In the immediate aftermath of arguably the most violent televised knockout in combat sports history, Uriah Hall’s overriding emotion was fear. He was fearful he may have killed Adam Cella with the spinning back kick knockout that was broadcast Tuesday on FX on Episode 3 of Season 17 of the reality series “The Ultimate Fighter.”

‘Phenomenally vicious’

The celebration that usually accompanies a big knockout on an episode of TUF was noticeably absent. Jaws dropped around the gym as fighters and observers feared for Cella’s well-being. It was a phenomenally vicious knockout.

According to a tweet by UFC president Dana White, Cella was out for four minutes, didn’t sit on the stool until six minutes after the kick that landed on the side of his face and didn’t get into the ambulance to go to the hospital until nine minutes later. FX teased the knockout for a week, referring to it as “the most shocking finish in TUF history.”

‘Really deadly’

Hall, who was a member of Team Sonnen, noticed that Cella was keeping his right hand low. He made a mental note of that during the fast-paced fight and when it happened again, he reacted.

“That’s my favorite technique,” Hall said of the kick. “… It’s a little bit of an unorthodox move. If you have good speed and good whip, you can catch someone, and it’s really deadly. I love to use that technique, and just from being in the ring with him, I’d seen how he would drop his hand a little bit… I had the chance and I capitalized on it and I took it.”

Hall said that after landing the kick, his foot hurt for a week. Remarkably, Cella suffered no serious injury from the violent knockout and is expected to compete on the TUF 17 Finale in Las Vegas in April.

Were you able to watch the vicious match between Uriah Hall and Adam Cella? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions regarding The Ultimate Fighter episodes.

Source: Kevin Iole, Yahoo Sports

Image: Bloody Elbow