It’s the most thrilling moment in combat sports. The timing, precision, luck, and skill that go into a head kick finish makes it a wonder we ever see one at all. Each and every one is a little miracle – but some more miraculous than others. Starting with UFC 1, there has always been a kick that stands alone above all that have come before it – the epitome of the finish. Anthony Pettis now sits atop that list, immortalized for all time on film. But Pettis wasn’t the first to make us stand up off our couches and yell at no one in particular, screaming just because it’s the only sound worthy of such a moment. Today, we pay tribute to those who led the way.
Gerard Gordeau
Gordeau, to be blunt, is a bit of a bastard. He blinded a man in the ring in Japan and who knows what he’s done when the camera wasn’t rolling to poor cretins in alleys all over Holland. But he started UFC 1 off with a bang. While the ultimate message was the efficacy of grappling and that fights are destined for the ground, Gordeau taught an important lesson as well – head kicks are awesome.
Pete Williams
Mark Coleman was a legend in his own time, his only kryptonite the kick and his own gas tank. In the early minutes of a fight nothing could stop Coleman’s raw power and wrestling technique. But as the minutes ticked off the clock, Coleman’s powers waned. By the end of the fight his hands would be at his waist. Maurice Smith came within inches of knocking him out in their title match, a paradigm shifter if there ever was one. Ken Shamrock’s top heavyweight from the Lion’s Den Pete Williams, known for his submission grappling, finished the job with a kick right in the kisser at UFC 17. The age of the wrestler wasn’t over, but Williams did his best to push it back a year or two.
More great high kicks in the full entry.
Gilbert Yvel
Like Gordeau, Yvel was a dirty Dutchman. He wasn’t afraid to gouge the eyes either, as Don Frye learned, and sometimes his opponent wasn’t the only one who needed to dodge blows. But, man, when Yvel was on no one was better standing. He feasted on some of the best in the business in RINGS where a unique ruleset allowed him to get back to his feet time and time again. Success was fleeting in PRIDE and the UFC where opponents could ground him and keep him there. But it only takes a moment for a legend to be born, or in Yvel’s case 28 seconds. That’s how long it took him to knockout Gary Goodridge at PRIDE 10.
Mirko Filopovic
His left foot was deadly – no matter how tall you were. Mirko Cro Cop was a killer in the ring. His head kick was something fellow fighters whispered about. Opponents knew it was coming and still could do nothing but watch. Legends like Wanderlei Silva and Igor Vovchancyn felt its brutal sting. But no Cro Cop kick meant more than this one. The kick didn’t just send a message to Aleksander Emelianenko’s cortex. It was also a warning shot fired at his brother Fedor ringside. When Aleks crumpled to the mat, all 78 inches of him, the great Fedor Emelianenko was officially on notice.
Gabriel Gonzaga
It was exactly how the fight was designed to end, one of the most brutal kicks in UFC history. It just wasn’t supposed to be Mirko Cro Cop folded like an accordion on the ground. Gabriel Gonzaga threw a monkey wrench in the UFC’s plans for a mega Randy Couture-Cro Cop fight – and also ended the Croatian’s run as a contender. The knockout artist was never the same fighter again.