MMA Knockout of the Year Watch—December 2013 Edition

With time running thin in 2013, former pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva will get his chance to avenge the first knockout of his career against Chris Weidman at UFC 168 on Dec. 28.

In their first meeting at UFC 162 in July, Weidman shocked Silva and knocked the former middleweight champ out to take the belt he'd worn since 2006.

The UFC recognized Weidman's feat by naming it one of the two best KO's in company history on the UFC 20: The Top 20 Knockouts of the First 20 years of the UFC in November. Weidman's KO of Silva took the 1B slot, and Silva's KO of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 nabbed the 1A spot. 

Does Weidman deserve Knockout of the Year honors for his flattening of arguably the sport's greatest striker in his 10th pro bout, or does a more aesthetically pleasing KO merit the nod? 

With Weidman's rematch with Silva just 17 days away, here are the top picks for Knockout of the Year in 2013.

5. Emanuel Newton

Event: Bellator 90

Opponent: Muhammed Lawal

Knockout Method: Spinning backfist

In the first of two meetings between Bellator MMA's best light heavyweights, Emanuel Newton shocked Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal with a devastating first-round KO.

Roughly 2:30 into the bout, Lawal uncorked two straight hooks to open himself up for the brutal KO. Newton got clipped by the first hook but ducked the second and clipped Lawal with a flush spinning backfist on his way up.

Lawal absorbed the centrifugal force Newton generated with his fist and went unconscious before falling to the canvas at the 2:35 mark of Round 1.

Less than nine months later, and with the interim light heavyweight strap up for grabs, Newton earned a unanimous decision win over Lawal in the rematch at Bellator 106. 

4. Vitor Belfort

Photo credit: Sherdog.com

Event: UFC Fight Night 32

Opponent: Dan Henderson

Knockout Method: Head kick

Last month, Vitor Belfort not only became the first fighter to KO Dan Henderson in his 16-year pro career, he also became the first fighter in UFC history to record KO's off high kicks in three straight bouts.

The 36-year-old Brazilian pawed at Henderson for the first minute of the bout before dropping the 43-year-old Californian with the second punch he threw just 1:05 in.

Henderson ate several clean shots on his back but managed to scramble back to an upright position. Just as he got to his feet, Belfort unleashed a vicious left high kick that instantly flattened the iron-jawed former Pride FC champ.

Referee Dan Miragliotta recognized Henderson's dire state and stepped in to save him as Belfort backed off and celebrated one of the most significant KO's of his storied career.

3. Travis Browne

Event: UFC Fight Night 26

Opponent: Alistair Overeem

Knockout Method: Front kick and punches

Travis Browne undoubtedly thanked referee Mario Yamasaki for allowing action to continue in the midst of a tumultuous beating he was absorbing from Alistair Overeem in the first round at UFC Fight Night 26.

Browne withstood a thunderous thrashing from Overeem and then turned the tables on "The Demolition Man" with a flush front kick to the chin with roughly a minute to go in the first round.

Overeem crashed to the canvas and Browne greeted his fall with a pair of hammerfists that rendered the Dutchman unconscious. 

In this impressive performance, Browne first mimicked Brock Lesnar's comeback against Shane Carwin at UFC 116 before impersonating Anderson Silva's spectacular KO of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.

2. Chris Weidman

Heading into UFC 162, many pundits predicted Chris Weidman to grind out a five-round decision over Anderson Silva, while some even forecast a submission win for "The All-American."

However, few experts envisioned seeing Weidman land a flush KO on the sport's most accurate and feared striker, a fact that made this KO so significant.

Silva played his typical game and attempted to taunt and rattle Weidman in the bout's opening round.

After narrowly keeping his cool in the first round, Weidman honed his focus on Silva's jawline in the second and landed a pinpoint left hook on his button 1:14 into the stanza. A severely dazed Silva hit the mat and absorbed several more follow-up punches to the chin before referee Herb Dean intervened to save "The Spider."

The 38-year-old Silva will get a chance to redeem himself of one of the greatest KO's in UFC history in the same venue that he lost his strap: The MGM Grand Garden Arena. 

In the same vein, the 29-year-old Weidman will get a shot to silence all of the critics who believe that he only became champ because of a silly Silva miscue.

1. Vitor Belfort

Testosterone replacement therapy use aside, Vitor Belfort pulled off a striking technique that few middleweights would dream of trying on former Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold at UFC on FX 8.

Approximately 2:25 into the bout, the hulking Belfort executed a picturesque spinning heel kick that landed square on Rockhold's jaw. 

The ever-sturdy Rockhold amazingly maintained his consciousness as he crashed to the canvas. However, a rabid Belfort lit the American Kickboxing Academy stalwart up with six straight follow-up punches that put him to sleep.

Belfort's ferocious KO snapped an impressive nine-fight winning streak for Rockhold, one that included wins over Tim Kennedy, Keith Jardine and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

The win marked one of three straight head kick KO's for Belfort in 2013. "The Phenom" also flattened Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 and Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 32.