That maneuver would be a flying knee, which Pitbull landed squarely on the jaw of Imada, knocking him out on his feet.  Although Imada remained standing for a moment, he was clearly dazed, and seconds later he would find himself laying unconscious on the mat.

It isn’t often we see a fighter knocked out on their feet like this, and it also isn’t often that we see a flying knee executed with such precision.  Both of these factors should make this knockout by Patricky an early candidate for MMA Knockout of the Year.

Take a look.

Hat Tip – [Sherdog]

Total Pro Sports – All the talk in the MMA world was surrounding the UFC 99 card which featured some high profile fighters.  Much to everyone’s surprise, the knockout of the weekend would come from a Bellator XI match between Nick Pace and Collin Tebo.  Of course, those who saw Chad Leonhardt’s vicious knee, Toby Imada’s inverted triangle choke, or Yahir Reyes spinning backfist KO, have become all too familiar with the highlight reel endings that Bellator fighters have provided in the past.

Bringing back memories of Jose Aldo’s WEC 41 “knockout of the night” just a week earlier, Nick Pace delivered a flying knee to the face of opponent Collin Tebo, knocking him out cold 1:37 into the first round.  It was quite possibly the most perfect Muay Thai flying knee that you will see.  With his hands out to defend himself, Tebo’s chin was left open and that is exactly where Pace’s knee landed.  Tebo was out, landed flat on his back, and took one more nasty overhand punch to the head before the ref stopped the fight.

Bellator has continues to give us outstanding highlights, quickly making a name for themselves in the MMA world.  With the 2009 year almost half way through there have been several “MMA knockout of the year” candidates already.  We can only hope that there are more to come.

Here is Nick Pace’s flying knee KO.

Total Pro Sports – The other night marked round 2 of the battle between world class featherweights Urijah Faber and Mike Brown at the World Extreme Cagefighting 41.  It was a great bout between two top athletes in the sport, but once again it was Mike Brown coming out on top, this time by unanimous decision.

Hyped as such, it was clearly the fight of the night with both combatants giving everything they had, and unfortunately for Faber that wasn’t enough as he had to make due with a broken hand he sustained early on in the fight.  Nonetheless, the former champion did not quit and made things interesting at several points, attempting to land elbows rather than punches and almost executing a submission attempt at one point.  In the end it was Brown who would have his hand raised, leaving us to ponder who his next challenger will be.  If the fights were any indication, Mike Brown may not have to look far for his next opponent.  Although he and Faber provided fans with the “fight of the night,” the most impressive outing came from fellow featherweight Jose Aldo.  He ended his bout against Cub Swanson just 8 seconds in with a flying knee to the head, clearly earning “KO of the night” honors and setting the stage for discussions on the possibility of a Brown vs Aldo title match.  Regarding such, Aldo stated the following:

“I’m ready.  It’s something that WEC has to decide, but I’m ready. I want to fight a title shot, and trust me, when I get the title, I’m going to keep it.” [Fan House]

What better way to make an impression than to put away your opponent just second in with such efficiency.  This KO is clearly right up there with,

• Chad Leonhardt’s vicious knee

• the spinning backfist of Yahir Reyes

• and the unbelievable submission executed by Toby Imada.

Should we have the opportunity to see Brown vs Aldo, expect nothing less than an all out war.

For now, here is the flying knee of Jose Aldo.

The way the move is applied is simply amazing.  Just when Masvidal thought he had escaped from being under Imada, he was caught by the crazy move that left him out cold within seconds.  A tough loss for Masvidal, who appeared to be landing some powerful shots in the highlights and had bruised up the face of Imada pretty badly.  So much for the blowing kisses at the camera during introductions.  It is very likely he doesn’t even remember that anymore.

Here is a short clip of the highlights of the fight, concluding with the amazing inverted triangle choke.