‘Asking for it’: Cocky fighter dropped by kick after taunting rival (VIDEO)

UFC fighter Andre Ewell has been mocked for suffering a savage kick after goading rival Charles Jourdain in their featherweight bout on Saturday night.

Ewell was already well down on the cards to Jourdain in their meeting at UFC Vegas 45, surviving round two when he appeared close to being finished by his Canadian rival.

The fact that he'd lasted to the closing stages of round three perhaps gave Ewell a sense of false confidence as he goaded his rival by holding out his arms as if to signal that Jourdain's persistent attacks were taking no toll on him.

But punished for his cockiness, Ewell received a swift kick to the stomach that put him on his back and might have set up a ground-and-pound finish had there been more time on the clock. 

Ewell escaped before being handed his fate in a unanimous decision defeat on the scorecards. 

As footage of the incident spread online, fight fans were kick to mock the victim, who was "asking for it". 

"Ewell tried to look cool at the end. Damn did that backfire," pointed out one observer.

"Careful what you ask for," said another, along with a crying laughter emoji. 

"That's so disrespectful," it was said.

"That's a 'F*ck you' kick if I've ever seen one," highlighted another party.

"In my head I hear Bruce lee screaming WATAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH," admitted a martial arts enthusiast.

But some of the most popular reactions were those that brought up the similarities between the "This is Sparta!" moment in the popular historic action film 300. 

Both men were coming off losses going into the bout, but with his dominant performance, Jourdain improved to 12-4 – with many feeling he'd done enough to earn a new contract from president Dana White.