Shawn Jordan vs. Derrick Lewis and the 5 Best Head-Kick KOs in UFC HW History

The upside-down man pictured above—UFC heavyweight Shawn Jordan—weighs north of 260 pounds. 

He's kind of athletic. There's something special about a man that big doing things that physically taxing, and today, I'd like to shine some light on the big fellas who perform impressive feats of skill and athleticism inside the UFC Octagon. 

One of the flashiest ways to finish a fight inside the cage is via head kick, and there have been some spectacular showcases of shin colliding with skull throughout the UFC's history. 

Let's take a look back through the archives and pick out the top five most impressive head-kick knockouts in the UFC's heavyweight division. 

To rank, I'll use a combination of factors, including: 

• Degree of difficulty
• Quality of opposition
• Timeliness (a big-time comeback KO would score higher than a betting favorite knocking out a massive underdog)
• Impact 

Ready to see how it shakes out? Click on to begin the show.

5. Wait, Tim Sylvia Can Do That?

JANE KALINOWSKY/STR/Associated Press

Tim Sylvia is, in this writer's opinion, one of the most incredible UFC heavyweights of all time. 

Never the fastest, most athletic or physically gifted heavyweight, Sylvia worked tirelessly on his game, somehow putting the pieces together and becoming the UFC heavyweight champion of the world on two separate occasions. 

That's special. 

Perhaps the best example of Sylvia's sneakily good skills is his brutal head-kick knockout of Tra Telligman at UFC 54 in August 2005. 

After getting stripped of his UFC heavyweight title for failing a post-fight drug test in 2003, Sylvia had to climb back up the ladder. 

While moving up the rungs, he scored a few highlight-reel finishes, but none of them were as impressive as this one. 

Watch for yourself.

4. Shawn Jordan Raises the Bar for Future Heavyweights

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Our backflipping friend from the opening slide is also pretty good at kicking dudes in the head, a point showcased Saturday in New Orleans at UFC Fight Night 68. 

Jordan, a former football player at LSU, unleashed a savage hook kick in Round 2 that sent Derrick Lewis tumbling awkwardly to the canvas. 

Yes, it was a hook kick. 

From a 260-pound heavyweight. 

And it landed. 

With that bit of kicking excellence, Jordan raised the bar for heavyweights moving forward. No longer can fighters get by with solid boxing or impressive submissions. Jordan's kick represents the evolution of the heavyweight division and of the sport as a whole. 

If this kick had knocked Lewis out cold, it'd be No. 1 on this list. Unfortunately, it merely spelled the beginning of the end, as the official TKO came a few moments later after some ground-and-pound by Jordan. 

Still, you have to marvel at the dexterity and skill required to pull this move off inside the Octagon.

Jordan's kick is an instant classic, but three others are even better.

3. Oh, We're Doing Spinning Kicks Now?

"Junior, you didn't just win this fight—you made a statement." 

Well said, Joe Rogan. 

Taking on the iron-jawed Mark Hunt at UFC 160, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos displayed a freakish blend of athleticism and power, unleashing a spinning back kick in Round 3 that sent his opponent into the realm of the unconscious. 

Adding a little more depth to this finish, Dos Santos was coming off a devastating loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 155 where he lost his title and suffered what was, at the time, the worst beatdown of his career. 

Even though Dos Santos could have cruised to a unanimous-decision victory against Hunt in this rebound fight, he got fancy, threw the spinning kick late in Round 3 and it landed. 

Perfection.

2. Pete Williams Makes History, Shows Power of the Head Kick at UFC 17

On May 15, 1998, Pete Williams shocked the MMA world. 

After 12 minutes of straight action in regulation, Williams entered overtime against Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, and history followed. 

With Coleman showing serious signs of fatigue, Williams swarmed with a variety of punches and knees, but it was a kick that finally sealed the deal. 

As Coleman took a deep breath along the cage, hands down, Williams delivered a picture-perfect head kick that sent Coleman crashing to earth in a heap of shredded muscle and bone. 

Some may say Gerard Gordeau scored the first head-kick knockout over Teila Tuli at UFC 1, but this is the earliest example of a modern-day head-kick KO inside the UFC Octagon. Under today's rules, Gordeau's kick, incredible as it was, would be illegal. 

Williams' was legal, and it was ferocious. That makes it special. 

But it still isn't the best. Click on to see which kick captured the No. 1 spot.

1. Mirko Cro Cop Tastes His Own Medicine, and It's Gross

When Mirko Cro Cop came to the UFC in 2007, pundits billed him as one of the most devastating strikers in the sport's history. 

His kicks, legend had it, sent people to one of two places: the hospital (if they were lucky) or the cemetery. 

The legend wasn't exactly wrong—Cro Cop's kicks did establish him as one of the most fearsome strikers in the heavyweight division—but the story was about to receive an M. Night Shyamalan-style twist courtesy of Gabriel Gonzaga. 

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert, most did not expect Gonzaga to hang on the feet when the UFC fed him to Cro Cop at UFC 70. 

Oh, but how he hung. 

Gonzaga not only survived against Cro Cop—he knocked him out, and the scene was downright nasty. 

Near the end of Round 1, Gonzaga uncorked a right high kick of his own, and Cro Cop collapsed, leg twisted and brain switched to "off." 

Even though the offerings from Dos Santos and Jordan were fancier, they cannot match the moment and sheer impact of Gonzaga's famous head-kick KO. 

This one will live on, a constant reminder of the power stored inside the hips and shins of the UFC's heavyweight combatants.