Elijah Smith may have just delivered the Knockout of the Year with his finish over Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Vegas 109.
Following a back-and-forth grappling exchange on the ground as he avoided submission attempts from the bottom, Smith fought off a triangle choke attempt from Kazama by lifting him into the air and then violently slamming him down to the canvas. A professional wrestling style powerbomb — similar to what Quinton “Rampage” Jackson did to Ricardo Arona in PRIDE years ago — ended Kazama’s night instantly as he was knocked out and Smith began celebrating his win.
The end came at 4:10 in the opening round.
Kazama actually laid motionless on the ground for several moments after the knockout but thankfully he was awake and alert after medical personnel tended to him in the cage.
“I just want to pray for my opponent, hopefully he makes it home safe,” Smith said after his vicious finish. “I knew I had the ability to keep up with the guy on the ground. I’m still just as good as they come. I knew I had to slam him correctly. Unfortunately, I had to slam him on his dome piece.
“I knew I was going to be strong and powerful and I knew I wanted to get that $50K bonus. The sky is not the limit.”
As one of the heaviest favorites on the entire card, Smith was expected to win but he didn’t have it easy with Kazama threatening him on the ground during every grappling exchange. Kazama attacked with an armbar attempt and then a heel hook attempt as he continued scrambling for a better position with Smith raining down blows on him during every second his hands were free.
Kazama continued to look for the submission, which is when he saw the opening for the triangle choke but Smith obviously had the perfect counter to that move. Replays showed Smith lifting Kazama into the air and then placing his hand on the chin as he brought his opponent back down to Earth again to ensure he inflicted maximum damage.
When the fight was over, Smith actually shouted out Jackson, who now has competition for the most famous powerbomb in MMA history.
