One of the most intriguing aspects of combat sports is the fact that a contest can end at any moment. You’re not guaranteed four quarters of action or nine innings of play. You can’t launch a hail-mary pass for twenty points, you can’t sink a basket from across the court for more than three points, and no matter how far your homerun measures; it’s still going to bring you the same amount of runs as one that just cleared the fence.

As a fan, knowing a fight can end at any second; it’s imperative to keep your attention locked onto the action. If you blink at the wrong moment, you could miss out on history. A split second of looking down at a text message can lead to missing out on the most significant exchange of the bout.

In his championship match against Jose Aldo, Connor McGregor reminded us exactly why we need to keep our eyes peeled at all times. It took only one shot to crown a new king; in just thirteen seconds, Aldo’s title and consciousness were gone. There is no equivalent to this in major league sports. If there was, Devin Hester’s opening kickoff return for a touchdown would have earned the Chicago Bears a Super Bowl Championship in 2007.

In the clip below, we see a rather quick karate match between Vladislav Ekimov & Diogo Silva.

The match begins with Silva attempting a push kick to create distance. Before he can extend his leg, Ekimov counters with a swift wheel kick to the head. The first exchange proved to be the last, in less than ten seconds the match was over. Like McGregor, Ekimov’s actions reveal just how brutally beautiful and fleeting combat sports can be.