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Ask a UFC fan to name their favourite knockout and they’ll probably come up with something pretty well known and iconic – Anderson Silva’s front kick KO of Vitor Belfort perhaps, or Chuck Liddell’s famous combo on Tito Ortiz. Those kind of moments have had years of replay value and remain classic to this day.
There have been plenty of cool – and violent – knockouts in the UFC though, that have been forgotten. Whether that’s because they took place in the ‘dark ages’ of the sport prior to the TUF boom, because they were buried on an untelevised prelim card, or happened on a lesser UFC show, the following ten knockouts are all brilliant – and you may never have seen them. With the whole UFC library now being available via Fight Pass, I suggest you track them down.
#1 Phil Baroni vs Dave Menne, UFC 39
Coming into UFC 39, Phil Baroni had a relatively modest UFC record of 2-1, and yet he’d already gained a reputation for being a flashy, trash-talking power puncher. When he was matched with former Middleweight champ Dave Menne, nobody expected him to unleash the knockout that would define his career.
A big right hand in the opening seconds of the fight lead to Menne stumbling back towards the fence, and with the former champion reeling, Baroni opened up with the kind of combination more likely to be seen in training – usually on a speed bag. Menne was kept standing by the sheer force and speed of the punches before finally dropping after taking what felt like about twenty shots.
The fight was over in eighteen seconds and Baroni topped things off by cutting one of the greatest promos in UFC history – screaming “I’m the best evah!” in his thick New York accent. It’s a knockout that’s now become forgotten in time, but it remains jarring and insanely violent some sixteen years on.
#2 David Terrell vs Matt Lindland, UFC 49
Cesar Gracie protégé David Terrell was renowned as one of the world’s best jiu-jitsu players back in 2004, and when he signed to fight Olympic wrestling silver medallist Matt Lindland at UFC 49, most fans were expecting a grappling war between the two. They couldn’t have been much more wrong.
Lindland had always been susceptible to a good striker, particularly a southpaw, and evidently, Terrell had done his homework. He came out quickly, throwing a pair of big left hands, and the second connected and knocked Lindland down hard. The wrestler attempted to recover, but Terrell was too fast and too aggressive, and a series of follow-up punches had Lindland’s head bouncing off the canvas.
The fight was over in 24 seconds and the UFC had a new top contender at Middleweight. Terrell never did fulfil his promise – he lost a title match to Evan Tanner and only fought once afterwards – but this remains a stone-cold classic knockout and probably one of the best UFC debuts of all time.
#3 Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns, TUF 8 Finale
Every modern-day UFC fan knows all about the power of Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson – he tore a path of destruction through the Light-Heavyweight division from 2014 to 2017, knocking out the likes of Ryan Bader, Glover Teixeira and Alexander Gustafsson along the way. However, perhaps his best UFC knockout actually came back in 2008 as a Welterweight.
Johnson was matched with Kevin Burns at the TUF 8 Finale in a rematch of an earlier – and controversial – fight. Burns had inadvertently poked Johnson in the eye, rendering him unable to continue, but the referee had ruled the fight a TKO in favour of Burns. And so Johnson was gunning for revenge.
He took it in the most violent way possible – with a vicious left head kick in the third round of a close fight. Burns was unconscious literally the second that the kick landed, but Johnson added a hammer fist as he hit the deck for good measure. Either way, the rivalry was ended in devastating fashion and Johnson had secured a knockout for the ages.
#4 Mark Weir vs Eugene Jackson, UFC 38
Before the UFC truly broke it big in the UK, they gave the hardcore British fans a show in the form of 2002’s UFC 38 – the ‘Brawl at the Royal Albert Hall’. The most memorable moment was probably Matt Hughes’s win over Carlos Newton, but for sheer brutality, you can’t look past Mark Weir’s knockout of Eugene Jackson.
Weir – a British kickboxer who had won eight fights in a row – threw a crescent kick that caught UFC veteran Jackson off guard, and as he reacted to avoid it, the Brit followed up with a straight right hand that knocked him into next week. The whole fight was over in around ten seconds – one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history.
Jackson was down for what felt like an age although he eventually left the cage under his own power, and although it’s since been overshadowed by even quicker knockouts from Duane Ludwig, Todd Duffee and Ryan Jimmo, it remains one of the most incredible finishes in UFC history – and one of the most vicious, too.
#5 Ryan Bader vs Jason Brilz, UFC 139
Current Bellator Light-Heavyweight champion Ryan Bader earned a reputation as a dull fighter in his latter UFC days, but in reality, he started off as anything but dull, and reeled off a bunch of highlight-reel finishes in his early career inside the Octagon. Probably his best knockout was this one over Jason Brilz in 2011.
Bader was coming in off two straight losses – to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz – and needed to win to keep his status as a hot prospect on track. Brilz had taken the likes of Rogerio Nogueira to the limit earlier in his UFC career, but his chin had been exposed by Vladimir Matyushenko in his previous fight.
It was unsurprising then when Bader chose to keep the fight standing, and his gameplan paid off early in the first round. Surprising Brilz with his speed, Bader caught him with a rushing right hand to the temple, shutting out the lights and causing him to fall face-first. No follow-up was needed, as Bader had scored one of the best – and most unfairly forgotten – knockouts of his career.
#6 Josh Koscheck vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida, UFC Fight Night 16
Despite taking place in the main event of a 2008 UFC Fight Night show – the UFC’s first ‘Fight for the Troops’ – this knockout from TUF villain Josh Koscheck seems to have been forgotten despite being an all-time highlight reel moment in terms of brutality. Coming into the fight, Koscheck had been beaten by Thiago Alves and was looking to get back on the winning track.
Opponent Yoshida had debuted in the UFC some months prior with an impressive win over Jon ‘War Machine’ Koppenhaver and was looking to cement himself as a top contender at 170lbs. It wasn’t to be. Clearly the more comfortable striker, Koscheck had him on the back foot from the off, and midway through the first round, he landed a crushing right hand to the jaw.
Yoshida was practically knocked out, but fell backwards into the fence, rather than hitting the floor. The Japanese fighter bounced back – clearly out on his feet – and this allowed Koscheck to hit him with a second right hand, knocking him silly and sending him down like a corpse. Yoshida left the cage on a stretcher and Koscheck had scored one for the all-time highlight reel.
#7 Pablo Garza vs Fredson Paixao, TUF 12 Finale
There are few things cooler in MMA than a flying knee knockout, and although the likes of James Irvin, Spencer Fisher and Carlos Condit have uncorked them over the years, the best one in UFC history probably belongs to Pablo Garza – unfortunate as the fight it happened in took place on an untelevised prelim card in 2010.
The lanky Garza was matched against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Fredson Paixao in what was actually the first Featherweight fight in UFC history, and the man known as ‘The Scarecrow’ delivered a knockout for the ages. The fight wasn’t even a minute old when Garza leapt into the air and knocked Paixao stone dead with his left knee, sending him down to the floor with his arms stiffened up.
A follow-up hammer fist landed for Garza but was un-needed. Paixao was firmly unconscious and required a stretcher to carry him out of the cage, and the UFC’s first 145lbs fight had ended in a bang. Garza didn’t go on to much further UFC success, although he did score another highlight reel win in his next fight – with a flying triangle choke submission.
#8 Josh Burkman vs Sammy Morgan, TUF 2 Finale
Josh Burkman had come into the second season of The Ultimate Fighter as a somewhat unheralded prospect, but when he beat the highly touted Melvin Guillard in the season’s first fight, his reputation suddenly soared. Burkman broke his arm in the fight though and was unfortunately eliminated from the tournament.
Matched with castmate Sammy Morgan at the Finale show, he was determined to make things right, and things couldn’t have gone any better for ‘The People’s Warrior’. Tying up with Morgan in an early clinch, Burkman used his strength advantage to slam his opponent to the ground, and as both men hit the mat, their heads clashed, stunning Morgan for a second. It was all the opportunity Burkman needed.
Before Morgan could recover, Burkman smashed him with three elbows, dribbling his head off the mat and knocking him utterly senseless. In a sick visual, Morgan’s eyes were shown rolling back in his head as he was separated from his consciousness. It was a phenomenally violent way for Burkman to arrive in the UFC and remains one of the scariest knockouts produced in the Octagon.
#9 Alan Belcher vs Jorge Santiago, UFC Fight Night 7
When Alan Belcher debuted in the UFC in 2006 as a late replacement in a fight with Yushin Okami, it was clear he had potential. He took the Japanese fighter to the limit, even hitting a flashy front flip to defend against a possible choke at one stage. Matched with Brazilian Jorge Santiago for his second fight, ‘The Talent’ showed he was just as much substance as flash.
In what began as a close fight, Belcher showed off his Muay Thai chops by kicking at the legs of Santiago from the off, and by the third round it was clear he’d taken away the Brazilian’s balance and movement. Clearly favouring his lead leg, Santiago switched stances only for Belcher to kick his back leg too. Santiago looked to defend the low kicks but didn’t spot what Belcher had in store.
Feinting another low kick, Belcher instead went high and landed a crushing right head kick over the top of an attempted punch from Santiago. The kick landed perfectly and the Brazilian folded, and a follow-up right hand made it academic. It was as good a head kick knockout as the UFC has ever seen – it was a huge pity that it went untelevised as it was on the preliminary card of a Fight Night.
#10 Alex Garcia vs Ben Wall, UFC Fight Night 33
Alex Garcia was a highly touted prospect for some time prior to his UFC debut in 2013, and so hopes were high for him when he was matched up with a late replacement in Aussie fighter Ben Wall – a natural 155lber making the step up to 170lbs for the fight. And ‘The Dominican Nightmare’ certainly didn’t let anyone down.
Just moments into the fight, the much larger Garcia caught Wall – who was sporting an odd shock of purple hair – with an uppercut that dropped him to his knees and froze him in his tracks. Capitalizing, Garcia followed with a left hand that knocked Wall to the ground, and a follow-up right hand rendered him thoroughly unconscious.
Garcia had arrived in the UFC in the most violent way possible, and the unfortunate Wall suffered a bad knockout in front of his own Australian fans. Since his debut, Garcia hasn’t quite lived up to the early expectations placed upon him, but regardless he’ll always have this tremendous knockout on his ledger at least.
