30 of the best MMA knockouts of all time [UPDATED AUGUST 2023]
By Amy Kaplan
30. Vitor Belfort crushes Luke Rockhold with a nasty wheel kick
From UFC on FX 8 – Belfort vs. Rockhold
Luke Rockhold is the former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion and was a presence in the division for some time before leaving the UFC to take up bare-knuckle boxing.
Rockhold had made quite the run in Strikeforce before jumping to the UFC. He was coming off victories over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Tim Kennedy, and Keith Jardine. He was set to make his big UFC middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort in May 2013 and prove that he could also make a title run in the UFC.
Belfort had other plans.
After about two minutes of standup work between the two middleweights, Belfort pressed Rockhold toward the cage. Then, without even a jab to set it up, Belfort threw a lightning-quick wheel kick and landed his heel with pinpoint accuracy on the temple of poor Rockhold. The Blackzilians standout followed up that blow with devastating hooks from mount before referee Leon Roberts put Rockhold out of his misery.
What a way to spoil a highly-anticipated UFC debut.