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The UFC’s events in 2018 thus far have seen some pretty spectacular knockouts – TJ Dillashaw’s finish of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 for instance, and Daniel Cormier’s brutal knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 – but thus far at least, none of 2018’s knockouts have been up there with the fastest in UFC history.
Most of the time in the UFC, the stakes are so high that almost every fight has somewhat of a feeling out process. But for the following 8 fighters, no feeling out process was needed – they got right down to action and finished their opponent in less time than it takes Usain Bolt to run the 100m. Here are the 8 fastest knockouts in UFC history.
#8: Makwan Amirkhani vs. Andy Ogle, UFC on Fox 14 – 01/24/2015
When Finnish Featherweight Makwan Amirkhani debuted in the UFC in January 2015, he was bringing with him a reputation for violence. Of the 12 fights on his record, he’d won 10 and had only gone the distance in two of those victories.
But historically, fighters who’d been explosively violent on the regional scene had often struggled at the elite UFC level. That wasn’t the case here.
Faced with British TUF veteran Andy Ogle – who had his back to the wall after a series of UFC losses – Amirkhani simply didn’t waste any time. He literally sprinted out of his corner, hit the Englishman with a flying knee that sent him stumbling, and followed with an uppercut that dropped him hard.
A couple of follow-up punches sealed the deal, and Amirkhani had picked up the 9th first round win of his career – in just 8 seconds.
#7: Leon Edwards vs. Seth Baczynski, UFC Fight Night 64 – 04/11/2015
After somewhat of a dull debut fight against Claudio Silva six months prior, few people expected much of British striker Leon Edwards in his second UFC outing, particularly as he was faced with a tough grinder in Seth Baczynski – a veteran of 10 UFC fight who’d only been knocked out three times before.
All of that didn’t matter to the native of Birmingham, England though, as he came in like a man on a mission. Baczynski attempted a step-in knee in the opening seconds, only for Edwards to counter with a straight left that sent him crashing to the ground.
Before Baczynski had any chance to recover, Edwards was on him, and two follow-up left hands left the veteran unconscious – and ‘Rocky’ with an 8-second victory to add to his ledger.
Edwards has since reeled off 7 further UFC wins – and he’s currently on a 6-fight win streak that’s landed him in the UFC’s top 15 at 170lbs – but for sheer speed, he’s never topped his first UFC win.
#6: James Irvin vs. Houston Alexander, UFC Fight Night 13 – 04/02/2008
When strikers James Irvin and Houston Alexander were matched together at UFC Fight Night 13 in April 2008, a finish seemed almost guaranteed. The pair had nine UFC fights between them, and neither had seen the judges’ scorecards.
And given that Alexander was coming off a knockout loss, while Irvin had also been knocked out previously, the ‘glass cannon’ tendencies of both men meant it was almost impossible to predict a winner, too.
In the end, it was Irvin – nicknamed ‘The Sandman’ – who came out on top. The two men met in the centre of the cage and Irvin nailed Alexander with a spectacular superman punch that dropped him, and followed with a couple more that left ‘The Assassin’ stiff on the ground.
Alexander did recover quickly – claiming he hadn’t been knocked out at all in a post-fight interview – but there was no doubt that the referee had made the right call, handing Irvin a super-fast 8-second knockout.
#5: Don Frye vs. Thomas Ramirez, UFC 8 – 02/16/1996
The legendary Don Frye made it into the UFC’s Hall of Fame in 2016, and with two UFC tournament wins – as well as victories over the likes of Tank Abbott, Gary Goodridge and Ken Shamrock on his ledger, few could’ve argued that he deserved it.
Perhaps his biggest splash in the Octagon came in his very first outing, though. Faced with the hulking Hawaiian Thomas Ramirez – who weighed almost double Frye’s 206lbs – it seemed like ‘The Predator’ was outgunned, but that wasn’t the case at all.
Using his boxing experience as well as his superior speed, Frye popped Ramirez with a quick jab before following with two right hands. Ramirez went down and out, and Frye had set a new UFC record for the quickest knockout in promotional history – at just 8 seconds.
It was a record that would last for almost a decade – longer, if you go by official athletic commission records – and Frye had instantly written his name into UFC history.
#4: Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh, UFC 149 – 07/21/2012
Canadian karate expert Ryan Jimmo was signed by the UFC in 2012 as one of the most promising Light-Heavyweights on the regional scene, with wins over UFC veterans like Marvin Eastman, Wilson Gouveia and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou on his record.
The problem was that ‘The Big Deal’ was hardly known for an exciting fighting style. Of his 16 wins, 8 of them had gone to the judges’ scorecards – and had definitely not been barnburners. His fight with Sokoudjou in particular had been diabolical.
But in his UFC debut, he decided to bust out something far more spectacular. Aussie veteran Perosh had been knocked out previously, but never quite like this before. He threw a lazy jab at Jimmo, who deftly countered with a right hand – and the Aussie went down and out.
One-follow upshot landed too but it wasn’t really needed. Jimmo celebrated by doing the infamous ‘Robot’ dance, safe in the knowledge that if nothing else, his dull reputation was sure to be shattered after delivering a 7-second knockout in his UFC debut.
#3: Chan Sung Jung vs. Mark Hominick, UFC 140 – 12/10/2011
Better known as the ‘Korean Zombie’, Chan Sung Jung had already made a big splash in the UFC since moving there when the WEC’s roster was folded into the promotion in early 2011. He’d finished Leonard Garcia with the UFC’s first ever twister submission in his debut in March.
For his second fight he was faced with somewhat of a tougher foe. Canadian striker Mark Hominick had fought for the Featherweight title in his previous fight and he’d gone the distance with the feared Jose Aldo, even taking the final round on most scorecards. And he’d never been knocked out via strikes before.
That all changed when he faced the Zombie. Hominick came out firing, throwing a looping left hook, but that played into Jung’s hands. The Korean countered with a straight right that dropped the Canadian, and a rapid-fire combination that followed on the ground turned out the lights.
Not only had Jung beaten the last man to challenge for the UFC title, he’d done it in far easier fashion than the champion had managed. It was a hugely impressive win for the Korean Zombie, and it had taken him just 7 seconds – almost a UFC record.
#2: Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague, UFC 102 – 08/29/2009
When hulking Heavyweight Todd Duffee was signed by the UFC in mid-2009, he was bringing with him a fearsome reputation from the regional scene. For the most part, this stemmed from his victory over PRIDE and UFC veteran Assuerio Silva, who had succumbed to Duffee’s power punches in the second round of their fight.
Nobody realised quite what kind of impact Duffee was capable of until his UFC debut was over, though. Faced with Tim Hague – a fellow huge Heavyweight who’d beaten respected kickboxer Pat Barry in his own Octagon debut – it seemed like Duffee might’ve finally met his match.
Instead, Duffee had met another victim. Refusing to touch gloves, he strode into the centre of the cage and countered a Hague punch with a stiff jab, dropping him in an instant. A series of caveman-like punches followed and the fight was over – at just 7 seconds.
Going by official athletic commission records, Duffee had set a record – and his reputation soared afterwards to the point where some considered him a future champion. He hasn’t quite reached those heights, but he’ll always have this classic knockout to fall back on.
#1: Duane Ludwig vs. Jonathan Goulet, UFC Fight Night 3 – 01/16/2006
Well, here’s where it gets a little murky. Officially, Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig – who is now better known as the coach of current UFC Bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw – knocked out Canadian grappler Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 3 in 11 seconds, at least according to official Nevada State Athletic Commission records.
Of course, anyone who’s seen the fight – UFC officials like President Dana White included – recognize the truth; Ludwig actually knocked out Goulet in 6 seconds, not 11, and the timekeeper was simply thrown off by the speed of the finish and recorded an incorrect time.
At any rate, the fight went down pretty simply – Goulet came forward and threw a lazy left jab, Ludwig countered with a hard straight right, and Goulet’s legs went from under him and he crashed to the ground face-first.
Ludwig never truly went on to UFC greatness – his record with the promotion ended at 4-5 – but to this date at least he still holds the record for the quickest knockout in UFC history – at least for anyone who can actually count!
