You decide: Cagewriter knockout of the year

Clark Kent

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12-31-2009 03:38 PM:
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Cagewriter readers, it's your turn to decide the best of 2009. Today, we select the best melding of power, timing and speed that MMA has to offer: the knockout. Which was the best KO of 2009?

Fedor Emelianenko over Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Arlovski was keeping up with "The Last Emperor," which gave him a bit too much confidence. He aggressively tried to throw a flying knee, which was the perfect opportunity for Emelianenko to throw a beautiful right and knock Arlovski clean out.

Jose Aldo's flying knee stops Cub Swanson: Heading into this fight at WEC 41, Cub Swanson was so hopeful that he smiled as he touched gloves with Aldo before the fight. He wouldn't be smiling for long, as Aldo immediately threw a flying knee, knocking out Swanson in 14 seconds and opening up an ugly gash on his head.

Dan Henderson "shuts up" Michael Bisping: Before their fight at UFC 100, Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping were coaches on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Bisping liked to trash talk, but it didn't suit Henderson's demeanor to talk back. Instead, Henderson knocked out Bisping with a brutal right, and followed up with an extra shot.

Lyoto Machida takes belt from Rashad Evans: At UFC 98, Evans had his first chance to defend the light heavyweight belt against the elusive Machida. Instead of doing that, he got knocked out in the second round just as he was talking trash to Machida.

Nate Marquardt wins quickly over Demian Maia: With Maia's slick submission skills, Marquardt needed to keep the fight off the ground. He did that, with a 21-second knockout at UFC 102.

Dan Hornbuckle kicks Akihiro Gono into la-la land: At Sengoku 9, Akihiro Gono was trying to get his career back on track after getting cut by the UFC, and losses to Dan Hardy and Jon Fitch. Unfortunately for Gono, Dan Hornbuckle and his near-perfect kick stood in Gono's way, with Hornbuckle delivering the knockout kick to the head in the third round.

Yahir Reyes throws a spinning backfist: Just a week after Toby Imada's inverted triangle choke made Bellator an internet sensation, Yahir Reyes followed it up with another highlight-reel finish. His spinning backfist knocked out Estevan Payan.

Anderson Silva makes a 205-lb. statement on Forrest Griffin's face: In 2008, Silva tested light heavyweight and knocked out James Irvin in the first minute of the fight. To give him a bigger challenge, he was given former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. After showing Matrix-like defense, Silva knocked out Griffin in the first round of the fight at UFC 101.

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos proves who is the best woman of them all: The Strikeforce bout between Cyborg and Gina Carano was the first female main event put on by a major promotion. Cyborg delivered with a TKO of Carano as the first round ended.

Marius Zaromskis doesn't break a sweat in KO of Myeon Ho Bae: Zaromskis had three highlight-reel head-kick knockouts in 2009, but the best one was this 19-second knockout of Myeon Ho Bae.



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Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
 
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