Arguably the most brutal knee knockout in UFC history took place on this day in 2016.
On September 3, 2016, the UFC returned to Germany for the fifth time. After cards in Cologne, Oberhausen, and two in Berlin, the Octagon arrived in Hamburg for the very first time.
All eyes were on the big boys, with two light heavyweight contests on the main card setting the stage for a headliner between ex-UFC heavyweight champions that saw Josh Barnett submit Andrei Arlovski in round three.
Ahead of that fight, and just before Alexander Gustafsson outpointed Jan Blachowicz in the co-main event, the night’s most brutal knockout took place courtesy of Ryan Bader.
And more than just UFC Hamburg’s best finish, the then-future Bellator double champ delivered an ending that remains among the most devastating ever seen inside the Octagon.
Ryan Bader turned Ilir Latifi’s lights out with a frightening knee at UFC Hamburg
Bader shared the cage with Ilir Latifi on the UFC Hamburg main card. ‘The Sledgehammer’ trained out of Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden, meaning he would go on to become one of current middleweight king Khamzat Chimaev’s training partners.
In his previous fight, Bader was viciously knocked out by Anthony Johnson. Eight months later, ‘Darth’ was on the delivering, less damaging end of such a finish — and not many have surpassed it on the brutality scale ever since.
A strong start for Latifi was rendered null and void just past the midway mark of round two when Bader connected with a frightening knee. ‘Darth’ appeared to throw a kick that resulted in his knee smashing Latifi’s head as the Swedish powerhouse ducked down.
That timing had devastating consequences, to say the least. Bader’s KO blow sent Latifi flying, as the unconscious fighter flopped back to the canvas with his arms flailing.
Fans debated whether Ryan Bader intended to KO Ilia Latifi
The vicious knockout unsurprisingly went viral, but once the shock and awe wore off, fans began to debate whether or not a knee to the head was Bader’s intention.
Plenty fell on the side branding the result “lucky,” believing the MMA legend had thrown a body kick that happened to connect to the head due to Latifi ducking at the perfect time.
“Accidental knockout.”
“That’s a lucky missed kick all day. Look at how he set up the kick by throwing his hand out first to check distance lol.”
“He went for a body kick and Latifi went for a takedown, it was just lucky.”
Others saw the finish differently, believing that the knee that instantly slept ‘The Sledgehammer’ was deliberate.
“I think he was going for a body kick but saw Latifi coming in and adjusted and went for a knee. Wasn’t luck at all.”
“Latifi ducked like that the whole fight. That was definitely planned.”
But everyone was on the same page when it came to the brutal nature of the KO.
“One of the most vicious knees of all-time in my opinion.”
“Goodnight. Wow.”
“This is a killer knee.”
“That’s one hell of a knee.”