5 UFC fighters who scored viral knockouts but couldn't live up to the hype

#2. Todd Duffee (UFC record: 3-2-1)

Todd Duffee shot to fame with his seven-second knockout of Tim Hague at UFC 102, but couldn't match his hype

Another fighter who garnered a ton of hype thanks to a fast knockout in his UFC debut was heavyweight Todd Duffee.

Built like a heavily muscled cartoon character, Duffee came into his fight with Tim Hague at UFC 102 with a 5-0 record, and when he knocked Hague out in just seven seconds, the UFC fanbase was thrilled.

Duffee became an instant star thanks to his viral knockout, with fans talking him up as a potential contender for the UFC heavyweight title before he’d even stepped into the octagon for a second time.

However, the bloom quickly came off his rose when he was on the wrong end of another viral knockout in 2010. In this case, Duffee had been beating Mike Russow from pillar to post for the best part of three rounds before Russow landed a hail mary knockout with just over two minutes remaining.

And before Duffee could attempt to get his hype train up and running again, he was abruptly released by the UFC in late 2010, reportedly for “attitude problems” after clashing with management.

He returned in 2012, but has only fought four times since, going 2-1-1, and has largely suffered with continual injuries, making him a classic case of a UFC fighter who couldn’t live up to the hype that his viral knockout created.

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#1. Joaquin Buckley (UFC record: 2-2)

Joaquin Buckley went viral after scoring the best UFC knockout of 2020 against Impa Kasanganay

2020 saw plenty of historic moments inside the UFC, from the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov to the crowning of new UFC champions like Jan Blachowicz and Petr Yan. However, perhaps the most viral moment came in October thanks to a fighter unknown to casual fans called Joaquin Buckley.

‘New Mansa’ had debuted in the UFC two months earlier, suffering a knockout at the hands of Kevin Holland after taking the fight on just a week’s notice.

Nobody really expected him to make any kind of impact in the octagon, and when he was booked against Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Island 5, few eyebrows were raised. However, that all changed in the second round of the fight.

Kasanganay attempted a kick, only for Buckley to catch his leg, and then in a move reminiscent of a pro-wrestling enziguiri, he leapt into the air and caught Kasanganay with a spinning back kick to the head.

Kasanganay was immediately knocked unconscious, and Buckley had scored one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history. Suddenly, ‘New Mansa’ had gone from being an unknown to one of the most talked-about fighters on the entire UFC roster.

KO of the Year! 🔓Go all angles on @NewMansa94's masterpiece 😳[ #UFCFightIsland5 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/1ywVZzin5U

— UFC (@ufc) October 10, 2020

And when he scored another knockout, this time over Jordan Wright at UFC 255, the hype around him went into overdrive.

It was unsurprising, then, when the UFC booked him against Alessio Di Chirico in a showcase fight on the main card of their first ever event on the ABC network.

Unfortunately though, with fans expecting another special knockout, Buckley simply couldn’t deliver the goods. Instead, he found himself on the wrong end of a highlight reel knockout as Di Chirico finished him with a head kick in just two minutes.

DI CHIRICO ON THE BUTTON! #UFCFightIsland7 pic.twitter.com/5c8u9a3Zrl

— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2021

‘New Mansa’ is now booked to fight again in September, but to say expectations around him have now been dampened would be an understatement.