10 Most Brutal Knockouts In UFC History

8. UFC 224: Lyoto Machida Vs. Vitor Belfort

Both fighters may have been well past their prime in 2018, but Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort are two of the most legendary names in the history of MMA.

With the 41-year-old Belfort having already indicated that he'd retire from MMA regardless of the result here, the two Brazilian icons got to go at it in front of a passionate Jeunesse Arena crowd in Rio de Janiero as part of UFC 224.

The fight itself was a relatively slow and plodding affair, but the Rio crowd was just happy to see Rio native Belfort in his final fight.

It was no fairytale ending for The Phenom, of course, and he would be knocked out by Machida's patented front kick - the same move that retired Randy Couture back at UFC 129.

As Belfort lay still on the mat, Machida bowed to his opponent in a mark of respect from The Dragon. And like that, the career of an all-time great was brought to a thunderous close by a clinical, brutal kick to the face.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.