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UFC Fans And Experts Are Calling This 'The Most Violent Finish In Recent Years'

UFC Fans And Experts Are Calling This 'The Most Violent Finish In Recent Years'

It was a carbon-copy of Matt Hughes' iconic knockout slam on Carlos Newton at UFC 34 back in 2002.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

It was a move straight out of the Matt Hughes playbook.

But for some reason, Jordan Leavitt's slam looked far more devastating - perhaps because it happened in the first 22 seconds of the bout.

25-year-old Leavitt's viral knockout win over Matt Wiman at UFC Vegas 16 flooded the internet within seconds - and you can kind of see why.

Leavitt, nicknamed 'The Monkey King', wasted no time in engaging with his opponent and quickly picked Wiman up and dragged him across the octagon.

Wiman, clearly panicking in the unorthodox position, tried to grab for Leavitt's head to pull guard.

But by then it was already too little too late.

Leavitt launched himself off the canvas and slammed his opponent to the deck.

The huge blow to the head instantly knocked Wiman out cold.

Fair play to the undefeated Leavitt though, who saw that his opponent was unconscious and decided not to pepper him with anymore punches

Upon seeing the sleeping Wiman, the referee quickly intervened and waved off the fight.

The knockout, which mirrored Matt Hughes' body slam on Carlos Newton at UFC 34 in 2002, left UFC fans and experts from around the globe in awe.

UFC commentator Paul Felder said: "As violent a finish as we've seen in the Octagon in recent times."

As for Leavitt, he was equally as surprised at the outcome of the fight given his strong jiu-jitsu background.

"It's crazy, I've never removed anybody from their consciousness before in a fight - that's my first time," he said.

"My style is definitely an exhibition of the gentle art, not a lot of that brutish nonsense that I just did I guess.

"Usually, you will see me do a lot more relaxed, flowy jiu-jitsu; nice, harmless front kicks, but today I hit him with the earth. Sometimes that's what happens."

Unsurprisingly, the brutal finish earned the Dana White Contender Series graduate the Performance of the Night bonus of US$50,000 (AU$67,000).

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@ufcanz

Topics: UFC, Australia, MMA, Dana White