The Best Combat Sports Finishes of the Weekend

This weekend was filled with combat sports highlights. With events held by the Professional Fighters League, the UFC, Bellator, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and several other promotions, let’s take a look at some of the best finishes of the weekend.

Oleg Popov def. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva via second-round KO

MMA Series 53 was held in Moscow, Russia this past weekend and featured a heavyweight main event between UFC vet and MMA legend, Silva (19-14-0, 1 NC) and rising Russian heavyweight talent, Popov (15-1-0). At the start of the second round, Popov lands a slick left hook that put Silva on his back staring up at the lights. The KO records Popov’s 13th straight victory and Silva’s 9th straight defeat.

Bigfoot Silva lost to Oleg Popov by 2nd round KO pic.twitter.com/MKGEMXHaHO

— jamie (@wrestlejamia) June 25, 2022

Carlos Ulberg def. Tafon Nchukwi via first-round KO

At UFC Vegas 57 it took City Kickboxing prospect, Ulberg, just a minute and 15 seconds to put a stop Nchukwi (6-3-0). The light heavyweight is now on a two-fight winning streak having defeated Fabio Cherant in his previous outing. The 31-year-old is now 5-1-0 as a professional.

ULBERG WITH A STATEMENT 👊 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/EbB92pmXs0

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 26, 2022

Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Neil Magny via second-round submission 

After a dominant first round at UFC Vegas 57, Rakhmonov slid in a guillotine choke that left Magny with no choice but to tap. Magny, who was formerly ranked at #10 in the welterweight division has now collected his 9th professional loss while Rakhmonov advances to an impressive 16-0-0. At just 27 years old, this man is going to be a real problem for the top welterweights.

This man beats Khamzat. #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/FE80PgddT4

— The Combat Guy (@thecombatguy) June 26, 2022

Magomed Magomedov def. Enrique Barzola via fourth-round submission

Bellator 282 took place this past weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville Connecticut and featured a bantamweight world grand prix quarter-finals bout between Magomedev (19-2-0) and Barzola (18-6-2). In the early minutes of the fourth round, Magomedev secured a guillotine choke to advance himself into the semi-finals of the tournament.

𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒕! 🤯

@MagomedovTiger1 is the first fighter to finish @ElFuerteBarzola, earning his spot in the #BellatorBWGP semi-finals 👏#Bellator282 live NOW on @SHOsports
💻 https://t.co/Zg0a3DUrFs pic.twitter.com/tKJsSfzsfH

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 25, 2022

Sabah Homasi def. Maycon Mendonca via first-round KO

At Bellator 282, it took Homasi less than a minute to put Mendonca face down on the canvas, as he lands a huge overhand right to put an end to the bout. With the victory, Homasi advances to 17-10-0 as a professional as Mendonca receives his second consecutive loss.

.@SabahHomasi lands a ROCKET right hand for the first-round KO 🚀💥 #Bellator282

(via @BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/ZIDG1haEJd

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 24, 2022

Aerdake Apaer def. Guoxu Yang via first-round KO

The eighth week of JCK Fight Night 2022 was held this past weekend and saw perhaps one of the all-time best spinning-back kick knockouts in combat sports history as Apaer made quick work of Yang. With the KO, Apaer gains his first professional victory as he moves to 3-1-0, and Yang is now 1-2-0 as a professional.

https://twitter.com/UFCFightPass/status/1540668479530860544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1540668479530860544%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmmajunkie.usatoday.com%2F2022%2F06%2Fvideo-aerdake-apaer-spinning-back-kick-knockout-ko-china

Ryoji Kudo def. Alejandro Flores via first-round KO 

At PFL 5 this past Saturday, Kudo (11-3-1) and Flores (21-4-0) squared off in the featherweight division. At just under three minutes of the first round, Kudo lands a vicious right hook that put Flores to sleep upon impact. With the victory, Kudo advances to the playoffs with 6 points and as the #2 seed.

Ryoji Kudo with the quick six. Monster right hand from the Japanese featherweight. #PFL5pic.twitter.com/ENaiNH9ubR

— Ian O'Neill (@ioneillmma) June 24, 2022

Stevie Ray def. Anthony Pettis via second-round submission

Ray (24-10-0) pulled off an upset at PFL 5 with a slick modified body lock submission over former UFC vet, Pettis (25-13-0). With the victory, Ray clinches a playoff spot as the #4 seed, and despite the defeat, Pettis still has a chance at PFL gold as he sits at the top with the #1 spot and 6 points this season.

Stevie Ray submitted Anthony Pettis with a modified body lock 😲 #2022PFL5 pic.twitter.com/di9AmDLEet

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 25, 2022

Freddy Masabo def. Will Shutt via second-round TKO 

BKFC 26 took place on Friday in Hollywood, Florida, and opened with a 145 lb brawl between Masabo (4-0-1) and Shutt (23-30-1). As the second round began, Masabo dropped Shutt with a stiff straight and followed up with some nice body shots and a left hook that put Shutt on the canvas again, drawing a close to the bout. The victory marks Masabo’s fourth consecutive win.

Freddy Masabo with the victory in his @bareknucklefc debut!#BKFC26 pic.twitter.com/ndGBND9HaZ

— TrillerTV (@FiteTV) June 24, 2022

Bryan Duran def. Braeden Tovey via first-round KO

At BKFC 26, 160-pounder Duran collected his second promotional victory as he delivers a vicious uppercut that left Tovey face down on the canvas. As a professional Duran is now 2-0-0 and Tovey moves to 2-5-0.

Bryan Duran gets a first round KO victory over Braden Tovey 👊🏼#BKFC #BKFC26 pic.twitter.com/wF1lQElaIS

— Armaan (@armaanyounis) June 25, 2022

What was your favorite finish of the weekend?

Bjorn Morfin

As a recent graduate from Lewis-Clark State College with a B.S. in History, Bjorn first fell in love with mixed martial arts when he watched UFC 196. As a contributor for MyMMANews, Bjorn matches his love for MMA, history, and writing.

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