Bryan Battle scored one of the most brutal head kick knockouts in recent memory against Takashi Sato at UFC on ESPN 40.
Battle (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), “The Ultimate Fighter 29” middleweight winner, dropped down to welterweight and had a sensational debut. He landed the perfect head kick on Sato (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) just 44 seconds into their bout on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
BRYAN BATTLE PUTS SHIN ON CHIN TO GET THE NASTY KNOCKOUT #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/UGbzKBdc22
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 7, 2022
OUT COLD!!! HOLY S**T @BRYANBATTLE10!!! #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/TH0ideJfLT
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2022
Can confirm – @BryanBattle10 got better 🤯 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/9eV1iD8Efe
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2022
The booth's reaction says it all 🤯 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/0bBkw1hOjl
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2022
After the win, Battle said he felt the head kick was something he could connect with on Sato – who hasn’t been finished with strikes since 2015 – inside the octagon.
It’s crazy,” Battle said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “It’s something that we saw, it’s something we anticipated. I didn’t see it happening quite so soon. That was probably the most beautiful strike I’ve ever thrown.”
During his post-fight interview, Battle named Bryan Barberena as a matchup of interest, but delivered a more poignant callout of the undefeated Ian Garry.
“I’m not saying this man’s ducking me, but at the least, he’s being protected,” Battle said of Garry. “I want you. I want all the clout. Neither one of us ranked, nothing is holding us back.”
There was no immediate reaction from Garry, but there was one from Barberena (via Twitter):
😂😂 good try but we spell our names the same😂😂. Nice win though keep working bud. 👍🏽 @BrendanFitzTV thanks for the correction ✊🏽 #UFCVegas59
— BRYAN BARBERENA (@bryan_barberena) August 7, 2022
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 40 results include:
- Bryan Battle def. Takashi Sato via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:44
- Cory McKenna def. Miranda Granger via submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 2, 1:03
- Mayra Bueno Silva def. Stephanie Egger via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:17
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 40.
