Elijah Smith thinks only one slam knockout in MMA history is superior to what he recently pulled off in the UFC.
Smith nearly put Toshiomi Kazama through the octagon canvas this month with an absolutely brutal and highlight-reel finish at UFC on ESPN 72 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It had shades of the famous finish Quinton Jackson unleashed against Ricardo Arona under the now-defunct PRIDE FC banner in 2004, and from Smith’s perspective, that’s the only slam knockout in the history of the sport that’s better than his.
“I feel like I’m going to still give ‘Rampage’ Jackson his flowers,” Smith told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m going to say his is probably the best one, but right under him is me, as the best slam KO.”
Smith’s finish was acknowledged on the ESPN SportsCenter “Top 10” on the night it happened, but somehow only came in at No. 4. Smith said he doesn’t understand how a home run in an MLB game bested him for the No. 1 spot, but he appreciates the acknowledgement nonetheless.
“The cool thing for me was to see it on ESPN Top 10,” Smith said. “That’s something I could take part of now.”
For Smith’s father, UFC veteran and now head coach Gilbert Smith, it was a gratifying moment. Knockouts like that couldn’t go viral in his era of competition, so seeing what his son did was a proud moment.
“It’s not something I ever thought of to debate the best slam knockout in history with my son,” Gilbert said. “But it’s awesome.”
