There's nothing in sports quite as thrilling as a knockout and nobody does them better than the fighters on the GLORY Kickboxing roster. Whatever their weight class, whatever their martial arts style, GLORY fighters get in the ring looking to prove they are the best of the best by stopping whoever is put in front of them.
As usual it has been difficult to narrow down all the contenders to a final shortlist of four, but the quarter below really stand out. Which of them do you think was the best knockoutof 2016?
Guto Inocente vs. Demoreo Dennis, GLORY 27 CHICAGO
Inocente comes from Brazil and has a background, originally, in karate. That gives him an unusual style relative to most kickboxers. His game is kick-based and features a lot of unorthodox kicking techniques.
Dennis found that out the hard way when he was hit with a spinning hook kick out of nowhere and knocked out just forty seconds into their fight in Chicago earlier this year.
To view this video please go to UFC Fight Pass.
Zinedine Hameur-Lain vs. Warren Thompson, GLORY 32 VIRGINIA
Hameur-Lain was one of four fighters taking part in the Light-Heavyweight Contender Tournament at GLORY 32 VIRGINIA. The tournament was beset with pullouts and Hameur-Lain was left without an opponent at the start of fight week.
GLORY veteran Thompson stepped up and took a crack at it but the gamble backfired as Hameur-Lain knocked him out in the first round with a huge right cross which had Thompson asleep before he hit the canvas. Hameur-Lain went on to win the tournament.
Jason Wilnis vs. Simon Marcus, GLORY 33 NEW JERSEY
Jason 'Psycho' Wilnis spent 2016 climbing the rankings, resulting in a title shot against Simon Marcus of Canada. The two had met once before, Marcus taking a decision win over Wilnis in the final of the GLORY 20 DUBAI Middleweight Contender Tournament.
This time, things would be different. Wilnis had studied Marcus and had the right gameplan in place. Marcus repeatedly found himself walking onto big shots from Wilnis. As his frustration grew he abandoned finesse in favor of pure aggression, but that played into Winis hands.
Marcus kept surging forwards and Wilnis kept dropping him, ending the fight under the multiple knockdown rule and sending the championship belt home to the Netherlands with Wilnis.
To view this video please go to UFC Fight Pass.
Marat Grigorian vs. Djime Coulibaly, GLORY 30 LOS ANGELES
Grigorian lost to Sittichai in the final of the GLORY 28 PARIS Lightweight Contender Tournament but bounced back in fine form just two months later when he met France's Coulibaly in Los Angeles.
Coulibaly had stepped up on late notice to replace a withdrawn opponent and found himself facing a fully-fit Grigorian who was dead set on getting himself back into title contention.
The resulting knockout â a head kick as Grigorian backed Coulibaly into the ropes â was so emphatic that it was picked up on by US sports broadcasting giant ESPN.
