A Brazilian fighter produced a show-stealing knockout that was reminiscent of Anderson Silva’s highlight reel.
Throughout his remarkable career, Silva faced some iconic opponents and delivered some of the greatest moments in UFC history.
Silva was criticized from time to time but when ‘The Spider’ was at his best, he put the art in mixed martial arts as one of the most dangerous strikers to ever step inside the Octagon.
If there’s one of his knockouts that stands above the rest it’s the closing moments of his middleweight title defense against Vitor Belfort.
Silva front kicked Belfort in the face at UFC 126 and now, an exciting Brazilian talent has replicated his signature finish in just 12 seconds.
Aline David channels Anderson Silva in devastating front kick knockout at LFA 208
Aline David has already marked herself out as one to watch in LFA where she competes in the strawweight division, but what she did on May 9 took her stock to another level.
The Brazilian turned heads last year after she came out on top in the promotion’s 2024 fight of the year, beating Grace DiFrancesco via split decision on her debut after both women were dropped throughout the contest.
At 27 years old, David looked to record back-to-back wins for the first time heading into LFA 208 in Santa Cruz, California, where she faced 2-1 American, Stephanie Nayen.
Though she earned a first-round submission win in her previous outing, it was the striking skills of the Brazilian that were on show this time around.
Just 12 seconds into the fight, David may have sealed herself another LFA award come the end of 2025 but this time around, it’s for a jaw-dropping knockout.
The two women were still in the feeling out process when she threw a front kick up the middle which caught her opponent right in the face, sending her stumbling backwards towards the cage.
Just like when Anderson Silva knocked out Vitor Belfort in similar fashion, David followed up with some ground strikes to get the fastest finish of her career to date.
Unsurprisingly, the win saw her take home one of the performance of the night bonuses.
Aline David wasn’t the only star of LFA 208 on May 9
Before UFC 315 gets underway in Montreal on May 10, LFA kicked off the weekend with some incredible highlights from the Kaiser Permanente Arena.
The promotion is always worth keeping an eye on for future stars and LFA 208 featured several exciting talents delivering statement performances.
Alongside Aline David was her fellow Brazilian, Luis Francischinelli, who moved to 5-0 with all of his wins coming via knockout.
Standing at a remarkable 6’6 in the welterweight division, the towering Francischinelli is sure to be on the UFC’s radar following another devastating performance.