Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton
Matt Hughes was already a seasoned fighter by the time he had his first UFC title fight against Carlos Newton in 2001, but had only been fighting for the UFC on-and-off in-between competing for an assortment of other promotions.
That all changed after this classic battle though, which saw the champion at the time, Newton, locking Hughes in a tight triangle choke early in the second round.
Hughes showed remarkable strength to pick Newton up off the mat and march him over to the cage, but he was still in a really bad spot at this stage.
Newton was vulnerable too though from that high vantage point and so slung an arm over the top of he cage to prevent him from being taken down – an illegal move that quickly got him a warning from the referee.
Giving up on that, Newton refocused his energy on locking up the choke, at which point Hughes abruptly bombed him back to the mat, knocking him out the instant his head hit the canvas.
Hughes was declared the winner and crowned the new champion, though in the commotion what was missed was that he had actually slipped into unconsciousness during the slam, only to be woken up again on impact, making it a controversial finish.
Nvertheless, that’s only helped ensure this is a finish that has lived long in the memory and to this day this is still considered as one of the greatest KO’s of all-time in the UFC.
