Sherdog’s Top 10: Ghoulish MMA Moments

Brian KnappOct 27, 2016



8. Testicular Targeting


His ball-shot burst will forever live in infamy, but Keith Hackney’s strikes were legal in the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. With everything save for eye gauging, fish hooking and basically stabbing your opponent with a shiv considered fair play, it was all part of the game when Hackney treated Joe Son’s groin like a heavy bag at UFC 4 on Dec. 16, 1994. More than two decades later, the male population still collectively groans at the thought.

Hackney had moved to side control after Son tried for a guillotine choke. He started innocently enough by landing several right hands to the stomach, but when his efforts there did not yield the desired results, Hackney redirected his attacks below the belt. He repeatedly hacked away at Son’s crotch, but somehow, the future felon continued to cling to Hackney’s neck. From there, “The Giant Killer” shoved his left hand under Son’s chin and dug his fingers into the carotid artery. Son eventually submitted.

In fact, part if the hilarity surrounding this fight is that Son tapped, tapped and tapped some more while a young referee named John McCarthy asked him, “Are you done? Are you done?” He eventually pulled Hackney away.

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