Watch Rare MMA Fight Double Knockout
One of the beautiful things about mixed martial arts is that there are endless ways in which a fight can end. The double knockout, however, is among the most rare of outcomes.
That’s how the Featherweight bout between Alan Vasquez and Axel Cazares at this past weekend’s Shamrock FC 285 event Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Mo., ended though, when both men landed simultaneous punches which sent the other crashing down to the canvas.
The first few minutes of the fight largely resembled many others that take place on the regional MMA scene. The technique wasn’t necessarily high level, but both athletes were more than competent in their approach to the contest.
With less than 90 seconds remaining in Round 1, though, the two fighters both threw powerful right hands at the same time. The blows landed at essentially the same time as Vasquez and Cazares clobbered each other on the chin. They both fell to the mat clearly hurt and with a dazed look in their eyes.
Although Vasquez and Cazares were recipients of obvious damage, it was Vasquez who seemed to take the lesser of the punishments and managed to pop back to his feet shortly after being downed. That was apparently all that referee Mike England had to see in order to deem it a legitimate ending to the fight and award Vasquez with the first-round knockout victory.
The finish was the latest in a short, albeit notable, list of double finishes throughout MMA history. Those range from UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes’ slamming Carlos Newton for a knockout after being choked unconscious at UFC 34 in November 2001 to Gray Maynard knocking himself out during a takedown attempt that injured opponent Rob Emerson and caused him to tap out just as it became clear Maynard had hurt himself, as well.
Few endings are most famous, however, than the double knockout from Legends of Fighting in May 2008. That fight saw Tyler Bryan and Shaun Parker remarkably knock each other out cold just eight seconds into their bout.