30 of the best MMA knockouts of all time [UPDATED AUGUST 2023]
By Amy Kaplan
29. Anthony Pettis and his epic Showtime kick
From World Extreme Cagefighting 53 – Henderson vs. Pettis
Before we continue, it’s important to note that, yes, we know this isn’t a knockout. However, many top knockout lists leave this strike out. But we are including it anyway.
Let’s ask ourselves a series of questions:
1. Who thinks that jumping off a fence to kick someone in the face is a good idea?
2. Who is really athletic enough to pull a move like that off?
3. Who is crazy enough to pull it off in professional MMA competition?
4. Who is so out of their mind that they would pull it of in a TITLE FIGHT?
The answer to those four questions is Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
This kick has helped create Pettis into the fighter that he is today, and it’s arguable that Anthony Pettis may not have become a champion without this fight.
When the WEC merged with the UFC back in 2010, Pettis was the last lightweight champion in the promotion. This fight helped Pettis earn the title shot when TJ Grant dropped out of UFC 163 against Henderson, and set up an epic rematch between the two(which Pettis finished in the first round).
While it wasn’t a knockout, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give props to the fighter who granted us the coolest kick in MMA history.