Sherdog’s Top 10: Bellator MMA Moments

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6. Newton’s Spinning Backfist

This incident at Bellator 90 on Feb. 21, 2013, is notable not only as a particularly awesome moment of entertaining violence but also a message as to the inherent unpredictability of MMA as a sport. Bellator put a massive amount of effort into promoting Muhammed Lawal after his terrible knee injury, staph infection, positive steroid test and ignominious departure from Strikeforce, including consistent TV ads on Spike, a crossover deal with TNA Wrestling and guest spots on Bellator broadcasts.

Lawal was supposed to be one of the new faces of the promotion, a symbol of how far it had come from the days of tape-delayed broadcasts on ESPN Deportes and a harbinger of a star-studded future on a fantastic new platform. Instead, afterthought Emmanuel Newton shut down Lawal’s wrestling and striking games and wobbled him with an awkward spinning backfist that sent the new acquisition crashing onto the canvas.

Even then, Bellator did not give up on Lawal and sacrificed a great deal of its credibility to put together a rematch. This time, Newton handled Lawal for five rounds, winning the interim Bellator MMA light heavyweight championship and putting an effective end to the idea of “King Mo” as a potential star.

Number 5 » Shortly thereafter, he crumpled to the canvas unconscious, and Bellator had put itself on the map with an awesome, crazy, ridiculous finish.