To start the 1st round of his UFC 203 bout against Travis Browne, Fabricio Werdum went immediately for a flying kick, looking to knock his opponent out within seconds.
That should come as no surprise, as Werdum wasn’t just fighting for the win, he wanted to look impressive enough to be given the next crack at Miocic.
It didn’t work though, he didn’t knock out Browne and he didn’t look impressive enough to get the next UFC heavyweight title shot.
MMA knockout artists usually are strikers with a lot of power behind their punches, but there are also a variety of fighters out there that add more flare to their striking arsenal.
Guys that look to end fights with spinning back fists, flying knees, or moves you used to only see in “Street Fighter”. Those are the strikers we are counting down in this article.
Here are the top 8 most acrobatic strikers in MMA history…
8. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson
Demetrius Johnson doesn’t always win with his striking, but when he does it is magnificent.
Johnson’s story is pretty unique. He was born 2 months premature and barely survived, and after a harsh childhood he grew up to be a 5ft3inch ass kicker who is on his way to surprising Anderson Silva’s title defence record.
The best example of Johnson’s striking ability came in his last fight against Henry Cejudo. Considering Cejudo is an olympic gold medal wrestler, Johnson must have decided his best bet to win this fight was with his striking.
Johnson ended Cejudo’s long-standing perfect athletic record by KO’ing him in the first round.
