Aerial attacks are high risk, high reward; the payoff can be glorious sight to behold. Unfortunately the embarrassment of the maneuver backfiring can be equally as memorable. For instance, in the opening moments of their title fight at UFC 128, Jon Jones leapt across the octagon and landed a beautifully placed knee on Shogun Rua’s chin. The Brazilian never recovered and was essentially on queer street for the duration of the bout.
The mauling that ensued was a direct result of Jones’ willingness to take major risk. His reward was not only the title, but a combat sports record as he became the youngest champion in UFC history. On the flip side, one of the most humiliating knockouts endured in MMA history belongs to Andrei Arlovski.

The UFC’s great white buffalo put an end to Arlovski’s impressive five fight winning streak in 2009. For a good portion of the first round Arlovski’s sharp standup seemed to be the answer to the decade long Emelianenko riddle. As Andrei’s confidence grew, he threw a flying knee. With pinpoint precision, Fedor countered the flying attack with a clubbing overhand right that knocked Arlovski dead in his tracks.

In the clip below, we see a perfect example of a flying attack paying off handsomely.

The video starts off with Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai blocking a left body kick from his opponent. The blue trunked opponent attempts to clinch and is met with a stiff right hand counter. The punch hurts him badly causing him to lose his balance. Regrettably, he bounces off the ropes and adds more force to the oncoming strike. Smelling blood, Sitmonchai fakes a flying knee and comes over the top with an elbow putting his foe on the canvas for a gorgeous fight ending stoppage.