8 Greatest Hail Mary Victories In MMA History

One of the most visceral knockouts in all combat sports, Scott Smith's comeback against Pete Sell is so iconic because it captures the essence of a hail Mary strike in the space of seconds.

The pair's bout at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale was an all-out war, and was likely already destined for Fight of the Night honours before the finish elevated it to a whole other level. In the second round, Sell landed a picture-perfect left hook to his opponent's body, causing Smith to curl over in agony and retreat back to the fence. Even a casual observer could tell Smith was in excruciating pain from the strike, and Sell bounded forward to go in for the kill.

However, Sell was overzealous in his advance, leaving himself wide open for a perfect counter right hand from Smith, resulting in a knockout.

Smith's selling of the body shot has often been retroactively mis-characterised as him playing possum and attempting to goad his opponent into letting his guard down, but the sight of Smith still wincing in pain immediately after the ref called the fight should be enough proof that this wasn't the case.