5 spectacular spinning kick knockouts in the UFC
Fighting techniques are always evolving in the UFC, and quite often, what works at one point probably won’t be quite as successful down the line. On the flip side, techniques that would’ve been frowned upon a few years back are now commonplace.
Just a handful of years ago, nobody would’ve believed that spinning kicks could work in the UFC, but nowadays, they produce some of the flashiest and most spectacular knockouts of all.
Once considered a ‘Hollywood’ move that belonged to Jean-Claude van Damme flicks rather than ‘real’ fights in the UFC, spinning kicks always elicit a massive reaction from UFC fans. And essentially, if a fighter can knock out an opponent with one, they go straight into folklore.
On that note, here are five spectacular spinning kick knockouts in the UFC.
#5 Uriah Hall vs Gegard Mousasi – UFC Fight Night 75
Uriah Hall made his reputation off the back of one of the nastiest spinning kicks in MMA history. ‘Prime Time’ used a spinning hook kick to knock out the unfortunate Adam Cella during the tapings of TUF 17, leaving Cella unconscious for some time in a scary scene.
However, when he reached the UFC proper, Hall struggled to live up to the level he had built on TUF, and after a handful of disappointing losses, he was largely deemed a flop of sorts. But that changed when he took on the highly regarded Gegard Mousasi on late notice at UFC Fight Night 75 in 2015.
After a difficult first round that saw him dominated on the ground, ‘Prime Time’ decided to throw caution to the wind. When Mousasi looked to close him down as the second round began, Hall leapt into the air and landed a ridiculous spinning back kick to the face of his opponent.
Mousasi stumbled backwards, and seconds later Hall followed up with a flying knee that dropped him before finishing him off with strikes on the ground.
It was one of the most spectacular finishes in UFC history. While Uriah Hall still couldn’t quite recapture his TUF form, his win over Mousasi rocketed him up to the top ten of the UFC’s middleweight division for the first time.