5 UFC fighters whose career was defined by a single moment
When you think of legends of the UFC such as Jon Jones or Anderson Silva, numerous memorable moments instantly come to mind. However, this is not the same for some other fighters.
Over the years, we've seen numerous fighters compete in the UFC whose careers ended up being defined by one single moment, even if they generally found success.
For these fighters, if you were to mention their name, this defining moment would instantly come to mind. In many ways, it makes them legendary in their own right.
Here are five UFC fighters whose career have been defined by one single moment.
#5 Scott Smith - former UFC middleweight contender
When Scott Smith signed with the UFC back in 2006, he did so after winning one of the greatest one-round fights in MMA history against Justin Levens in the WEC.
However, 'Hands of Steel' lost his octagon debut to David Terrell, stopping his hype train. After his performance on the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter was forgettable, his career looked dead in the water.
That all changed when Smith fought his friend Pete Sell in the finale of the season. A wild brawl ensued, with both men getting their licks in. However, when Sell landed a huge shot to the body of Smith, who doubled over, the fight looked done.
'Drago' charged in to finish his foe, only for Smith to uncork a haymaker right hand that landed flush on Sell's jaw. The Long Island native was knocked out cold, and incredibly, Smith couldn't even celebrate, as he collapsed in pain.
The punch ended up defining the career of 'Hands of Steel', who received numerous showcase bouts with the UFC afterwards.
Unsurprisingly, he was unable to replicate the shot, but the fame it gave him springboarded him into a successful run with other promotions too, including StrikeForce.
Even today, almost two decades on, the clip of Smith's big knockout remains one of the most popular in octagon history.
#4 Mike Russow - former UFC heavyweight contender
If you mention the name Mike Russow to most UFC fans today, they probably wouldn't recall the former heavyweight contender at all. In fact, most wouldn't be able to pick him out of a line-up.
However, if they were shown a clip of his defining moment in the octagon, they'd instantly recognize him. The former Chicago cop scored one of the most infamous knockouts in octagon history in 2010, bursting the bubble of Todd Duffee in the process.
Russow was 1-0 in the octagon and 12-1 overall when he was chosen to fight Duffee, who had scored a seven-second knockout in his octagon debut. To be frank, there was no doubt which fighter the promotion was looking to showcase.
Early on, the things looked to be going as per plan. Duffee hammered Russow with huge punches, knocking him all around the octagon.
There was a slight issue, though, in that Russow simply wouldn't go down, no matter how hard he was hit.
By the third round, Duffee had begun to slow down, but still appeared to be cruising to a decision win. That was until Russow caught him cleanly with a right hand that dropped him, hard.
Duffee was out cold as he hit the deck, which only made what happened next even funnier. Russow dropped down to follow up, but sensing his foe was done, landed probably the softest hammer fist ever thrown in the octagon.
The bizarre clip went around the world, years before the concept of "going viral" was a thing. Unsurprisingly, it defined Russow's MMA career, which lasted just four more fights.
#3 Uriah Hall - former UFC middleweight contender
Uriah Hall's nine-year UFC career saw him defeat great fighters such as Anderson Silva, Gegard Mousasi and Thiago Santos. It even saw him rise up into the top ten of the middleweight division.
Despite this success, though, many fans considered 'Prime Time' to be a letdown or even a failure. Unfortunately for him, that's because he scored a career-defining knockout even prior to his full octagon debut and could never quite live up to it afterwards.
Hall was chosen as part of the cast for the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2013. In his first fight on the show, he knocked out Adam Cella with a highlight reel-worthy spinning wheel kick.
The knockout was alarmingly violent, though, with Cella's lights instantly switching off. When he came around, he audibly groaned in pain, and the finish disturbed everyone watching, including Hall himself.
Fans around the world were shocked and awed by the finish. When Hall - who became like a boogeyman to his castmates - then made it to the finals, there seemed to be no question he'd win.
Unfortunately, 'Prime Time' lost to Kelvin Gastelum in a below-par showing, and while his career eventually got back on track, he never did live up to his career-defining knockout of Cella.
#2 Joaquin Buckley - UFC welterweight contender
Right now, there are few fighters in the UFC's welterweight division who are hotter than Joaquin Buckley. Since dropping down to 170 pounds last year, 'New Mansa' has reeled off four straight wins to climb into the top-15.
However, despite his current success, it's unlikely that Buckley will ever be defined by anything but his legendary knockout of Impa Kasanganay in 2020.
In fact, this knockout was so good - and has been seen by so many people across the world - that even if he becomes welterweight champion, it will probably still define him.
The knockout in question barely needs describing. Kasanganay threw a low kick, only for Buckley to catch it and counter with a spinning back kick to the head, knocking him out instantly.
Remarkably, the knockout became the most viewed UFC clip of all time, pulling in over 65 million views across all platforms on social media.
For now, at least, it completely defines Buckley's octagon career, and it's unlikely that will change, however much he'd like it to.
#1 Edson Barboza - UFC featherweight contender
Now in his 14th year in the UFC, Edson Barboza is set to headline this weekend's Fight Night event against Lerone Murphy. Over his career in the promotion, 'Junior' has produced a highlight reel to match any fighter.
However, despite landing classic knockouts against the likes of Shane Burgos, Billy Quarantillo and Beneil Dariush, Barboza will always be defined by his 2012 finish of Terry Etim.
Prior to this knockout, the idea of a fight in the octagon being finished via a spinning wheel kick felt like a pipe dream. The strike was seemingly more suited to a Jean Claude Van Damme movie than a "real" fight.
Barboza changed all of that, though, landing the kick to Etim's jaw in the third round of a fight he was already winning. The kick froze the British fighter in time, and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board.
Unsurprisingly, the knockout stunned fans across the world, and turned Barboza into an overnight sensation. In the 12 years that have followed, other fighters have replicated the same strike to similar success, but Barboza's remains the original and best.
While he's gone onto plenty of success since - although he's never fought for a title - it's fair to say that this kick will always define the career of 'Junior'.