In a sport filled with teeth loosening, brain rattling knockouts, it takes a lot to finish your opponent in a way that makes you a clear candidate for the World MMA Awards knockout of the year. But that’s exactly what Michael ‘Venom’ Page did with his brutal finish of Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos at Bellator 158 last July. Page hit Santos with a flying knee that landed so hard, it shattered the fighter’s skull with a sickening crunch. Page followed that up by putting on a Pokemon hat and throwing a Pokeball at his downed opponent.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIcj1e3DS3p/
The damage to Santos was so bad that it took a seven hour surgury to put him back together. Bellator ended up paying for the operation, and his ex-wife, 145 pound UFC badassCris ‘Cyborg’ Justino, started a GoFundMe for him that raised over $20,000 to cover his costs while healing. In the end, though, the damage was too extensive, and Santos was forced to retire from MMA.
So that’s how crazy a knockout has to be to win Knockout of the Year. Now take a look at the other candidates that didn’t win.
Anthony Johnson KOs Glover Teixeira:
https://youtu.be/1XMj1YOki-w
Landon Vannata KOs John Makdessi:
Yair Rodriguez KOs Andre Fili:
https://youtu.be/Nq931LtUDIs
