Edson Barboza flattens Beneil Dariush with spectacular flying-knee knockout
Edson Barboza can add another highlight to his reel after landing a spectacular flying knee to finish Beneil Dariush in the second round at UFC Fight Night in Brazil on Saturday night.
Barboza has made it his business to put on some of the most jaw-dropping performances in the UFC, and his latest knockout is no exception.
The knockout came after a first round that saw Dariush look like he had the perfect game plan to keep Barboza off balance.
Taking a page out of Tony Ferguson's playbook in the opening round, Dariush stayed on the attack and never allowed Barboza to set his feet, which typically results in one of his blistering kicks being unleashed.
Dariush used constant forward movement to make Barboza circle to try and give himself distance, but he didn't really find his range until the final minute of the round.
As the second round got underway, Barboza looked much more comfortable on his feet while Dariush seemed to slow down just a bit and that ultimately led to his downfall.
Barboza started timing Dariush's lead jab where he planted his leg before throwing the punch and that gave him the perfect opening to unleash the hellish knee strike that brought an end to the fight.
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As soon as Dariush stepped forward with the punch, Barboza launched himself into the air with his knee landing flush on his opponent's jaw and he was already unconscious before hitting the ground.
The referee rushed in to stop the fight with the bout coming to an end at 3:35 into the second round.
It was Barboza's third straight win in the UFC with all of his victories coming against either ranked opponents or former champions, which puts him that much closer towards his own goal of holding a title one day.
"I think I'm ready for the belt," Barboza said after the win.
Given the atmosphere at 155-pounds right now, Barboza may be knocking on the door for that title shot with only a couple of obstacles still left in his way. If he keeps racking up these kinds of finishes, it's going to be hard for the UFC to deny him much longer.
