WATCH: Brutal Headslam by Anthony Hernandez tears down the octagon at UFC Vegas 60
Follow Us
The slam by Hernandez caused the octagon to show signs of damage
It is not often that you see a UFC canvas get damaged but that’s what happen when Anthony Hernandez slammed Marc-André Barriault at UFC Vegas 60. Oh did we forget to mention that Hernandez slammed Barriault right on his head.
Hernandez and Barriault were supposed to be openers for the main card of the UFC Fight Night event to be headlined by Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong. Both middleweights were looking to leave a mark in the opening moments of a very ski heavy fight card.
Hernandez was walking in to the fight hot on a 2-bout win streak. He was 3-1 in his last 4 and understandably had the hype behind his back.Barriault on the other hand was looking to build a streak of his own, trying to build off of his previous submission victory over Jordan Wright.
As the fight progressed it was clear as day that Anthony Hernandez was the better man, landing a higher percentage of strikes while also managing to land many of his 14 takedown attempts. Barriault tried to respond but was unable to build up any significant offense of his own.
Related: WATCH: Dana White shares HORRIFYING picture of blood-shed UFC Vegas 60 fighter
Anthony Hernandez slams Marc-André Barriault’s head into the canvas
In the opening minute of the final round, Hernandez clinched up Barriault against the cage and grabbed his hips for another take down attempt. However instead of rolling or letting go, Barriault held on and was slammed head first to the canvas by Hernandez. While slams in the UFC are commonplace, it is rare that a fighter directly lands on their head.
Even more rare is that the slam causes more damage to the octagon than the fighter himself. While Barriault was in fact fazed, he tried fighting back despite the ground and pound onslaught, this despite the fact that his head had been slammed with enough force to tear up a part of the octagon.
Eventually Anthony Hernandez won the fight via an arm triangle choke in the second half of the third and final round. While the late finish was impressive by itself, the true highlight of the fight was in fact one specific takedown by Hernandez among the 14 he attempted.
While Barriault did not show any immediate signs of damage, only medical tests the day after can confirm if there are indeed any lingering injuries he may need to worry about.
Other notable head slams in MMA include Jessica Andrade slamming Rose Namajunas to the canvas, knocking her out and winning the strawweight title in her home country of Brazil she was in fact losing this fight to that point. The other more memorable slam to the head was when Kevin Randleman slammed Fedor Emelianenko at Pride GP 2004.
While Fedor barely missed landing straight on his neck, he managed to recompose himself and finish the American within the very first round.
Stay Updated!
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)