Sherdog’s Top 10Sherdog’s Top 10: One-Punch Knockouts
No. 8
UFC “Ultimate Ultimate 1996”
Dec. 7, 1996 | Birmingham, Alabama
MMA was still a primitive sport back in 1996, but it was filled with spectacle. During the “glory days” of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighters still wore shoes and there was not much in terms of a palatable set of rules. This era saw the rise of one of the sport’s most popular figures: David “Tank” Abbott -- a barroom brawler with frightening punching power.
Sporting a menacing goatee and his trademark beer gut, Abbott was a kill-or-be-killed kind of fighter. His pairing with Nelmark resulted in what many view as the single greatest knockout of his career.
The two slugged it out early and clinched a few times, but a right hand rocked Nelmark roughly 30 seconds into the bout. Abbott gave chase, gunning for the kill. Nelmark absorbed a few more damaging blows but managed to survive the incoming maelstrom. His fortunes soon changed, as “Tank” pushed the reeling Nelmark to the cage and connected with a concussive right hand just 63 seconds into the fight.
Upon impact, it looked as if the previously unbeaten Nelmark had been shot in the head by a sniper. He crumbled in an unconscious heap, his legs folded awkwardly beneath him, his head flopping to the left. So gruesome was the scene that some thought his neck was broken. It remains one of the most violent endings in the history of the UFC.
Number 7 » Kohler vs. Judson
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