Cobra Kai Season 5 Fight Scenes Ranked By Brutality
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Cobra Kai" Season 5
"Cobra Kai" is a wildly entertaining mish-mash of contemporary TV storytelling and nostalgic remembrance of the "Karate Kid" movies, to which the series is a sequel. Watching Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reunite and reengage their on-screen rivalry as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence is enormously fun, as is meeting the next generation of fighters. This winning approach has earned the show five solid seasons and a ton of praise.
Season 5 of "Cobra Kai" is full of vivid details, clever dialogue, and, of course, high-octane combat. While the action definitely ramps up as the season finale approaches, there are plenty of memorable fights sprinkled throughout the entire season — 20, to be exact, if you don't count the many sparring matches done for the sake of training. Each is a thrilling and extraordinarily well choregraphed delight, but they range wildly in terms of intensity: Some are over in the blink of an eye, while others last nearly an entire episode. Which brawl is the most ferocious of all? We're here to find out. This is every "Cobra Kai" Season 5 fight scene, ranked by brutality.
20. Louie vs. Anoush - bar fight
In Episode 9, "Survivors," Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) accompany Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) to a club for a night of drinking and dancing. They have good cause to celebrate, and that's precisely what they do. They also take Daniel's cousin, Louie (Bret Ernst), out for the night. Everyone drinks a little too much while having a good time.
As the group leaves the club, Louie sees Anoush (Dan Ahdoot), his friend from work. He approaches to say hi, and asks how he wound up there, as he previously claimed he couldn't accompany them because he had a date. Then, Louie sees that Anoush is out with his sister, Vanessa (Julia Macchio). What follows is the least brutal and quickest brawl in Season 5. Upon realizing the truth, Louie sucker-punches Anoush in the face. Vanessa confronts and slaps him for hitting her date, and Anoush takes the opportunity to lunge at Louie, knocking him to the ground. They wrestle about and yell vociferously — but only for a moment. Just a little while later, they walk arm-in-arm out of the club, drunkenly apologizing to each other.
19. Amanda and Sam vs. mean girls - bar fight
In Episode 5, "Extreme Measures," Amanda takes the kids, leaving Daniel to sort out his obsession on his own. She meets up with her cousin, Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively). They head to a local bar, where they begin talking about Amanda's situation. Jessica fills her in on just how bad Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) was to Daniel in the past.
While they discuss, Amanda notices another woman giving her the stink eye from across the bar. She clearly recognizes and dislikes her, so Amanda doesn't engage — but eventually, the barfly gets up and approaches Amanda. She teases her with a reminder of what the kids used to call her when they were in school. Things heat up, and soon, Amanda finds herself caught in a bar fight.
It's a fairly uneventful brawl, all things considered. Jessica gets up to confront the would-be bully, and before long, there's some shoving going on. Amanda pushes this former mean girl to the floor as two of her flunkies attempt to hold her and Jessica back. Seeing this, Sam (Mary Mouser) rushes over and performs a rather graceful high kick to the woman's lower back, slamming her into the bar. Amanda and Jessica are let go, and everyone rushes out.
18. Chozen vs. Mike - furniture store fight
After Daniel gets it in his head that Silver is going to recruit bad guys from their collective past, he decides to be proactive. In Episode 3, "Playing With Fire," he seeks Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), the karate hopeful Silver finds in "The Karate Kid Part III," at a furniture store. A misunderstanding involving an overheard phone call soon leads to a backroom confrontation.
The situation is quickly defused when Mike explains that all of his aggression is in the past. He's no longer that kind of guy: He's gotten married, and owns the very furniture store they're standing in. They talk about the past, and Mike wastes no time apologizing to Daniel for all the trouble he caused when they were younger. As they peacefully discuss things, they assume some karate poses in a completely non-threatening manner.
Seeing this, Chozen comes in out of nowhere with a flying kick to Mike's chest, sending the man crashing through a table. Chozen then stomps on Mike's leg, injuring him further. Mike lunges at his attacker. Daniel tries to stop the fight, but is knocked to the floor. Mike and Chozen go at it, but Mike accidentally punches Daniel in the face. Daniel gets up and stops the whole thing peacefully — but it's at this point that Chozen reveals he tore through four guys getting into the store. Oops.
17. Daniel vs. Silver - charity auction fight
In Episode 4, "Downward Spiral," Daniel and Amanda go to a charity auction in a beautiful mansion. Amanda is dead-set on impressing the event organizer, as she wants to become more involved in the charity, so everything must go perfectly. It's around this time that Silver makes his presence known: He's the one hosting the event, and they're at his house.
Daniel and Amanda do their best to avoid Silver as the auction commences, but he still manages to press their buttons. After Daniel introduces his three authentic bonsai trees for auction, the bidding begins, with several people showing interest. Silver lets this go on for a short time before bidding a substantial sum of money. While this is good for the charity, it upsets Daniel, who is dead-set on revealing Silver's true character.
After the auction, Daniel walks up to Silver to confront him on the issue. Daniel gets angry, and Silver pokes him in the chest with his finger. Daniel reacts immediately, blocking Silver's hand and throwing him aside. He crashes through the table holding the bonsai trees, destroying all of them. Amanda is rightfully mortified, and Silver walks away delighted by his ability to influence Daniel's actions. It just makes him look better in everyone else's eyes.
16. Sam vs. Tory - alleyway fight
"Survivors" picks up immediately after Tory (Peyton List) admits to Sam that she only won the All Valley Tournament because Silver paid off a referee. As this loss deeply affects Sam throughout Season 5, this news comes as something of a shock, which she doesn't take well. Sam begins yelling at Tory, lobbing accusations her way, and quickly becomes aggressive.
Before long, yelling turns into shoving. Sam comes at Tory with a right jab to the face, but Tory blocks the attack. Sam recovers and spins around, planting her left elbow into Tory's side, which Tory effectively blocks by pushing Sam away. Undeterred, Sam takes advantage of their distance to perform a backward kick with her right leg.
This blow lands in Tory's belly, pushing her backwards into a dumpster. Sam follows this up with another kick, but Tory manages to move out of the way. At this point, Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and Miguel (Xolo Mariduena) break up the fight. This prevents it from getting too brutal, but given Sam's anger and her hatred of Tory, it likely would have gotten far more intense had the boys not intervened.
15. Eli vs. Kenny - water park fight
A trip to the local water park proves far less relaxing than anyone would have liked in "Downward Spiral." Said park is filled with families, including many from the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do dojos. At first, the kids keep to themselves — but this doesn't last long.
Kenny Payne (Dallas Dupree Young) sees Anthony LaRusso (Griffin Santopietro) hanging out by the pool, and takes the opportunity to intimidate him. Kenny's friends back him up: They lean on Anthony, stack inner tubes on him, and throw him into the water. This confrontation leads to another, which the kids try to settle with a race down a slide. After Eli Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand) realizes his tube (given to him by Kenny) has popped, he confronts him. Kenny attempts to sucker-punch Eli, starting a new brou-ha-ha.
Eli easily dodges Kenny's right hook. Kenny then comes at Eli swinging, but is blocked. But then, he manages to land a punch to Eli's face, momentarily stunning him. Eli doesn't fully engage, but when Kenny attempts a kick, he grabs his leg and slams his elbow down onto his knee. At this point, Robby pushes Eli into the water to defuse the situation, leading Miguel to confront Robby. Before it can blow up into something serious, a lifeguard kicks them all out of the park.
14. Miguel vs. Pueblo - backroom brawl
Season 5 kicks off with Episode 1, "Long, Long Way From Home." This is an apt title, as it centers around Miguel, who is looking for his father in Mexico. He's there against his mother's wishes, and though he doesn't know it, Johnny and Robby are on his tail, looking to bring him home. Eventually, Miguel is led to a place holding a backroom card game.
Miguel attempts to walk into the back to ask if anyone knows his father. He's stopped by Pueblo (Leonardo Castro), a bouncer, but the man Miguel wants to talk to lets him into the room. Miguel introduces himself and explains who his mother is. Before long, the man becomes irritated, and asks Pueblo to get him out of there. That's when Pueblo puts his hand on Miguel's left shoulder.
Miguel deftly grabs the hand, turns, and twists his arm behind his back, hurting Pueblo's shoulder. He lets go, and Pueblo comes at him, but Miguel easily blocks his attacks. He then takes Pueblo out with a hit to his leg, knocking him to the floor. The fight is over almost as quickly as it begins. Miguel finishes his conversation with the man, who tells him to get out using very colorful language.
13. Stingray vs. Cobra Kai goons
Episode 10, "Head of the Snake," is chock-full of fights. The least brutal comes when Daniel and Amanda head to Cobra Kai. They're taken there by Raymond (Paul Walter Hauser), better known as Stingray, who is trying to make up for lying about Sensei Kreese (Martin Kove) beating the snot out of him. When they arrive at the dojo, they find several Cobra Kai kids outside, guarding the entrance. An unsure Daniel tries to talk his way inside, but this soon fails. "Look," he says, "I'm not gonna fight a bunch of kids." Hearing this, Stingray steps up and says, "You don't have to, Mr. L. I'll take this trash out."
Before this scene, Stingray is pretty much a joke — nobody takes him seriously as a fighter. As he approaches, one of the kids quips, "Do you believe this guy?" But he speaks too soon. Stingray kicks, sweeps, and punches each of the boys, leaving them writhing on the floor in pain as he stands over them, triumphant. The fight is brief, to say the least, but it demonstrates Stingray's brutal abilities. He goes right in for the kill, his kicks connecting with chests and faces in what look like incredibly painful ways. This makes Stingray something he's always wanted to be: a bada**.
12. Johnny vs. MMA fighter
In Episode 2, "Molé," Johnny and Robby manage to track down Miguel and his father, Hector (Luis Roberto Guzman), to an underground fight club. They arrive wearing shirts emblazoned with the letters "FBI" on the front, which some people take to mean they're federal agents. In actuality, their shirts are little more than a tired pun — but that's not apparent to Miguel's father, who quickly sends some goons to take on the Americans.
Two of these fighters confront Johnny, pushing him back. Johnny punches one man in the face and follows up with a kick, which gets grabbed. The savvy announcer declares, "It's karate versus MMA!" Johnny takes down one of the goons and gets some good kicks in, but is eventually pinned to the ground and choked. Thinking quickly, Robby throws him a pepper, which Johnny slams into the man's eye. This effectively wins the fight, as Johnny's opponent is blinded and in searing pain. He stands up, and Johnny delivers a roundhouse kick to the chest, knocking him onto the ground. "Where is Hector?" Johnny asks as the man reels. Watching the hottest pepper on the planet get shoved into a guy's eye makes this fight genuinely brutal.
11. Johnny vs. surfer goons - beach brawl
When Miguel arrives in Mexico, he's quickly taken advantage of by a group of surfers. They offer to help him, but they're actually looking to take his belongings and force him to buy them back. Miguel ultimately acquisesces to this scam and walks away with a lesson learned. Later, Johnny and Robby meet the surfers, who attempt to pull the same scam. But Johnny isn't as easy a mark as Miguel.
When the crooks attempt to pick his pocket, Johnny grabs the thief, twists him around, and kicks him into the sand. He confronts the leader of the gang and threatens the man with a creative use of his surfboard. Another goon attempts to strangle Johnny from behind, prompting Robby to jump in. He kicks the surfer to the ground as "Canción del Mariachi" plays in the background.
The surfers are woefully outclassed, which means most of them are quickly forced to eat sand. Finally, the leader hits Johnny with his surfboard, which Johnny punches. When this doesn't work, he kicks through it, breaking it in half. Robby kicks the man to the ground, and Johnny ends the fight by slamming the remains of the surfboard onto the jerk's head.
10. Eli vs. Kenny - exhibition fight
Silver's dream of participating in a special tournament leads to an exhibition fight in Episode 8, "Taikai." To get their dojos into the tournament, Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do agree to the exhibition and send their best fighters. The winner will advance to the tournament, while the loser will bow out. Such an agreement pretty much puts everything on the line for the exhibition match.
The fight between the boys results in a rematch between Eli and Kenny. To few viewers' surprise, Silver has brought in an outside (and very much paid off) referee to call the fight. Kenny comes at Eli fast and strong, kicking his opponent in the side, which nets him a point. They face off again, and Kenny comes in offensively once more. Eli stands his ground and kicks Kenny out of bounds, but the ref doesn't count it.
Again, Kenny comes at Eli hard, kicking him repeatedly before hitting him with an illegal strike to the knee. He's warned, but not disqualified. Eli comes at Kenny, but the latter fighter deploys the "silver bullet," a move Silver taught him, slamming Eli in the chest. This incredibly painful strike knocks the wind out of Eli and wins Kenny the match. The intensity of Kenny's final blow and all the cheating going on make this one of the most brutal fights of the season.
9. Kreese vs. D.O.C. - escape fight
"Head of the Snake" kicks off with John Kreese taking a shiv to the belly in a jailhouse fight that leaves him dying on the floor. But this fight isn't as interesting as the one that ends the episode (and the season). In that brawl, we find Kreese in the prison hospital ward, apparently dead on a gurney. A doctor stands over him, analyzing his injury. He finds a spot of blood peculiar and tastes it, revealing it to be melted Jell-O.
At this point, Kreese opens his eyes and sits up, shocking everyone in the room. They all thought he was dead, so they can be forgiven for momentarily freaking out. Kreese takes advantage of this and punches one Department of Corrections officer in the throat. He then gets up and slams another man onto his knee before turning his attention back to the man he throat-punched a moment earlier. He kicks the man hard, knocking him to the ground.
Kreese assesses the situation and turns toward the doctor. He shrinks away from Kreese, begging him for mercy. It's unclear what he does to this man, but Kreese walks out wearing his clothes a moment later. He then uses the psychiatrist's access card to swipe his way beyond the security door. Thus, Kreese escapes from prison, leaving fans with a major cliffhanger and a seriously memorable fight.
8. Sam vs. Lee - exhibition fight
After the boys' exhibition fight ends with a point in Cobra Kai's favor in "Taikai," it's up to Sam to win for Miyagi-Do. She's initially meant to fight Tory, but she has a change of heart over learning she cheated to win the All Valley Tournament. This leaves Devon Lee (Oona O'Brien) as her opponent. The two girls face off as the crooked referee stands by. Lee moves quickly, but Sam blocks her, then lands a kick, which the ref doesn't count. Sam then goes on the offensive, but Lee gets a point as she allegedly doesn't make contact. In fact, Sam hit Lee below the shoulder.
Miyagi-Do calls a timeout to discuss strategy. Realizing that the referee will not call the fight fairly, Sam is told to fight in a way that makes it impossible for the ref to call points for anyone but her. With newfound confidence, Sam faces off against Lee one last time. Though Lee is fast, Sam sweeps her legs and punches her in the chest, earning a point. They square off again, and Sam kicks Lee square in the chest, forcing the ref to award her a second point. The two girls go at it once more, trading blocks back and forth, but when Sam is presented with an opening, she expertly kicks her opponent in the chest, winning the match.
7. Kreese vs. prisoners - jailhouse fight
When John Kreese is convicted of assaulting Stingray, he goes to prison, where his age makes him stand out. The prisoners call him sensei, but not in an honorable manner. The biggest guy in the joint, who wants to establish his position with the new prisoner, does this more than any other. As you can imagine, things don't go well for him.
In Episode 6, "Ouroboros," Kreese attempts to put up with the harassment, as he's trying to get released early. When that plan falls through, he opts to assert himself in the only way he knows how: with his fists and feet. After the biggest prisoner punches Kreese down to the ground, he gets up. Martin Kove is briefly replaced by Barrett Carnahan, the actor who plays a younger version of Kreese in Season 4. In rapid succession, he teaches his fellow inmates what it means to be a sensei by beating the ever-living snot out of them. Kreese takes down one guy by brutally slamming him into a wall, then a pillar, then anything else in his way, and relieves another man of his shiv. He continues to beat them senseless until they're all wailing in pain and covered in their own blood. This fight is all about unleashing Kreese's beast, and the results are truly epic — and totally brutal.
6. Chozen vs. Silver's senseis - fight for the top job
After Chozen makes his way into Cobra Kai to gain intelligence on Silver's plans, it doesn't take long for the bad guy to figure out what he's doing there. At this point in the franchise, Chozen hasn't been in any real fights since "The Karate Kid Part II." But the man clearly remains a highly skilled fighter capable of taking on many opponents. This is put to the test in "Molé," when Silver offers the position of right-hand man to the sensei who can defeat Chozen.
The prospect of a tripled salary is too much to walk away from, so the six men quickly surround Chozen, who takes a defensive stance. Chozen lets out a breath as the first sensei attacks and quickly punches him to the ground. Two more men come at him, but Chozen expertly blocks and dodges before cracking one's arm. Yet another opponent roars as he enters the fray, and Chozen kicks him in the chest, knocking him unconscious to the floor. He takes another guy on the ground before the last sensei stands up and attacks again. Chozen explains why this is a big mistake as he strikes him in the neck, severely injuring him. He then draws a line in the sand, threatens Silver, and confidently walks out of Cobra Kai. Silver's senseis are some of the best fighters in "Cobra Kai," making this fight one of the season's most impressive.
5. Daniel vs. Silver - round two
The final fight of Season 5 comes when Daniel confronts Silver after the kids from Miyagi-Do expose him as a cheater. At this point, Silver has just come from his fight with Chozen, so he's not at 100%. Still, he confidently stands up to Daniel. As they square off, everyone backs up to give them space to fight.
Silver goads Daniel over his fight with Chozen before attacking. Daniel ducks and knocks Silver to the ground with a backhanded fist to the face. The fight is interwoven with flashbacks to their training together in "The Karate Kid Part III," which illustrates how Daniel anticipates and counters Silver's assaults. Silver attempts to use his signature "Quicksilver" skills on Daniel, but he's quickly knocked to the ground. Though he stands up and attacks Daniel again and again, every attempt is blocked and countered.
Eventually, Daniel puts his fists together and double-punches Silver in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Silver grabs a trophy to use as a weapon, but Daniel assumes his famous crane kick stance and delivers a kick to Silver's chest, knocking him back. He crashes through the glass shelves holding his trophies and collapses to the floor, bloodied and unconscious.
4. Miguel vs. Robby - apartment fight
By Season 5, it's fair to say that Miguel and Robby have some rough history together. Johnny wants to turn this around, as he's recently found out Carmen is pregnant, which guarantees the two boys will be in each other's lives, whether they like it or not. After trying everything he can think of, Johnny lets them fight out their differences outside his apartment in Episode 5, "Extreme Measures."
They aggressively go after each other as Johnny urges them on. Robby successfully blocks, until Miguel kicks him in the face. He sweeps Miguel to the ground, but he's back up and kicking almost immediately. They continue to trade kicks until Robby jumps off the wall and lands a flying kick to Miguel's head, followed by two blows to the chest. He then runs him into an apartment. They reappear on the second-floor balcony, brutally brawling.
At this point, both boys are bloodied, and Johnny realizes they may seriously injure each other. Before he can stop the fight, Miguel takes the lead by beating Robby toward the balcony. A flashback to his fall from a balcony takes place as he furiously attacks his enemy. But in the end, Miguel stops. "I didn't get into karate to hurt people," he says, "I did it to be bada** and find balance."
3. Miyagi-Do vs. Cobra Kai - final fight
Despite their agreement to fight in the exhibition, the kids of Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do are on the path to a big brawl, which unfolds in "Head of the Snake." Miyagi-Do students break into the Cobra Kai dojo to find footage of Silver beating up Stingray. As they search, the Cobra Kai kids storm in. What unfolds is a massive fight that lasts most of the episode and sees a lot of kids injured.
It begins with Mitch (Aedin Mincks) flipping on Miyagi-Do, having revealed their plans to his new allies. The Miyagi-Do kids try to reason their way out of a fight, but Kenny isn't listening. He starts throwing fists Miguel's way, and with that, the battle is on. Tory attempts to reason with Lee, but doesn't get through to her. It's every karate kid for themselves as the camera flashes from one engagement to the other. Insults are thrown, beatdowns are given, and the fight continues into the back room.
Kenny, Kyler Park (Joe Seo), and another kid rush at Robby, who is saved by Miguel. Tory fights well, but is met by sensei Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim). They fight it out, and Tory takes a lot of damage before Sam rushes in to save her. But Miyagi-Do comes together, remembering their training from Chozen, and keeps Cobra Kai at bay long enough to upload the video, which ends the fight.
2. Daniel vs. Silver - round one
After destroying Stingray's PlayStation in an earlier confrontation at his apartment, Daniel returns in "Extreme Measures" to replace it. Instead of finding Stingray, he's met by Silver. Daniel lets him know he's backing down and that he can have the Valley. Silver eggs him on, telling him he's not going to be satisfied with just the Valley — he has much bigger plans. They talk about this for a bit, until Silver brings up Amanda and Daniel takes the bait. With a quick shove from Daniel, the fight is on.
Daniel comes at Silver, who easily blocks him, until a backhanded fist gets him in the face. Silver then grabs both his arms and headbutts him. Daniel assumes a stance, but Silver takes the offense, beating Daniel to the ground. He gets up and tries to take on Silver, but he's blocked and countered. Scenes from "The Karate Kid Part III" flash by as Daniel remembers their training together. He attacks, but Silver counters and injures Daniel's arm. Daniel is bloodied and beaten when Silver puts his foot on his throat, leaving him gasping on the floor. It's an utterly merciless fight.
1. Daniel's pals vs. Cobra Kai sensei
The most brutal fight in Season 5 comes in "Head of the Snake," when Johnny, Chozen, and Mike storm Silver's house. Mike is taken out almost immediately, but Johnny and Chozen manage to fight off Silver's senseis fairly well. Then, the fight splits in two: Chozen takes on Silver, while Johnny fights the senseis. This is where it gets seriously brutal.
Johnny is severely beaten throughout the fight, despite landing several well-placed kicks and punches on his enemies. As Chozen engages with Silver, a sword is unsheathed, and Chozen's sais come into play. Silver comes at Chozen fast and furious as they take their fight outside. Chozen stands his ground, but Silver cuts him deeply below the shoulder and in the left thigh. Finally, Silver viciously slashes him across the back, leaving Chozen to die facedown in the water.
At this point, Johnny is nearly dead. Silver comes in and tells his goons to finish him off. But before they can, Johnny sees Carmen's sonogram and gains newfound strength. He proceeds to beat the tar out of his enemies, and is about to win when a guy with a sword lunges at him. At the last second, and seemingly out of nowhere, Mike rushes in, saving Johnny and ending the most brutal fight of the season.