Bloody Elbow 2014 MMA Year-End Awards: Best Knockout

It seems that Mookie is too busy co-hosting a radio show with some lady named Billie Jo in Calgary and won't be able to handle the awards this time around. In his place, is...well, me. Contain your joy.

Over the next few days, Bloody Elbow is going to ask for your opinion on some of the best (and worst) things that have happened in the MMA world over the course of 2014. There will be a total of eight different categories you'll be asked to vote on, though I might change some of them up from past years. For simplicity's sake we're going to stick with high-level and relevant MMA stuff in these posts. While I'm sure there was a ludicrous knockout in an unscheduled MMA event at The Lumberyard strip club in Des Moines, or an insane pancreas lock submission on an obscure ZST! card in Japan, let's just stick to stuff a lot of us have seen, okay? (If that spiel looked familiar, it's because I've used the same one for four years in a row. Originality? What originality?)

It's pretty simple. I'll post 5-10 options in a category, you vote for what you think was the best/worst. If you think I left something really important off my list, post it in the comments and we can add it to the poll if it's deemed worthy. I can almost guarantee you won't like all my suggestions, but narrowing down these lists is tough.

Today's category is pretty straightforward - what was the best knockout of 2014?

Don't forget that you can still vote on the rest of the categories - Best Submission, Biggest Upset, Worst Decision, Biggest Loser, and Best Fighter.

Joe Schilling nearly kills Melvin Manhoef, Bellator 131 - After a spirited exchange between the two men that moved them across the cage, Manhoef walked into a left from Schilling that left him completely unconscious. (GIF)

Donald Cerrone head kicks Adriano Martins, UFC on Fox 10. Head kick that makes your opponent face plant? What's not to like about that? (GIF)

Dan Henderson delivers the H-Bomb on Mauricio Rua, UFC Fight Night Natal. Hendo was losing this fight badly, with Shogun battering him around the cage for over two rounds. But that's the thing about the H-Bomb - it only takes one. Suddenly Shogun's nose was sideways and he was lying in a heap on the floor. A few punches afterward gave Hendo one of the best comeback wins of the year.  (GIF)

Josh Samman head kick KO's Eddie Gordon, UFC 181 - Gordon was in control of the fight until Samman clubbed him with a huge left head kick. The impact of shin on grill put Gordon out immediately, and Samman was celebrating before he even hit the mat. (GIF)

Damacio Page starches Brian Hall, Legacy FC 36 - Ever seen someone stiffen up like a log the second they get caught with a monstrous punch on the chin? That's what happens here. (Video)

Ronda Rousey destroys Alexis Davis in 16 seconds, UFC 175. Rousey beat her up so badly that Davis spent just as long fighting the ref after it was over. Solid right, tossed like a bag of sand, and punched in the head repeatedly until she was in la-la land. Hey, that rhymed. (GIF)

Mark Hunt drops Roy Nelson with an uppercut, UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson - Big Country has an elite chin, but Hunt has elite power. Something had to break and it was Nelson's chin courtesy of a huge uppercut from the Super Samoan. (GIF)

Dong Hyun Kim puts John Hathaway to sleep with a spinning elbow, TUF China Finale. This was a work of art, and something you almost never see in MMA. DHK caught Hathaway perfectly with the elbow and put him away in the third round.  (GIF)

Chris Beal lands the perfect flying knee on Patrick Williams, UFC 172 - The opening bout on the UFC 172 card had a lot of people (including me) wondering who they were. Beal definitely introduced himself the right way with one of the best flying knees you'll ever see. (GIF)

Abel Trujillo blasts Jamie Varner, UFC 169 - Varner had Trujillo on the ropes and it looked like he was going to go down, but one monster shot ended Varner's night. It was the first time The Worm had been knocked out in his career.  (GIF)