Spinning Elbow Knockouts: Looking Back on Vicious UFC Finishes

First popularized by Jon Jones during his days as a fledgling contender, the move has since skyrocketed in usage on the grandest stage in the sport. Across all weight classes, spinning elbow knockouts have been employed by both up-and-coming competitors, as well as established company names to catastrophic results for their opposition.

Now, let’s take a look at some of biggest spinning elbow knockouts in UFC history.

Spinning Elbow Artists: Molly McCann

The inspiration for this article, Molly McCann recorded one of the greatest stoppages in female mixed martial arts history in 2022 by way of spinning elbow when she stepped up to defend her home country of England at UFC Fight Night 204. Walking into what would be first of three UFC contests that year, “Meatball” crossed paths with Brazilian striker Luana Carolina. 

A veteran of seven UFC fights at the time of their meeting, McCann had embarked on a middling career with the organization after joining them in 2018. While standout wins over Priscila Cachoeira and Ariane Lipski helped to distinguish her as a potential prospect, losses to Gillian Robertson and Talia Santos blocked her from reaching true contendership. 

Earning her own UFC contract in 2018 as well after a successful showing on Dana White’s Contender Series, Carolina had enjoyed a steady climb at flyweight. Losing just once over the last seven years at the time of her trip to England, “Dread” had beaten Cachoeira herself, along with Lupita Godinez, going 3-1 in her last four tilts. 

Taking the initiative against her South American foe early, McCann rushed Carolina throughout the first round, repeatedly tagging her with a relentless barrage of punches. To stem the advancement of the European, Carolina often employed the Muay Thai clinch to lock down McCann’s arms to prevent her from striking and to wear her down. 

Even as the final stanza of the match wore on, the pace from both women didn’t slow much at all, as the Englander continued her frontal assault on her quest to score the stoppage, forcing Carolina to fire back and tie up McCann whenever she could. Then, as the third minute neared its end, “Meatball” lowered her stance before turning her hips and delivering a hellacious spinning elbow, starching Carolina in jaw-dropping fashion.

Netting the victory in front of the hometown crowd, McCann immediately stormed out of the cage to the roar of the native English goers in attendance. Embracing UFC CEO Dana White, she then grabbed an audience member’s replica promotional belt, raising it above her head as she made her way back into the Octagon, making it clear what her true goal in the division was. The spinning elbow would go on to become an integral part of her skillset going forward, as she managed to beat her next opponent, Hannah Goldy, with it also.

Spinning Elbow Artists: Lerone Murphy

Standing as one of the best featherweight combatants on the planet, Lerone Murphy boasts a stellar professional record of 18-0. On his journey toward an inevitable title shot, “The Miracle” has bested a bevy of the 145-lb class’s finest, including Dan Ige, Josh Emmett and Edson Barboza. He also may very well have garnered a Knockout of the Year contender when he faced off with organizational debutant and mixed martial arts star Aaron Pico at UFC 319 last August, delivering a spinning elbow in the process. 

Throughout his tenure in Bellator, Pico was hailed as a thrilling prospect, scoring 11 stoppages in his 16 appearances with the promotion, with seven of those ending in the first round. Although the Californian never fought for the championship, he did cross paths with a handful of top-level opposition such as Leandro Higo and Henry Corrales, the latter of whom he defeated in his last scrap with Bellator before switching to the UFC this year. 

Making sure Murphy couldn’t use his superior three-inch reach advantage, Pico almost directly from the get-go closed the distance on the Englishman, wrapping him up in the clinch up against the cage wall. Even when the pair would break apart, the American showcased a high-level boxing game, landing hard blows to the body and face of Murphy. He was also able to take him down on two occasions, demonstrating a complete toolkit that was developed after more than a decade competing in a major promotion. 

Looking on pace towards securing the first round handedly on the scorecards, Pico’s debut was going off clearly without a hitch. Tragedy would strike the Jackson Wink as he moved in to initiate another clinch, falling prey to a masterfully-timed spinning elbow from Murphy that knocked him out cold completely. A single follow up ground strike from “The Miracle” sealed the deal for the ranked contender, who nabbed his first finish triumph since UFC 267 back in 2021. The stoppage quickly went viral, leading many pundits to call for a title opportunity for the 34-year old, a sentiment that current featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski appeared to share.   

Spinning Elbow Artists: Carlos Prates

Fighting on the same card as Murphy, Prates also logged a spectacular spinning elbow victory at UFC 319 when he locked horns with venerable welterweight athlete Geoff Neal. Rebounding from the first defeat of his UFC career to Ian Machado Garry, Prates was determined to make a statement that he was still a juggernaut in the division. 

A professional since 2012, Neal stormed his way into the UFC in 2018, winning his first five contests in the company, which included getting his hand raised against future 170-lb gold standard Belal Muhammad. While his recent losses at the time to Garry and the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov made many question his ability to beat the top of the weight class, “Handz of Steel”’s reputable power still made him potent threat to anyone he came across with, proven by his ten career wins by knockout. He also had never been stopped by strikes in over eight years since losing to Kevin Holland at middleweight during the pair’s time on the Texas regional circuit.  

For most of the first five minutes of their battle, both men seemed to be evenly matched, landing more than 20 significant strikes on each other. As the ten-second clappers sounded off, it looked as though audience members were in for a close three-round war of attrition between the two standout welterweights. That was until Prates stunned the world at large by hitting Neal with a mammoth spinning elbow, taking the Fortis MMA product off his feet before finishing him off with ground-and-pound. 

The win over Neal instantly brought the Brazilian back near the forefront of title contention in the weight category. It also earned “The Nightmare” his fifth performance bonus. Now slated to contend with previous champion Leon Edwards at UFC 322 in November, Prates could very well make a resounding case for himself to being the next man in line with another highlight reel knockout. 

Spinning Elbow Artists: Juan Díaz

After ten weeks of incredible mixed martial arts action and producing some of the most viral finishes in the show’s history, the ninth season of Dana White’s Contender Series was preparing to wind down with its last episode. In the co-main event of the evening, top prospects Juan Díaz and Won Il Kwon stacked their claims to earning themselves a coveted UFC contract, which Díaz would end up doing in tremendous fashion via spinning elbow.

Beginning his professional career in 2017, Díaz had only been defeated a mere one time before making his appearance on the Contender Series to the 21-1 Rodrigo Vera. A staple fighter of the Mexican combat sports organization Lux Fight League, “Pegajoso” had laid claim to their bantamweight strap and defended it twice until he vacated it to attempt to cement his place on the UFC roster. 

The latest in a long line of promising South Korean upstarts, Kwon had already made a name for himself in a major company after competing under the ONE Championship banner for six years, garnering a 9-5 record with them. At the time of his collision with Díaz, “Pretty Boy” was coming off of a disappointing knockout to promotional nemesis Fabricio de Andrade back in January this year. The setback made it the second time Kwon had failed to overcome the Brazilian, losing to him twice stemming from blows to the body. 

Showing off an elevated stand up game, the two aspiring UFC hopefuls engaged in a tight but exciting boxing bout over the course of their two round affair, with Díaz making full use of his counter striking and Kwon popping the Mexican with his masterful jab. Although the tilt played out for the most part as a demonstration of great technique, Díaz wound up bulldozing the South Korean with a devastating spinning elbow, starching Kwon with just two seconds left in the second round. The stoppage brought UFC brass to their feet, including Dana White, who gleefully awarded Díaz a contract at the end of the night.