5 spectacular spinning kick knockouts in the UFC

#4 David Loiseau vs Charles McCarthy – UFC 53

David Loiseau's finish of Charles McCarthy was one of the first spinning kick knockouts in the UFC.

Back in 2005, spectacular strikes were rare in the UFC. A large number of the athletes that peopled the promotion at that point were workmanlike. So powerful wrestlers such as Matt Hughes and Matt Lindland tended to be largely dominant over fighters who primarily relied on their striking.

But one early indicator of that trend beginning to change came at UFC 53 when Canada’s David Loiseau stunned Charles McCarthy with a truly spectacular kick, making himself a minor superstar in the process.

Early on in the fight, the less experienced McCarthy looked like he was on his way to a UFC debut win. He took Loiseau down and gained control throughout the first round, but ‘The Crow’ showed excellent defense and was able to survive. In the second round, he changed things up and created an all-time highlight-reel moment by landing a wild spinning back kick directly to McCarthy’s body.

‘The Chainsaw’ staggered back, unable to mask the pain he was in, and sensing his opponent was badly hurt, Loiseau steamed in with a flying knee and a series of punches to finish McCarthy off.

Everyone watching was blown away by the finish – at that point, fans believed spinning kicks were largely useless in MMA. But less than a year later, Loiseau was challenging for the UFC middleweight title. His spinning kick remains part of the UFC’s introduction video at live events.

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#3 Stephen Thompson vs Jake Ellenberger – TUF 21 Finale

Stephen Thompson turned out the lights on Jake Ellenberger with a beautiful spinning wheel kick.

Stephen Thompson is undeniably one of the most successful practitioners of a traditional martial art – in this instance kempo karate – to ever step into the UFC.

‘Wonderboy’ has used his incredible striking to take out multiple opponents over the years. But his most spectacular finish came in 2015 when he faced off with perennial contender Jake Ellenberger in the TUF 21 finale.

Thompson hadn’t quite established himself as a top-level welterweight contender at that stage. But he was on a four-fight win streak, and Ellenberger was seen as a step up in competition for him.

Early on, it looked like things would go badly for ‘Wonderboy’. Ellenberger caught him with a left hook and buckled him, knocking him down. But Thompson managed to recover, and minutes later, he ended the fight in explosive fashion.

A spinning hook kick from nowhere dropped ‘The Juggernaut’, and when the latter wobbled back to his feet, Thompson threw another. This time his leg whipped around, caught Ellenberger on the temple and instantly turned out his lights.

Ellenberger fell to the ground unconscious as‘Wonderboy’ not only had the biggest win of his career at that point, but he also produced one of the most spectacular spinning kick finishes in UFC history too.