Sam Stout’s knockout over Yves Edwards at UFC 131 was a fantastic KO over a great veteran. I recall Carlos Newton years back talking to me about how much admiration he had for Edwards’ fighting style and how calm and relaxed he was in the cage. Newton described it as if he was hovering on a flying carpet and just coasting along while hammering his opponents with some vicious Muay Thai. It was a great fight in the first round between Edwards and Stout, but that counter-left hook of Stout definitely showed why he’s called “Hands of Stone.” Stout expressed to the MMA Digest before his fight with Edwards that it’s been bothering that he hasn’t scored a KO in a while and he was itching to get in there and get a big knockout to fill that void. Stout definitely did just that and made up for his string of KO-less outings in the Octagon. Congrats to both lightweights for putting it on the line. Sometimes it just takes one good shot to end the fight, no matter it you’re a heavyweight or lightweight. All the practice that Stout put into perfecting that shot with training Shawn Tompkins paid off big time at UFC 131 in Vancouver. And much respect to Stout completely holding back and avoiding hammering any more strikes after Edwards hit the mat.

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I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to all 3 of these London, Ontario, Canada fighters and they’re down to earth and humble warriors. Success can get to your head but these guys have stayed real down to earth and keep it real with fans and media whenever they get a chance to interact with them.