Despite the fact that he's one of the most overrated fighters in history, BJ Penn still managed to be a part of some iconic moments in MMA. His knockout of Caol Uno and subsequent run from the cage could also be considered for this list, but by far the most memorable finish involving BJ Penn was the time that GSP beat him up so bad that his corner quit for him between rounds. Penn's fights always came with a caveat of "If he's motivated" or "When he's in shape" but if you're not in shape or motivated for a fight against the man who at the time was the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world then I don't know what to tell you. This was the second scarp between the two, with the first being a somewhat controversial split decision that went in St. Pierre's favor, so fans were stocked to see them square off again. The five round title fight never made it to the final frame because the beatdown that GSP unleashed caused Penn to be unable to continue, and his corner verbally threw in the towel while Penn gasped for air. Wrestling has used it's share of "throw in the towel" finishes in the past and this is one they should bring back. When a wrestler has someone in their corner who cares about them, being forced to make the decision of submitting for them is a hard one and an easy way to manipulate the emotions of the crowd. You could put this to use with Dolph Ziggler and Lana, by having her plead with the referee to stop the fight to keep her man from absorbing any more punishment at the hands of Rusev. This is a finish that you could apply to a lot of different scenarios and make it work. Will WWE use any of these finishes? Probably not, because most of them would require the agents to step outside of the box and go in a direction slightly different from typical wrestling booking. However, if SummerSlam showed us anything it's that the company is willing to use an MMA influence when it suits them, so maybe they'll surprise is and switch things up a bit. Any other memorable finishes from MMA that would translate to the world of WWE? Name them in the comments.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
