Top 10 Global Knockouts of 2014

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Ricardo Tirloni vs. Todd Moore
Arena Tour 3
Aug. 15 | Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jesse Denis: Despite the best efforts of his tattoo artist, I was always somewhat fond of Ricardo Tirloni’s fighting. While his stint in Bellator showed the he doesn’t have the highest ceiling as a fighter, the Brazilian is certainly a man willing to try and put together an entertaining scrap with whoever is standing across the cage from him.

Tirloni had shown some flashes of a rib roasting game throughout the opening round of the fight, but just under the four-minute mark, he had “The Maniac” going backward after kicking high and Tirloni saw his opening. The Bellator vet chambered his hips and stepped in with one of the most brutal knees to the sternum I’ve seen since Alistair Overeem crumbled Todd Duffee back in 2010. Moore was broken in two, instantly hitting the deck in fetal position and it was done. I can't forget the shot of Moore laying on his back, grimacing as if he'd woken up in a motel bathtub full of ice.

Jordan Breen: Like Jesse, I've always shared a soft spot for Tirloni in spite of his otherworldly awful stomach tattoo. Maybe it's because he looks like a generic baddie out of central casting, but I think he's a genuinely skilled guy who had some tough luck and tougher opponents in Bellator. With the UFC primed to hit Southern Brazil on Feb. 22, performances like this could help get him an appearance on that undercard. What I appreciate most about it is that it does show progression in Tirloni's striking technique.

Tirloni's got some power in his hands, but is normally a free swinger without a ton of technique. The stepping knee straight to the solar plexus here is sublime. The timing is so perfect that it reminds of when playing “Tecmo Super Bowl” back in the day, when you'd choose the proper defensive play to perfectly destroy what your opponent chose, the catastrophe erupting the moment the ball is snapped. Moore is toast on impact, can't even begin to ideate releasing the clutch on his torso to protect his head and fortunately, his instant infirmity is so obvious that he's saved from the sort of unabated ground-and-pound that normally follows body shot knockdowns.

Even more impressive here: Tirloni actually hits him with a right knee square and the strike doesn't really migrate across Moore's torso. This is not a classic liver shot paralysis deal, coming from a left knee (or punch, kick or whatever). Tirloni still nails the knee so perfectly and powerfully that Moore collapses on the spot.

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