Video: Watch Stephen Thompson's beautifully brutal finish of Jake Ellenberger

Stephen Thompson has built an impressive highlight reel during his rise to UFC welterweight title challenger. While it’s tough to pick his most spectacular finish, his July 2015 finish of Jake Ellenberger has to be on the list.

Fighting in a main event for the first time, Thompson met Ellenberger in the headlining bout of The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale. The card flew a bit under the radar, since it was held one day after Conor McGregor’s big win over Chad Mendes at the blockbuster UFC 189 event. But “Wonderboy” made sure he’s performance was not forgotten.

While it was Ellenberger who struck first, Thompson dusted himself off, flashed some impressive wrestling prowess and then went back to his bread and butter – flashy, powerful striking – to secure a first-round knockout via spinning hook kick.

At next month’s historic UFC 205 event at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Thompson (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) – who’s ranked No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings – takes on UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the night’s co-main event – one of an incredible three title fights on the star-studded card.

Ahead of that fight, check out Thompson at his finest.

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.