Lyoto Machida’s bout against Vitor Belfort at UFC 224 wasn’t exactly a spectacular fight, per se. But, it had a spectacular end. What was largely a six-minute staring contest ended in the blink of an eye, when the ‘Dragon’ uncorked a signature snapping front kick to the jaw that sent Belfort crashing to the canvas, unconscious.
Despite having landed similar shots before, and despite the eerie similarity to Belfort’s KO loss to Anderson Silva back in 2011, Machida admitted to assembled media after the fight that he didn’t really plan on throwing the kick, he merely saw the opportunity and took it.