
Leon Edwards scored a brutal head kick KO win over Kamaru Usman in 2022 to pick up the UFC welterweight strap.
'Rocky' will be hoping for another highlight reel finish when he defends his 170lbs crown for a second time on July 28 against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester.
There has been plenty of verbal jabs traded in the build-up so a vicious stoppage would be the icing on the cake for the Brit.
With Edwards' title defence only a matter of days away at the time of writing, talkSPORT.com takes a look back at his iconic roundhouse KO as well as some other contenders for the greatest head kick KO in UFC history.
5. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro Cop
During the early to mid-2000s, Mirko Cro Cop was one of the most feared men on the planet.
The Croatian powerhouse built up a highlight reel of vicious head kick knockouts.
READ MORE ON MMA
But the tables turned when he met Gabriel Gonzaga in 2007.
Few gave the Brazilian MMA star any chance of victory against the Pride 2006 open-weight tournament winner.
But Gonzaga upset the odds by uncorking a massive head kick of his own in the opening stanza that sent Cro Cop down and out.
Gonzaga's stunning upset win was rated the 2007 Knockout of the Year and led to him landing a shot against Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title four months later.
He lost that bout via third-round TKO and suffered the exact same fate when he rematched Miocic seven years later.
4. Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman
Edwards' last-gasp knockout win over Usman is one of the most dramatic finishes to a UFC title fight in the history of the sport.
Most read in MMA
The Brummie headed into the fifth and final round down 3-1 on the judges' scorecards and needed a stoppage to win the fight.
With 51 seconds left on the clock, Edwards faked a left straight, which Usman attempted to slip, and followed up with a perfectly timed high kick that flatlined the long-reigning welterweight champion.
3. Uriah Hall vs Adam Cella
Hall's spinning hook kick KO over Cella is arguably the best stoppage win to come out of the Ultimate Fighter series.
The pair met in 2012 during the preliminary round of TUF 17 when Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen were coaches.
Cella had got off to a confident start, bringing the fight to Hall from the opening bell.
However, he was dispatched in the final few seconds of the first round by a KO, which UFC President Dana White would go on to describe as: “One of the nastiest knockouts I’ve ever seen in the fight business, let alone on the Ultimate Fighter.”
2. Edson Barboza vs Terry Etim
In the same year that Hall KOd Cella, Barboza landed a hellish spinning wheel kick that left Etim flat on his back.
Up until the eventual finish, Etim and Barboza had gone toe to toe in a brilliant stand-up battle.
But the Brazilian stole the show with an explosive kick that connected perfectly on the heel.
Reflecting on the ten-year anniversary back in 2022, he said: “It’s crazy. I looked behind like ‘Wow’, that’s ten years. It not only makes me think about the fight but also about life.
“I know one day it will be over. It makes me think about it and enjoy every moment.
“I was very happy, one more knockout, the fight is over. After that, I thought it was really going to change my life.
“That knockout really changed my life, no one really remembers Edson Barboza, but if you say that guy with the spinning kick they say ‘oh, I know’. It really changed my life.”
1. Joaquin Buckley vs Impa Kasanganay
Buckley is now regarded as one of the most devastating finishers in the UFC. But when he met Kasanganay few knew much about his potential.
Buckley had been knocked out by Kevin Holland in his UFC debut in August 2020 and entered his fight with Kasanganay in desperate need of a win two months later.
Luckily for him, he pulled off what many members of the MMA fraternity regard as the knockout of the decade so far.
Read More on talkSPORT
In the second round, Buckley threw a head kick which was caught by Kasanganay.
As the Florida striker attempted to parry the kick away, Buckley twisted around and landed a beautiful spinning back-kick that caused Kasanganay to pause in the air for a moment before plummeting to the canvas.