5 Most Brutal MMA Knockouts

The world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has always been one that has enthralled fans with exhilarating knockouts and mindboggling submissions.

The thrill of a stoppage victory in MMA is second to none, however, should said stoppage come by way of a brutal KO—the electricity in the air is indeed amplified to a great extent.

Now, although most fans would argue that getting knocked out by a single strike and losing consciousness is a rather nasty way to lose, certain sections of fans and experts believe that sustaining a prolonged beating before eventually losing consciousness is, in fact, more damaging to the losing fighter’s long-term health and well-being.

Regardless, today we take a look at some of the most brutal KO/TKO stoppages in MMA history—

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#5 Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2

Yes. Jon Jones tested positive for illegal PEDs after this fight, and yes, the result of the epic UFC 214 encounter between Jon Jones and “DC” was overturned to a No-Contest.

Regardless, the fact remains that after defeating Daniel Cormier in their first encounter back in 2015, Jones did fight his arch nemesis once again at UFC 214 last year. The two combatants started right where they’d left off—tagging one another with hellacious strikes, all thrown with bad intent.

Cormier appeared to be getting the better of the exchanges on the feet, as both fighters seemed rather disinterested in taking matters to the mat. Cormier’s boxing served to startle Jones on the feet in the early exchanges, however, the latter made brilliant use of his length and size advantage over DC—backpedaling wonderfully from long-range strikes, and clinching up in order to tire out the smaller Cormier when the latter managed to cover the distance.

Jones, rather intriguingly, kept slamming kicks into Cormier’s midsection while extending his hands outward so as to efficiently gauge distance. In response to which, Cormier began getting lazy with his feet, and started parrying said body kicks—which in turn would turn out to be his undoing.

Jones tricked Cormier, by faking a kick to the body and going upstairs—tagging DC with a thunderous left leg roundhouse head kick which sent the latter stumbling across the Octagon.

A few ground strikes later, Cormier was out cold. What served as a rather scary scene after the match, is that Cormier argued it to be an early stoppage by veteran referee John McCarthy—something that clearly wasn’t the case. DC then proceeded to cry in the post-fight Octagon interview.

Replays subsequently showed that the stoppage may have in fact been late, as Cormier absorbed several brutal punches well after he’d been separated from his senses.

#4 Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

Edson Barboza is perhaps one of the most underrated strikers in UFC history.

Barboza possesses beautiful kickboxing and seems to have shored up his defensive boxing lapses as well. Additionally, the Brazilian technician is well-known for his spinning attacks—something that served as an important tool in his rise to the top.

Barboza rose to prominence with a highlight reel KO of Terry Etim in their bout at UFC 142 back in 2012. Barboza and Etim seemed well-matched up until the former spun and stung (sic) Etim in memorable fashion.

The latter stages of their fight saw Barboza sting Etim with straight punches, which in turn served to keep the latter at bay as they discouraged him from stepping in and entering the pocket. Barboza then noticed Etim’s lack of lateral movement as well as the tendency of not moving his feet, other than to check leg kicks, in response to oncoming strikes.

Barboza then put forth a few feints and spun to land a beautiful spinning back kick, which knocked Etim out instantly. Etim was out before his body hit the ground.

#3 Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos 3

The Cain Velasquez-Junior Dos Santos series of fights is perhaps one of the most talked-about trilogies in the UFC.

The first fight witnessed JDS annihilate Velasquez with a beautiful overhand right, which landed behind the latter’s ear and rattled his equilibrium instantly. While JDS won that fight by KO, Velasquez successfully defeated Dos Santos in the rematch—by way of a dominant 5-round decision victory.

The second fight saw JDS sustain an ungodly amount of punishment, and although he managed to survive till the final bell, experts noted that the prolonged beating he sustained at the hands of Velasquez may have changed Dos Santos forever.

The aforementioned prediction proved to be true, as JDS seemed noticeably slower in his trilogy matchup against Velasquez at UFC 166. Velasquez laid an even more brutal beating on Dos Santos in their third fight—stopping Dos Santos in the fifth and final round of their matchup with a violent slam and follow-up punches.

#2 Robbie Lawler vs. Rory Macdonald 2

Robbie Lawler bested Rory Macdonald in their first meeting inside the Octagon, however, the victory came by way of a razor-close decision.

Lawler subsequently went on to win the UFC Welterweight title and defended his Championship against Macdonald at UFC 189. Lawler dominated the initial phase of this matchup—lighting Macdonald up with beautiful 1-2s and highly-technical boxing in Rounds 1 and 2.

Regardless, Macdonald tagged Lawler with a huge right leg roundhouse head kick in Round 3—almost finishing the latter with several follow-up punches, elbows and knees till the bell sounded. Macdonald once again tagged Lawler with head kicks in Round 4, and went after him with reckless intent—only for Lawler to fire back with hard punches.

With both combatants covered in blood, the fifth and final round commenced, and Lawler began targeting Macdonald’s nose, which he’d broken earlier in the fight. Lawler kept dinging his foe’s nose with hard punches and damaged Macdonald’s nose to such an extent that the latter crumpled under the pain—with the fight ending by way of TKO.

#1 Tyron Woodley vs. Robbie Lawler

For years, Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley trained as teammates at one of the world’s most famous MMA gyms, ATT (American Top Team).

Lawler went on to win the UFC Welterweight Championship, and defend it on a couple of occasions before his fight with Woodley came to fruition at UFC 201. The fight started off with Lawler being cautious of Woodley’s wrestling prowess.

While Woodley did threaten the takedown right off the bat, T-Wood’s feints and speed on the feet ended up costing Lawler the title. Woodley feinted several punches while moving into range, and then proceeded to tag Lawler with one of the most brutal overhand rights of all time.

A few follow-up punches on the mat put Lawler out for good and added a rather gnarly KO victory to Woodley’s stellar highlight reel.