30 of the best MMA knockouts of all time [UPDATED AUGUST 2023]
By Amy Kaplan
24. Robbie Lawler makes Melvin Manhoef do the ‘Ne Ne’
From Strikeforce – Miami
Robbie Lawler is not a human being.
If that wasn’t made clear during his fight against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189, maybe this KO will.
This was pre-championship, pre-hiatus Robbie Lawler showing the flashes of ability that everyone sees during every Lawler fight these days. Keep in mind, he was coming off a first-round submission defeat at the hands of welterweight veteran Jake Shields and was entering a rough patch of his MMA career.
Still, he showed everyone that he was a savage killer in his fight with dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef.
Manhoef was landing some pretty quick leg kicks on Lawler before the finishing exchange. What’s the most impressive aspect of this knockout is that Lawler essentially goes from being on one leg, then in a split second he’s on top of Manhoef beating his face in. If you want to show a young fighter how to counter-strike, this is a pretty good clip to show.
Not to mention the fact that Manhoef was unintentionally ‘whipping’ and doing the ‘Nae Nae’ on his way down to the canvas.