5 most vicious Francis Ngannou KOs in the UFC

#2. Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 (at UFC 260)

Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic have shared an incredibly memorable rivalry over the last four years. The duo locked horns for the first time in 2018, when Miocic was a dominant champion and Ngannou was a contender on the rise.

Ngannou finished all of his opponents in the UFC leading up to his first fight with Miocic and was the betting favorite going into the bout against the reigning champion. However, Miocic showed incredible heart and resilience to defeat Ngannou on the night, exposing the latter’s inferior wrestling and lack of cardio.

Ngannou went on another knockout spree between 2018 and 2020 to earn another shot at Miocic’s belt. The duo squared off in the main event of UFC 260 in Las Vegas.

This time around, Ngannou was much better prepared. He refrained from chasing a KO finish in the first round and opted to land heavy leg and body kicks instead. When Miocic shot in for a takedown, Ngannou completely shut it down and reversed the position on the dominant champion.

In the second round, Ngannou caught Miocic with a powerful left hook that saw the champion crumble to the canvas. A new UFC heavyweight champion was crowned, marking the dawn of a new era in the division.

Watch the full fight below:

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#1. Francis Ngannou vs. Alistair Overeem (at UFC 218)

Francis Ngannou and Alistair Overeem locked horns in the co-main event of UFC 218 in Detroit, Michigan.

At the time, Ngannou had put together a five-fight winning streak and was gunning for a shot at then-champion Stipe Miocic. Meanwhile, Overeem was coming off back-to-back wins over Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum, and was also eyeing the belt. Both fighters were seemingly one fight away from a title shot.

The gap in experience between the heavyweight duo was extraordinary.

Overeem, a lifelong martial artist, started training in kickboxing at a very young age and went on to win heavyweight titles in K-1, Strikeforce and DREAM. The Dutchman became the first fighter to hold world titles in MMA and kickboxing at the same time. In 2010, he was the K-1 kickboxing world champion and the DREAM MMA world champion.

He came into the bout with Francis Ngannou with a professional record of 43-15-1 (NC). Ngannou came into the fight with a record of 10-1, having started his professional MMA career just four years prior.

Nevertheless, the Cameroonian knocked out his Dutch counterpart less than two minutes into the first round with one of the most vicious uppercuts ever seen in combat sports.

The jaw-dropping finish saw Francis Ngannou earn a shot at heavyweight gold. It won MMA Fighting's 2017 'Knockout of the Year' award. Ngannou's power went from being notable to legendary after the bout, so much so that he went into his championship bout against Stipe Miocic as the favorite.

To this day, his unbelievable knockout of Alistair Overeem remains one of the most incredible moments in UFC history.