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MMA is an ever-evolving sport, meaning that techniques that were once useless a few years ago can suddenly be used to great effect inside the UFC octagon.
Just over a decade ago, the idea that the front kick could be used to knock an opponent out in the UFC was laughable, but it’s now responsible for some all-time classic knockouts.
Once considered at best a transitional or set-up strike and, at worst, fodder from a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, even the best fighters in the UFC need to be wary when their opponent throws a front kick.
It’s now become common to see fighters dig at their opponent’s body with front kicks before snapping one up towards the jaw, often with great effect.
With this in mind, here are five of the best front kick knockouts in UFC history.
#5. Marlon Vera vs. Frankie Edgar – UFC 268
The most recent entry on this list came from last weekend’s blockbuster UFC 268 card, which saw Marlon Vera end the night of former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in devastating fashion.
Edgar took the first round of this bantamweight clash, using his takedowns to ground the explosive Vera and controlling him from the top position.
However, ‘The Answer’ began to slow down somewhat in the second round, allowing Vera a way back into the fight. From there, the native of Ecuador began to take over proceedings, landing a number of strikes to keep his foe at a distance.
Most notably, ‘Chito’ began to attack Edgar’s body with a series of front kicks, using them to keep him at distance and also break the former champion down.
The third round saw Vera continue to use this strike to great effect, but few UFC fans were prepared for what would happen next. After escaping a takedown from Edgar, ‘Chito’ surprised him by throwing the front kick again, only this time he aimed it at the jaw.
The kick connected perfectly, folding Edgar up and forcing referee Todd Anderson to quickly step in. ‘The Answer’ did attempt to protest the stoppage, but it was clear by the way that he was wobbling around the octagon that he was done.
At the time, this looked like one of the best knockouts of 2021, but it was only a few hours later – when a photo showing the kick seemingly turning Edgar’s face into a rubber mask emerged and instantly went viral – that its true impact was felt.
It was the kind of knockout that could well turn Vera into a genuine UFC star.
#4. Magomed Ankalaev vs. Dalcha Lungiambula – UFC Fight Night 163
Magomed Ankalaev is widely recognized as one of the UFC’s fastest-rising stars at 205lbs. Currently ranked at #6 in the light-heavyweight division, the Dagestani is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak.
However, while his biggest win thus far came over Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 267, his most memorable remains his knockout of Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC Fight Night 163 in Moscow in late 2019.
By the time this fight went into the third round, it was pretty clear that Ankalaev was on his way to a comfortable victory. He’d dominated the first two rounds, using his striking to take the first before taking Lungiambula down to damage him with elbows in the second.
That round had been so one-sided that many fans expected Lungiambula’s corner to stop proceedings before the third, but instead, they let their fighter continue. It proved to be a bad decision.
Ankalaev came out into the third smelling blood, and after landing a right hand, he threw a front kick to the chin – literally from nowhere – that froze Lungiambula in his tracks. A huge right hand followed to send the South African to the ground, and no more follow-up shots were needed.
In terms of sheer explosiveness, this one may well have been the most brutal front kick we’d ever seen in the octagon, so fans should expect to see much more of it as Ankalaev continues to climb the ladder.
#3. Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem – UFC Fight Night 26
In the early going, the heavyweight battle between UFC title contenders Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem appeared to be going only one way.
Overeem – who was coming off a devastating knockout loss to Antonio Silva – clearly wanted to send a message and came out as aggressive as UFC fans had ever seen him before. The former K-1 champion backed Browne up, and when he hurt him with a shot to the body, the fight appeared to be over.
‘The Reem’ poured on the punishment, hitting Browne with knee after knee to the midsection, and it looked inevitable that a stoppage was coming as the latter could barely defend himself.
Incredibly though, referee Mario Yamasaki allowed proceedings to continue, and somehow, Browne escaped the punishment and managed to create some distance by throwing a front kick.
Suddenly, it looked like Overeem had spent the entirety of his gas tank in trying to take Browne out early, and as he lumbered forward, ‘Hapa’ threw the front kick again, grazing the Dutchman’s jaw.
Overeem failed to pick up on the cue, and made the error of stepping in again – and so Browne simply repeated the technique, this time connecting perfectly and knocking ‘The Reem’ to his back, before diving on him with a pair of hammer fists to finish him off.
Not only was this one of the best comebacks in UFC heavyweight history, but it was also one of the best front kick knockouts too. It was hugely impressive to see a true heavyweight like Browne show off such dexterity to throw the strike.
#3. Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture - UFC 129
A third Dan black belt in Shotokan karate, Lyoto Machida used his unorthodox striking to climb all the way to the top of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division, winning UFC gold in 2009.
His style often earned him the label of ‘The Karate Kid’ – but few fans expected him to use a famous technique from the 1980’s movie of the same title inside the octagon to devastating effect.
The technique in question was the ‘crane kick’, a hopping front kick to the jaw that – in movie canon at least – there was “no defense” for.
Machida unleashed it in one of the biggest fights of his career, against legendary former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 129.
After struggling with Machida’s pinpoint striking in the first round, it was clear that Couture needed to close the distance to find any kind of success.
However, as he attempted to close in, ‘The Dragon’ used more lengthy strikes to keep him at bay – and when he spotted Couture drop his hands for a moment, he struck – hopping forward off his left leg before unleashing a right leg front kick to the jaw that sent Couture crashing down.
The fight was immediately declared over, as UFC announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were stunned at the use of the ‘crane kick’ in the octagon.
In the years that have followed, we’ve seen a number of front kicks used to stop fights in the UFC – but never one that looked quite so much like it’d come out of a movie.
#1. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort – UFC 126
While Magomed Ankalaev’s front kick knockout was perhaps the most brutal in UFC history, and Lyoto Machida’s was the most movie-esque, the most memorable front kick knockout in the octagon remains the original one.
Prior to February 2011’s UFC 126, the front kick was considered a transitional or set-up strike at best, with fighters tending to use it to keep their foe at a distance while they attempted to use a more traditionally devastating strike.
That all changed when Anderson Silva defended his UFC middleweight title against Vitor Belfort. The two Brazilian fighters had built up quite the rivalry, and fans were expecting fireworks when they finally locked horns inside the octagon.
The opening minutes, however, saw both men look surprisingly reluctant to exchange, clearly wary of the other’s power.
Things suddenly sprung to life when Belfort landed a left hand and followed it by throwing Silva to the ground. The champion sprung back to his feet, and after dodging some more punches from Belfort, he threw a front kick to the jaw literally from nowhere.
The kick connected perfectly, dropping Belfort to the ground, and two more punches knocked him completely unconscious.
To say that UFC fans were blown away would be an understatement. Silva had essentially changed the UFC for good, as prior to this, nobody had ever used a front kick to stop an opponent inside the octagon.
A year or so later, the kick was ranked at the top of the UFC’s ‘100 greatest knockouts’, a countdown that also included finishes from Strikeforce, WEC, Affliction and PRIDE. It was a deserving award for such an incredible moment.
