What a knockout!!!

No idea who either of these guys are, but check out this monster KO. According to BoxRec, Amir Mansour is 12-0 with 9 KO's. Too bad he's going to be 39 this year. Might be a little late in the game for this guy, but it didn't stop him from providing us with a great, highlight-reel knockout. The camerawork, for the most part, sucks. But the angle gives us a great view of opponent, and victim, Alexis Mejias out on his feet; and you can see Mansour land another shot as Mejias slowly crumbles backward to the canvas. Check it out:



-Bess

Sergio Martinez delivers KO of the Year

For those of you watching the UFC fight on Saturday, or perhaps nothing at all, you most likely missed Sergio Martinez deliver what should be KO of the Year. Not just in boxing, but in all combat sports and even street fights. It was a rematch with Paul Williams, with Williams winning the first fight via Majority Decision. But Martinez left no doubt in this contest, as both fighters threw left hands simultaneously. Martinez threw his shorter and on the button, knocking Williams out on his feet before plummeting to the canvas face first. The most chilling part of the knockout was watching Williams, eyes open, gaze into the canvas with no sense of who or where he was. Check it out below:



Follow up question: Is Max Kellerman the most awkward TV personality ever? The guy couldn't make me feel more uncomfortable when giving interviews.

Final thought: The Martinez KO of Williams instantly reminded me of Antonio Tarver's stunning 2nd round KO of Roy Jones Jr. in their highly anticipated rematch. You'll remember Jones holding on down the stretch of their first fight after coming back down to light heavyweight following his claim of the heavyweight title from John Ruiz. In their second go around, Tarver threw a short left hook just as Jones threw a left. Tarver's was shorter and turned it over more, much like Martinez did to Williams this past Saturday night...



-Bess

Marius Zaromskis does it again

Another fight for Marius Zaromskis, and another win via devastating head kick. You may remember recently us posting his KO win over Jason High to win the Welterweight Grand Prix at Dream 10. Well, Zaromskis took on Myeon Ho Bae at Dream 12 yesterday and provided another highlight reel KO via head kick. Check it out...this dude is serious:

Death by foot

Footage of Dan Hornbuckle's involuntary manslaughter of Akirio Gono at Sengoku 9. Good lord...

Hendo KO of Bisping - Video

For those of you losers that haven't actually seen it, or for those of you sickos who want to see it again, check it out below. God I love this man.



-Bess

Hendo KO of Bisping - pic

Got this picture from Dan Henderson's twitter page. Unbelievable. He puts it perfectly...whoever did this photoshop job should get a medal...

You've gotta love the wig flying off. Great stuff.

-Bess

Ridiculous KO by Gilbert Yvel

Last night at Ultimate Chaos the headliner was Bobby Lashley v. Bob Sapp. While that received a lot of hype, a fight that went forgotten was the matchup between bangers Gilbert Yvel and Pedro Rizzo. You expected a KO either way, but this was ruthless, check it out:

Gilbert Yvel vs Pedro Rizzo
Uploaded by michael_dwayne_jr. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

Not sure what the referee was doing or looking at, but Rizzo took a couple unnecessary shots. Felt like I was watching a fight on UFC Undisputed for Xbox as he took the last couple punches just laying there unconscious, head bouncing off the floor. For a moment you had to wonder if he was flatlining.

Scary stuff.

-Bess

The fruits of one's labor

Lyoto Machida is one scary, scary dude. Should be a lot of fun watching him take on "Rampage" Jackson later this year. There are rumors swirling about him and Jackson taking opposing sides as coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. I have mixed emotions about this. The positive in doing this is that it would give Machida even more exposure to American fans, perhaps even moreso to casual fans who may be checking the show out. It's hard to believe that a lot of hardcore fans still watch TUF because of the antics within the house, the fact that it's the same boring format every season, and quite frankly, the fighters are decent at best. But for a casual or new fan to the sport, it's a solid way to become introduce to MMA and UFC, and also gives them exposure to some of the sports stars who are serving as coaches.

However, I'm weary of Jackson and Machida being coaches on this show for a couple reasons. First and foremost is that show starts filming in the first week of June. It wouldn't start airing until September and thus Jackson and Machida would not square off for "The Dragon's" belt until the end of the year, most likely headlining the final card of 2009. Secondly, Jackson has already served as a coach on the show against Forrest Griffin. Admittedly, Jackson said he didn't really enjoy it and that he got extremely overweight being on the show. Obviously it could serve as a nice PR move to continue rebuilding his reputation with fans after his meltdown following the loss of his title to Griffin, but I'm skeptical. I want to see the best Rampage take on Machida because it could make for an all-time classic matchup. Rampage has terrific standup with his boxing skillset and his defense, and he also brings great wrestling and tremendous ground and pound to the table. I honestly don't know if he has the tools to take out Machida - he is one dangerous BAMF - but it could make for an exciting fight. Rampage always brings the fight, and it would be interesting to see Machida karate take on such an aggressive, yet calculated and disciplined style of boxing and wrestling. Dana White's announcement comes on June 2nd, so we'll just have to wait and see, but with every other title currently scheduled for upcoming matchups, all signs point to it happened. Unless they're bringing Tito and Ken Shamrock back for another grudge match.

-Bess

Mark Munoz gets his head kicked into the 1st row

For those of you that watched UFC 96, you got to see some exciting finishes to fights. Matt Brown's destruction of Pete Sell was pretty entertaining, as was Shane Carwin's comeback KO over Gabriel Gonzaga. However, neither can hold a candle to Matt Hamill's devastating head kick of Mark Munoz. I've embedded the video below, but I apologize in advance for the shitty quality. It's clearly some bootleg ripoff off some dude's TV with a camcorder. If you want, follow the link to mmatko.com below to see a clearer picture. Munoz was down and out cold for almost five minutes before exiting the cage under his own power. For "The Hammer", this was a much needed win and what better than to do it in exciting fashion. It also earned him KO of the night and a much welcomed $60,000 bonus. We'll go ahead and call this the KO Clip of the Week.



And the link to mmatko.com:

http://www.mmatko.com/matt-hamill-vs-mark-munoz-fight-video-ufc-96/

Enjoy. I've watched this clip about 100 times since Saturday night. It doesn't seem to get old for me.

-Bess

KO clips of the week

After watching the Phillies KO my Dodgers last night, and with the Red Sox on the brink of being KO'd by the Rays tonight, I thought I would pay tribute with yet another stirring rendition of The Sports Brief's KO clips of the week. As usual, we're posting three terrific KO clips courtesy of the internet. When looking for a rousing KO that will get you off your seat, I try and look for a trio of characteristics:

First and foremost is sheer brutality. It has to be vicious. I'm talking lights out, dropped like a bag of bricks and, when possible, moaning in pain. Second is humor. I like when there's humor involved. Something I might find humorous is one guy talking smack, initiating the fight, then getting slapped around like a thoroughbred at The Belmont. Third is the unexpected. It's always pleasant when KO's come out of nowhere. You're sitting there watching a clip knowing something bad is going to happen but giddy with excitement because you have no clue when it's coming. Then BOOM. Before you know it some poor sap is lying on the ground hoping it will all make sense. Today's clips embody all of these characteristics. Enjoy.



What I love about that KO was the poor guy trying to grab onto the black kid after getting laid out. All he wanted was for someone to hug him, console him, whatever. But homeboy laid the smackdown and wasn't done, continuing to beat the downed opponent with a plethora of kicks.



KO #2 certainly typified characteristics 1 and 2. That guy was out COLD and it happened in front of his girl, which is both brutal and funny. Now you could argue that because the KO occurred in the first couple seconds of the clip, it wasn't unexpected. But watch again. It was unexpected for the victim, who was trying to remove his jacket in anticipation of his throwdown when, with his hands caught in his jacket behind his back, big daddy dropped a bomb right down the pipe. So perhaps I'll change criteria #3. It can be unexpected for either the viewee (meaning us) or those participating in the actual video. By the way, the only thing that could have made this video better, and I almost wish they staged it just so we could think it happened, would have been to have the broad watch the love of her life get KO'd then leave with the other guy. I thought it might happen at the :12 second mark when the assailant returned, but it looked he was there more to assess the damage and claim victory than to claim the "Lady in Distress."



Can anyone tell me where Jeremy Williams is from? You may have seen him on the first couple seasons of The Contender. He was the guy who loved to tell fighters, "This is the last round of your life." I guess that's what happens when you get KTFO'd like this and realize you fought the last round of yours.

-Bess

KO clips of the Week

We here at The Brief apologize for the brief hiatus from our highly revered KO Clips of the Week segment. It's been busy times, but we assure you we'll try not to go too long in between postings from here on out. But enough of the sappy monologue, let's get to the knockouts!!!

Here's a personal favorite of mine - thanks to Scotty Chourico for filling in the details on this puppy. Back during my days at New Bedford High we were in the Me & Ed's parking lot in the South End hanging out when some guy pulled up and started yelling at some kid Abram, who happened to be sitting in his car. The guy was obviously pissed off, repeatedly screaming "Where my loot nigga!?!" while "A-bum" put his windows up and locked the doors. But he forgot to close the sunroof. Before we knew it, homeboy was up on the roof foot-stomping the poor bastard. Thankfully he didn't end up like this guy...



This next clip is an MMA fight with one of the more brutal ending I've ever seen. The guy on his back is trying to lock in a reverse triangle, which is nothing short of ridiculous. Unfortunately, the guy on top was a lot stronger than he thought. I can't believe this guy didn't die.



And finally, this may be the gem of the week. Caught on film in New Orleans, this guy was having the time of his life until he got too tough for his own good. Not only does he get KTFO'd once, but he goes back for more. Enjoy the "Blind Date" style captions, and please enjoy the color commentary from the people on the street, particularly the black guy in the red shirt.



Feel free to send us any of your favorite KO clips that we can share. Hope you enjoyed.

-Bess