Wanderlei’s 10 Most Vicious Maulings

Further proof that Pride executives often improvised shortly before airtime: Kyokushin karate champion Iwasaki -- who had never fought with closed-fist strikes to the head -- was thought to be a reasonable opponent for a man who takes his behavioral cues from Conan the Barbarian. If you can’t recall what happened next, you’ve probably blocked it from memory. Good thinking.

LOB: A Dunkin’ Donuts coffee lap spill.

Having been decimated in their first meeting, Sakuraba teased his home crowd by going the first-round distance in the rematch. It was delaying the inevitable: With one punishing slam, Silva was able to snap Sakuraba’s collarbone like a breadstick. Even more alarmingly, a puzzled Saku regarded his protruding shoulder with passive curiosity.

LOB: An Olympic Judo match -- on concrete.

Photo by Stephen Martinez

Wanderlei Silva (left) battered
Quinton Jackson with knees.

Fairly exhausted from his bout with Chuck Liddell a couple of hours earlier, Jackson had little fuel in his tank for Silva’s speed. After a tussle, the Axe Murderer locked on a Thai clinch and proceeded to deliver enough knee strikes to topple a T-1000. While smiling broadly.

LOB: Childbirth.

There are moments in MMA when the immediate departure of consciousness is an alarming sight: Silva’s flip of Mezger’s “off” switch -- courtesy of a corner-located assault -- is one of those times. Going down, Mezger resembled a gunshot victim, a hint of shock registering on his face before the mind bid a hasty retreat.

LOB: An easy candidate for “Faces of Death IV.”

Grounded for much of the first round, Jackson experienced a restless Silva’s fury midway through the second. After landing a solid blow to the jaw, a follow-up knee put Jackson lifelessly through the ropes. The sight of his defeated, deflated frame hanging over the ring supports like drying laundry guarantees a grimace from houseguests, who aren’t likely to come back for another visit.

LOB: Black Friday at Wal-Mart.

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