Armchair fans of MMA may not realise that outside of the UFC and Bellator, there are a plethora of low-key organisations who play host to bouts across the globe.
And of course while the big money franchises certainly do put on exciting events on the world stage – by delving into the overshadowed regional circuits you will no doubt find the craziest contenders who participate in these competitions solely to quench their thirst for violence.
Enter UCMMA – who have staged over 100 professional events over the last 19 years from the Troxy nightclub in East London.
Founded by Dave O’Donnell who previously fought under a similar organisation in Cage Rage, Ultimate Challenge MMA have put on display some of the most obscene, crazy and speedy knockouts in MMA history.
They have played host to huge names within the sport of MMA including Michael Venom Page and Johnny Walker earlier in their careers and they’ve even allegedly broke a couple of records within the sport too.
UCMMA proclaim that they hold the record for ‘fastest mixed-martial-arts knockout ever’ after a 2014 bout between Mike Garret and Sam Heron.
Although you may not recognise either of these names (as they’re hardly household figures) it was definitely not a fight to scoff at. From the walk-out to ring announcement, the scrap looked like a complete mismatch – as Garrett was arguably not only the bigger man, but also miles ahead of Heron in terms of skill and capability.
Now, we’re not too sure of the legitimacy of the timing here as it’s very easy to manipulate footage…but according to the video below Garrett knocks Heron clean out with a pinpoint head kick with 1.13 seconds on the clock.
The referee stepped in immediately after the blow landed, calling the contest there and then to let Heron recover, while Garret celebrated with some questionable dance moves.
It’s no surprise that Heron never returned to the sport after this scrap. The poor lad looked like a fish out of water throughout the duration of the event and looked absolutely wounded when the final decision was announced.
…although you probably would too if you’d just been knocked out in record timing.