UFC 129 Reaction to the Lyoto Machida Kick That Knocked out Randy Couture

UFC 129 was chock-full of devastating knockouts and spectacular fights. Some complained about the main event between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields. 

The reality is that only four out of 12 fights went to the judges score cards, and one could easily argue over who deserved the knockout and the submission of the night bonuses (there was no doubting that Mark Hominick vs. Jose Aldo was fight of the night).

As exciting as John Makdessi's spinning back fist knockout of Ultimate Fighter alumni Kyle Watson was, it was Lyoto Machida's flying front kick knockout of Randy Couture that ultimately got knockout of the night honors.

The flying front kick is the second front kick knockout in UFC history, it just so happened that the first one was by Machida's Black House teammate Anderson Silva who knocked out Vitor Belfort with it less than three months ago.

One may wonder why Black House fighters are all of a sudden landing these front kick knockouts, but both Silva and now Machida have given Hollywood actor Steven Seagal the credit for helping them perfect the technique.

Seagal's movie career really peaked during the early to mid 1990s, and the actor is certainly on the back end of his career. In addition to his movie career, he is a graduate from a police academy in California and is a Reserve Deputy Chief of the Sheriff's Office of a community in Louisiana.

Acting and police work aside, the tidbit of information most related to mixed martial arts is the fact that Seagal is a seventh dan degree black belt in Aikido. He has operated dojos in both Japan and the United States, and his initial Hollywood work was as a martial arts coordinator for films.

Fans and media have written off the crediting of Seagal with teaching Black House members the front kick as a publicity stunt.

Team Black House is a team mostly made up of Brazilian fighters trying to increase their popularity in North America. Although Seagal maybe isn't the best vehicle towards super stardom, the fact that he has a martial arts background makes him somewhat legitimate and since he is American that definitely helps to grab the attention of American and Canadian fans alike.

Aldo must have missed out on training with Seagal because he went to a five-round decision in his favor over the Canadian Hominick at UFC 129, no front kick knockout for him.

Team Black House is a camp full of talented fighters that in addition to Silva and Machida includes: Rafael Calvacante, Ronaldo Souza, The Nogeuira Brothers and Junior Dos Santos to name a few.  

What is next for Black House and Seagal? Will Junior Dos Santos front kick Brock Lesnar in the face when they meet in Vancouver, Canada on June 11?

Are other camps going to be following suite now and signing on Chuck Norris to show them the "Chuck Norris" round house? Or maybe get a hold of Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Jean-Claude Van Damme to learn a move or two?

All kidding aside, whether Seagal was really integral in teaching Silva and Machida the move or not, they were two of the most memorable knockouts in UFC history.

Leon Horne has been contributing to Bleacher Report for three years now. He focuses mainly on mixed martial arts, but he has also written about tennis, football and hockey. Just send him a message if you want to talk sports or discuss any opportunities. You can follow him on Twitter for updates: