Video | Relive one of the greatest KO’s in UFC history

Nearly 18 years later, relive one of the greatest knockouts of all time in the UFC between Phil Baroni and Dave Menne at UFC 39.

In just his sixth pro fight, Baroni met the former UFC welterweight champion Menne in a main card bout at UFC 39: Ricco Rodriguez vs. Randy Couture in September 2002. At that time Menne was one of the top-five welterweights in the sport while Baroni was an emerging prospect. The UFC paired them up and it produced fireworks.

Below, relive one of the greatest all-time knockouts in UFC history by Baroni on Menne (via UFC_PRIDEFC on Instagram).

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Ai299qWvW/

When you think back to the long career of Baroni, this is the fight most would point to as the most impressive performance “The New York Bad Ass” ever had. Still to this day, the knockout is played in endless highlight reels of the best MMA knockouts.

Following the win over Menne, Baroni would go to lose four straight fights in the UFC and get released. But he managed to hook up with PRIDE FC and became a star in Japan with numerous exciting bouts.

Now 43, Baroni is still an active fighter. He last competed in September 2019 when he lost by submission to Sai Wang in Rebel FC. Baroni was coming off of a win in King of the Cage in 2018 prior to that, which was his first victory since 2012. All told, he has only had two MMA fights in the last five years.

Baroni has also been competing in muay Thai, and late last year showed off a terrible cut he received in a kickboxing match in Thailand. But despite all the fights and all the injuries, Baroni continues to trek on and is still competing in 2020 despite being one of the pioneers of the sport.

Where do you rank Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne on the all-time greatest knockouts list in the UFC?