There are some magical moments in every sport that define the sport for all of posterity. Be it ‘The Miracle on Ice’ in hockey, Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier in boxing, or Michael Jordan‘s buzzer-beater over Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals Game 6. Mixed martial arts, despite its relatively recent history, has no shortage of such moments. Among the most iconic of such MMA moments is former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson‘s legendary Powerbomb slam-knockout of Ricardo Arona at PRIDE FC two decades ago. So iconic is that moment that Joe Rogan unironically freaked out, just talking about the slam with ‘Rampage’ himself.

‘Rampage’ was speaking fondly about his legendary, early-2000s stint at PRIDE in Japan filled with interesting stories about the East Asia country, his run-ins with the Yakuza, and the idiosyncrasies of the beautiful and unique Japanese culture. This reminded him of the slam-knockout, which made him explode in popularity as he became the biggest star in MMA at that time, especially in Japan.

“I did that Ricardo Arona slam, and I got really popular in Japan… I did that on my 26th birthday,” Jackson told Rogan during episode #159 of the JRE MMA show. And as soon as Jackson mentioned the slam, Joe Rogan’s eyes lit up. The UFC commentator got the same wide-eyed look he gets when discussing something he finds truly fascinating, as he went on to term ‘Rampage’s Powerbomb the ‘greatest slam’ in the sport’s history.

“That is to this day, the greatest slam in the history of this sport, and a lesson for everybody that hangs on to a triangle when a dude’s picking you up… Holy s**t” Rogan exclaimed.

The Texas resident felt that this move also proved once and for all that if a guy is picking you up as you try to go for a submission, just let them go. Otherwise, the result would be a very humiliating, not to mention painful knockout, which one would be best advised to avoid.

Why Rogan thinks the slam was the ‘hardest anybody’s ever been hit’

Young Jamie, the JRE producer, was quick to pull up the video of the savage slam, and Rogan got animated, just looking at it, marveling at how violent it had been. The podcast host felt that Jackson’s iconic slam was “the greatest, the greatest KO slam of all time.” Having watched the fight live, Rogan admitted that he was even concerned that Arona “was dead.”

In addition, the podcast host felt that given the sheer amount of momentum and force with which the legendarily strong ‘Rampage’ had slammed Arona, he felt it might have been “the hardest anybody’s ever been hit in this sport.” “Look at the amount of travel that he does bro. You got him like 12 feet in the air. And he goes straight [down]. And you were powerful as f**k back then, and all the speed and force you’re generating, oh my God! And then you hit his head too,” a wide-eyed Rogan said.

What are your thoughts on ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s slam knockout of Ricardo Arona? Let us know in the comments below.