Is This “One-Second Knockout” Really the Fastest Knockout in MMA History? [VIDEO]
(Props: Ultimate Challenge MMA)
On Saturday night at WCMMA 14 in London, welterweight Mike Garret knocked out Sam Heron with a savage head kick immediately after the opening bell. Promoter Dave O’Donnell — who you may remember from the “Completely Insane British Guy Interviews Anderson Silva” video — called it a “new world record” at 1.7 seconds. In the longer video above, a timecode runs in the bottom-right-hand corner of the screen, stopping at 1.13 seconds, which would be incredible if it was an accurate reflection of when the fight ended. But it’s not, really.
That 1.13 number refers to the time between the first bell and the time when Garret’s foot makes contact with Heron’s face. Unfortunately, that’s not the official end of the match. An MMA fight ends at the moment when the referee waves it off or intervenes. So yes, Heron gets his lights turned out just a little over one second into the fight, and Garret walks away, signaling that the fight is over for him at least. The problem is, the referee takes a couple of additional seconds to walk over to Heron, assess his condition, and wave off the fight. Later in the video, O’Donnell rounds down and calls it a “one-second” knockout. Then he has a conversation with Garret, and honestly, I couldn’t understand most of it.
Personally, I’m seeing three seconds and change, which would put it in line with Clements vs. Tucas. (And this one still looks faster.) But if self-promotion is your goal, “one-second knockout” certainly sounds nicer.
