There were plenty of highlights coming out of the UFC 206 event, but one of the biggest happened on UFC Fight Pass portion of the preliminary card when Lando Vannata knocked out John Makdessi with a spinning head kick -- a spinning head kick that Vannata says was better than Edson Barboza’s from a few years back.
“(Mine) tops it,” Vannata said to in a post fight scrum. “(It feels) f-cking spectacular, man. It doesn’t top that, right there. That’s awesome. That guy’s never been knocked out, to knock him out like that is just top notch.”
Best spinning head kick knockout aside, Vannata feels that the highlight reel finish proves that he belongs in the UFC Lightweight Division. Vannata nearly upset #2 ranked Tony Ferguson earlier this year.
“Not just (to) the rest of the division, but the entire world,” Vannata said. “Everybody wanted to know if I was the real deal, if I was fluke, and I think that performance right there just proved it.”
Vannata isn’t necessarily calling out Edson Barboza for a future UFC fight, but he does have a message for whomever wants to face him next.
“Whoever wants it,” Vannata said. “It don’t matter.”
Vannata’s other bout in the UFC was a second round TKO loss to Tony Ferguson, who is currently the #2 ranked lightweight in the UFC. For reference, you can see Barboza's below.