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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 06: Cory Sandhagen lands a flying knee to knock out Frankie Edgar in their bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 06, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)