Fighting for five minutes is tremendously challenging. Fighting three rounds of five minutes each is something that few are capable of. A five round title fight is well and truly, truly herculean. And that’s a blink compared to the longest fight of the modern era.
At the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals on May 1, 2000, in Tokyo, Japan, Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie fought for 90 minutes. Saku ended up winning that one via TKO. But what about the other side of the spectrum? What was the fastest fight of all time?
The fastest UFC fight of all time took place at UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos on June 6, 2019, Jorge Masvidal flying kneed Ben Askren into Bolivian in just five seconds.
"One of the greatest knockouts you'll ever see!"
3️⃣ years ago today, Jorge Masvidal turned the lights out on Ben Askren in a UFC-record 5️⃣ seconds.
The easy pick for 2019 KO of the Year. What a moment. pic.twitter.com/CESqoHyviJ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 6, 2022
However, that was an eternity compared with the two that follow.
At Cage Kings on July 18, 2008, in West Monroe, Louisiana USA, Cale Grady defeated Ryan Chavarria in two seconds via Straight Right. The result was verified by the Louisiana Boxing & Wrestling Commission; this is believed to be the shortest regulated bout in MMA history.
There is also an unregulated bout that clocked in at just 2 seconds. There must have been something in the water in 2008.
At Rings: The Outsider 2 on July 19, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan, Ryohei Masuda stopped Takahiro Kuroishi, also in two seconds, also with a Straight Right. There is no regulation of MMA in Japan, making the bout a little less official. Adding to the doubt, there are rumors of Yakuza ties to the card. And afterward, a brawl erupted between both camps.
Lastly, there’s a fight that some say lasted only 1.13 seconds. At Warrior Challenge MMA 14, on March 15, 2014, in London, England Mike Garret head kicked Sam Heron to win the fastest Kick KO of all time in MMA.
However, in mixed martial arts, a bout ends not when a fighter is unable to continue, but rather, when the referee signals the end of the bout. In this case, that appeared to be at around the 2 or even 3 second mark.
So right now, there is something like a three-way tie for fastest KO of all time. Will anyone, ever get the referee to end the fight in one second? If it happens, you will know about it at mixedmartialarts.com.
And lastly, what’s the lesson?
The Lesson
There are several factors in developing KO ability. The obvious one is you have to be able to hit hard, with your fist (ideally), but barring that, with kick, knee, or elbow. However, that alone won’t do it.
If you land your hardest shot on someone moving away, it will not typically have a significant effect. However, even less than your best shot landing on someone moving straight in can have devastating effect. So work on the power of your shots, but above all, develop timing.
