Michael Chandler’s Front-Kick Knockout Of Tony Ferguson Stunned Fans In MMA’s Knockout Of The Year
It was Chandler's last win before losing to Dustin Poirier.
The year 2022 was full of action as promised but there were some moments which caught everyone’s attention.
From knockouts to outrageous submissions, it had everything one could have imagined.
But it was always the knockouts that grabbed attention all year long. There are several contenders for the knockout of the year like Leon Edwards knocking off Kamaru Usman and Weili Zhang stopping fellow former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but it was Michael Chandler’s front kick knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 which left fans dazed.
If Michael Chandler fought prime Tony Ferguson pic.twitter.com/UfYRnXCX4i
— Luca Fury (@FurysFightPicks) August 28, 2022
Most of the fans at Footprint Center in Arizona and thousands watching back home couldn’t contemplate what just had happened. It was so quick that the wave of the impact sent the whole Arena into a shell shock.
Both fighters are known to give everything they have in the octagon, and they just didn’t disappoint on that night as well.
As expected, the pair started the fight at an exceptional pace, with Ferguson landing the first significant strike as they met in the middle. It sent Chandler reeling to the canvas with El Cucuy following up with heavy ground and pound.
The crowd went wild: Chants of “Tony! Tony!” echoed in the arena. Ferguson sniffed the opportunity while the ‘Iron’ tried to smother the pressure. Chandler somehow got up to his feet but was once again rocked badly.
Chandler needed to stop this.
And he did exactly that as he shot for a double. He got Ferguson on his back. All of sudden, things changed as now it was the ‘Iron’ who started to pound Ferguson. The round ended. But everyone in the Arena was on their feet. They were going nowhere.
As the second round started, Chandler — out of nowhere — brought a front kick that landed directly on Ferguson’s jaw. El Cucuy’s face is planted on the canvas.
The fight was really important in the sense that both fighters have been winless and needed something special to keep themselves relevant. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant for Ferguson.
But for Chandler, it was a morale-boosting victory.