Sherdog.com’s 2014 Knockout of the Year

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5. Emanuel Newton vs. Joey Beltran
Bellator 124
Sept. 12 | Plymouth Township, Mich.

Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion Newton moshes to the beat of a very different drum. It makes “The Hardcore Kid” an intriguing personality outside the cage, but his idiosyncrasies also play out in his fight style, for better and for worse. When it goes awry, Newton’s fights tend to be prolonged affairs in which he bounces from conservative counter fighter to karate point fighter, showing little urgency. When blessed with the right opponent or the right situation, however, Newton can morph into a button-mashing Tekken character from hell, attacking with heavy-kicking salvos, cutthroat submission attempts and, of course, his trademark spinning back fist.

If that is a bit too vague, let us explain it like this: Over the last two calendar years, Newton has gone 7-0. That seven-fight series features his October title defense against unheralded Brit Linton Vassell, a fight through which Newton basically sleepwalked until suddenly choking out his challenger in the final round. That span also features three fights -- Mikhail Zayats, the Muhammed Lawal rematch and the Attila Vegh rematch -- which are positively mind-numbing and depressing to watch. Yet in both 2013 and 2014, Newton found a way to absolutely blow off someone’s face with that aforementioned spinning back fist and make us all lose our minds.

He hit Lawal with his pro-wrestling finisher in 2013 and authored Sherdog.com’s “Upset of the Year,” also clocking in at No. 3 on our “Knockout of the Year” poll. In 2014, you might have thought the word was out: Newton is not a man to chase when he is turning his shoulders. Beltran either did not hear or did not care, and as a result, Newton appears on our “Knockout of the Year” list again.

There was little expectation for the Bellator 124 headliner in Plymouth, Mich. Fans might have been excited to see Bellator MMA depart from the rigid, tournament-bound format of Bjorn Rebney’s regime, but installing brawling journeyman Beltran -- who went 3-6 with a no-contest in his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure -- hardly excited folks, and Newton closed as high as a -800 favorite on some books before fight time. However, true to Newton’s enigmatic form, the first 10 minutes of the fight were back and forth, as the constantly circling, occasionally spinning Newton landed on occasion but struggled with Beltran’s constant forward pressure and punching. However, if Newton’s style does actually have a desired end game -- this is still questionable -- it is to make the opponent rush forward and allow him to counter a frustrated, chasing foe. Beltran fell straight into the trap.

Just past the three-minute mark of the third round, Beltran was clearly tiring of Newton’s backpedalling and took a straight line at him, lumbering with wide hooks. “The Mexicutioner” ran straight toward the back of Newton’s right shoulder; he might as well have shouted, “Throw it now!” Newton exploded into a tight, counterclockwise spin, his left forearm crashing into the left side of Beltran’s jaw. In fact, it was basically the same short-spinning, counterclockwise left with which he hit Lawal, leaving onlookers agape last year in Utah.

Future Bellator title challengers -- this includes you, Liam McGeary -- take heed. You do not want to be a part of what is improbably becoming an annual MMA highlight-reel tradition.

More Year-End Awards » 2014 Fighter of the Year