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UFC Community Reacts to Violent Flying Knee KO [WATCH]

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen stopped Frankie Edgar with one of the most violent flying knees in UFC history on Saturday night at UFC APEX. Both fighters entered their co-main event matchup at UFC Vegas 18 ranked among the top five contenders in the UFC’s stacked 135-pound division, but only Sandhagen left the cage with both his senses and title hopes still intact.

You can watch the viral KO below.

There were plenty of reactions to the KO all over social media from people in and around the UFC community. Heavy collected the best of them for you to enjoy below.

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‘That Was Scary’ and Other Reactions

Combat sports journalist Kevin Iole posted, “I can’t remember EVER seeing anything like that. Sandhagen leapt into the air and his right knee hit Edgar directly on the chin. Frankie was out immediately. Let’s hope he is OK. That was scary.”

Bleacher Report’s Tom Taylor posted, “That was always a terrible mismatch in 2021. That was the only way this was ending. Hope Frankie is ok”.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani posted, “HOLY SMOKES! CORY SANDHAGEN WITH A FLYING KNEE KO IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. WOW. HE IS UNBELIEVABLE.”

Rachel from Real Talk with Kelsey and Rachel posted about the knee and how quickly it all escalated.


‘Clean As Hell’ and More

UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling posted, “Jesus! That was clean as hell! One of the things I really had to be careful of because of Sandhagen height. Two masterful performances back to back.”

Morning Kombat’s Brian Campbell touted how his own prediction for the fight came to pass.

ESPN’s Karyn Bryant was simply in awe of the knockout.

Barstool’s Robbie Fox also couldn’t believe what he just saw either.

UFC fan and recording artist Robbie Fox posted, “…that was crazy!!”


‘OMG’ and Other Praises for KO of the Year Candidate

UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns is on his way to challenging Kamaru Usman for UFC gold at UFC 258 on February 13, but the Brazilian contender was just as hyped as everyone about seeing Sandhagen’s flying knee KO.

UFC featherweight Herbert Burns, his brother, was impressed, too.

Journalist Heidi Fang chimed in about the KO. Fang posted, “Frankie Edgar is one of the ambassadors of this sport. That was hard to watch. But what a flying knee KO for Sandhagen & a tough, tough loss for Edgar. You hope is ok after that.”

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck said, “HOLY FREAKIN’ POTATOES!!!! That was insane and probably the KO of the year in 2021. Sandhagen gets the winner of Yan-Sterling without a doubt.”


Reactions Only From People Named ‘Dominick’ or ‘Megan’

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes was watching the fights along with the rest of the UFC world.

ESPN’s Megan Olivi posted about the knockout, too.

Ex-UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz said he believes Sandhagen deserves a crack at the belt.

Finally, UFC women’s featherweight contender said she was on board with that idea, too.

No matter what names people have, or even the different ways they might pronounce them (we see you Megan Anderson), almost all of the UFC world was simultaneously shaken and amped by Sandhagen’s epic first-round knockout on Saturday night.


It’s only the end of the first week of February, but it seems that most people already believe they’ve just witnessed the KO of the year for 2021.

READ NEXT: Best Reactions to Viral KO of Jose Canseco [WATCH]

Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson

YouTube: Real Talk with Kelsey and Rachel

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One of the most violent flying knee knockouts in UFC history happened at UFC Vegas 18, and there were tons of reactions to it on social media.