has a lengthy list of violent and slick finishes to his name, both via submission and knockout. However, it's arguable that since he burst onto the scene last year, Lopes has proven to be equally dangerous as 'T-City'.
He debuted with a tight loss to the unbeaten Movsar Evloev. Since then, the Mexico-based Brazilian has reeled off three wins, all via finish. His most impressive, though, came against explosive striker Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 earlier this year.
Yusuff was expected to test Lopes on the feet, with many fans expecting the Brazilian to look to grapple instead. He proved them wrong, though, and dispatched 'Super Sodiq' via knockout in the first round.
A brutal right uppercut from close quarters essentially did it for Yusuff, who was knocked down and simply couldn't recover before Lopes bounced his head off the mat.
It was a frightening finish from the Tom DeLonge lookalike, and if he can follow it with a similar win over Ortega this weekend, a title shot should be in his sights.
#2. Jiri Prochazka vs. Dominick Reyes - UFC on ESPN 23
Jiri Prochazka, who will attempt to regain the light heavyweight title from Alex Pereira in the headline bout at UFC 303, is undoubtedly one of the promotion's most effective finishers.
Remarkably, 'BJP' has only gone the distance in one of his 30 career wins, and all four of his wins inside the octagon have come in a violent manner. However, it's probably fair to say that his signature finish remains his knockout of former title challenger Dominick Reyes in the summer of 2021.
With a shot at the 205-pound title on the line, Prochazka needed to step up to another level, and he did just that.
The fight was a furious brawl in the first round, with both men landing heavy shots and hurting the other on multiple occasions. The second continued in the exact same manner, and when Reyes landed a big elbow strike to the head of the Czech fighter, he looked en route to a win.
However, 'The Devastator' made the error of going for a guillotine choke, and that allowed Prochazka to recover. Moments later, 'BJP' made him pay. He backed Reyes up with a kick, landed an elbow, and then followed with a spinning back elbow that switched the former title challenger off instantly.
It was an unbelievable knockout that was up there with the best of the year, and it was a signal that Prochazka was a genuine threat to the light heavyweight title. Just over a year later, he finished Glover Teixeira to reach the promised land.
#1. Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill - UFC 300
There have been few knockout artists in UFC history quite so vicious as current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
One of the most decorated kickboxers to ever set foot into the octagon, 'Poatan' has already left a path of destruction behind him en route to becoming a double champion.
In terms of picking the Brazilian's best finish, it'd be easy to justify putting either his knockout of Sean Strickland or Israel Adesanya at the top of the list. However, it's arguable that his most recent win, a crushing victory over former 205-pound titleholder Jamahal Hill, was his best to date.
A vaunted striker in his own right, 'Sweet Dreams' was hoping to test Pereira on the feet. Unfortunately for him, 'Poatan' had other ideas.
After a feeling-out period, Hill appeared to land a glancing low blow, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in. However, Pereira quickly waved off the official - and then put Hill to sleep with his trademark left hook.
The finish was sudden, violent, and took basically everyone by surprise. It also cemented Pereira as the world's top light heavyweight, as it meant he'd taken out both previous titleholders via KO.
If he can do the same to Jiri Prochazka this weekend, it'll be hard not to see him as an all-time legend of the octagon.