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#4. Tai Tuivasa vs. Derrick Lewis – UFC 271
When heavyweight sluggers Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis were matched together in the co-headline bout at UFC 271 this past weekend, most fans figured that fireworks would ensue. After all, Lewis already had 13 knockouts to his name in the octagon, while Tuivasa had stopped his last four opponents in nasty fashion.
Indeed, the fight ended in just as violent a fashion as everyone expected, with ‘Bam Bam’ surprising some by coming out on top and turning out the lights on ‘The Black Beast’.
The fact that he used a truly devastating standing elbow to do so only made things even more memorable.
Early on, it looked like it would be Lewis’ fight to lose. In between numerous bouts of clinching, ‘The Black Beast’ used his heavy hands to seemingly hurt Tuivasa, only for the big Australian to somehow eat up the shots and fire right back.
The fight followed the same pattern in the second round, but this time, when ‘Bam Bam’ landed some shots of his own to Lewis, the big Texan was clearly hurt. Seemingly making a grave error, Tuivasa followed by clinching with him, but then used a brutal elbow to the side of the head to knock him out cold, sending him crashing down face-first.
Sure, it wasn’t as esthetically pleasing as some of the other elbow knockouts in UFC history, but for sheer brute force, it was definitely up there with the greatest and should make a star of Tuivasa, too.
#3. Chris Weidman vs. Mark Munoz – UFC on Fuel 4
When Chris Weidman joined the UFC in the early part of 2011, he came into the promotion with a reputation as a highly-skilled wrestler with some dangerous grappling chops, too. However, despite holding a knockout win over Uriah Hall prior to his octagon debut, his striking skills were a little less well-regarded.
That all changed when ‘The All-American’ faced fellow standout wrestler Mark Munoz in the main event of the promotion’s fourth show on Fuel TV in the summer of 2012.
After Weidman surprised ‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ by taking him down and thoroughly outgrappling him in the first round, it evidently became clear to Munoz that if he wanted to win, he’d need to up the aggression in the second stanza.
So after scrambling out of another takedown early in the round, he decided to push forward in an attempt to strike. Unfortunately for him, Weidman was ready and threw a beautiful standing elbow on the counter that landed flush to the head of Munoz.
‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ was sent crashing to the ground face-first. Weidman followed up with a flurry of punches that left him a bloody mess, forcing referee Josh Rosenthal to step in.
This was the very definition of a highlight-reel finish. The fact that Weidman landed such a devastating elbow on the counter only demonstrated how much his striking skills were improving. A year later, he would become a UFC champion by knocking out the great Anderson Silva.
