- toastedcereal_25
- 4th Degree Brown Belt
- Member Since 2022.10.09
My MMA Rankings
2021 Greatest MMA Knockouts
Enter a summary for your list
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1
- Roberts vs. Bahamondes
- Ignacio Bahamondes | KO/TKO | Round 3
- 2021 | UFC Fight Night
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He didn't even need to do this! Bahamondes had this fight won, but with 10 seconds left, tired and with blood in his eyes, he throws out one of the most picture perfect wheel kicks ever and knocks Roberts out completely cold. This is #1 for the same reason Barboza/Etim is. A hell of a fight, perfect technique, the limp fall of his opponent, and, once more, HE DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO DO THIS!
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2
- Reyes vs. Procházka
- Jiří Procházka | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2021 | UFC Fight Night
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Wow. Probably the best spinning elbow knockout ever outside of a Ricardo Ramos fight. Jiri is such an interesting fighter, and I think this knockout alone proved how dangerous he is literally everywhere. Reyes was still hot despite the loss to Blachowicz in Abu Dhabi, but Jiri turned into a terminator and walked him down for a round and a half before putting him out cold. The face plant and stoic expression of Jiri just make this an almost movie-like moment, and it was the impetus for the massive hype train of Jiri the Samurai.
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3
- Sandhagen vs. Edgar
- Cory Sandhagen | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2021 | UFC Fight Night
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So I said in the Manel Kape entry that I'm a sucker for flying knees, and this is not exception. I was expecting a fight of the night brawl between Edgar and Cory, and Sandhagen literally turned Frankie into a plank of wood in like 20 seconds. A shame that he couldn't ride this momentum into a title win, but it definitely cemented Cory as the action man of 135.
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4
- Usman vs. Masvidal II
- Kamaru Usman | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2021 | UFC 261
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The capstone of the best event of the year. UFC 261 was a damn good night of fights, and this fight closed and the night and DAMN, Kamaru Usman put the world on notice. Masvidal hadn't been KO'd since the mid 2000s, and Usman had not knocked anybody out cold since Sheyman Moraes. The picture of Usman pounding Jorde out on the ground with the BMF Belt in the background is fantastic, and the right hand itself was picture perfect and definitely the best welterweight knockout of the 2020s so far.
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5
- Zhang vs. Namajunas
- Rose Namajunas | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2021 | UFC 261
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Probably the third best women's' head kick KO behind Rousey/Holm and Shevchenko/Eye. I thought Rose had a chance, but Zhang had looked unstoppable against Andrade and endured a ton of punishment against Joanna. Rose hadn't looked aa clean in her victory against Andrade in Abu Dhabi, but this ******* head kick was amazing. Front leg head kicks are a little difficult to generate a lot of power on, but Rose landed it at the perfect time, in the perfect place, with the perfect crowd behind her. Fantastic KO.
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6
- Blaydes vs. Lewis
- Derrick Lewis | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2021 | UFC Fight Night
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Being in a Houston Buffalo Wild Wings watching this with other fans was the best experience. Aside from that, this is another KO that could be considered a fluke, but it was a damn good KO and a comeback win at that. Lewis was getting out-grappled and nearly TKO'd in round 1. Round 2 comes and he slams Blaydes with a pinpoint uppercut that barely landed clean and put Curtis OUT COLD. Regardless of where Lewis' career goes from here (which doesn't look great as of now), he'll always have this KO.
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7
- Razak Alhassan vs. Di Chirico
- Abdul Razak Alhassan | KO/TKO | RD 1
- 2021 | UFC Fight Night
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So we go from one head kick in #8 to another, and both of them involve Alessio Di Chirico. Sadly Di Chirico is nearly getting decapitated here by the gigantic leg of Abdul Razak Alhassan. What puts this one higher than #8 are the facts that Alhassan needed only 20 seconds to pull this off, and it was a walk-off.
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8
- Buckley vs. Di Chirico
- Alessio Di Chirico | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2021 | UFC on ABC 1
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So I know this looks really funny when put right next to the #7 spot on this list, but I still think it's a great KO. Buckley was on a super hot streak after he got 2020's KO of the Year, and Di Chirico nearly sliced his head off with a picture perfect head kick. Sadly this was Di Chirico's only shining moment in his career, and now he's released from the promotion. Was this a fluke? Maybe, but that doesn't take away from how great it is in isolation.
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9
- Ige vs. Tucker
- Dan Ige | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2021 | UFC Fight Night
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The sad thing about this KO is that it will probably end up being Dan Ige's only major highlight in his UFC career. That being said, a 20 second KO against a hot upcoming talent like Gavin Tucker is a damn impressive highlight.
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10
- Michailidis vs. Pereira
- Alex Pereira | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2021 | UFC 268
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What a debut by Alex Pereira. Almost everyone wasn't sure what to expect from Pereira when he made his debut for the UFC, but I don't think anybody expected this. A flying knee KO that should have been a walk off, it really should have been. Similar to the Barnett KO, if this was against a better opponent it would be way higher, but I think this being a clean KO puts it just above Barnett's TKO.
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11
- Villante vs. Barnett
- Chris Barnett | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC 268
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Is this KO overhyped? Yes. Is it still very good? Also yes. The spectacle of seeing a fat man like Chris Barnett get his leg up and around for a wheel kick is very impressive. If it was against a better opponent and not just the set-up for a TKO, it would be way higher. But come on, there are better KOs from that same event that deserve more recognition, like this next one.
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12
- Pettis vs. Horiguchi
- Sergio Pettis | KO/TKO | Round 4 | Bellator 272
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A Bellator KO? Yeah, I'm feeling a little diverse today. Bellator doesn't normally produce highlights that shock the world, but Sergio Pettis delivering a comeback spinning backfist KO after whiffing a head kick was insane. To add onto that, this was against Horiguchi-san, who hadn't lost a fight since he fought DJ almost 7 years prior. Not bad for a fighter who is still wildly overshadowed by his older brother.
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13
- Kape vs. Osbourne
- Manel Kape | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 265
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So maybe I'm biased because I saw this happen live in Houston. Maybe I'm just a sucker for flying knees. Either way, I love this KO. Kape looked a little washed after his first two UFC fights, but this fight was a great introduction as to who Manel Kape actually is. Osbourne had looked on fire in his past couple fights, Kape had missed weight, everything was set up for Kape to take an L, and Manel absolutely smashed Osbourne. The insane height and distance Manel jumps to connect the knee with Osbourne's face is what truly solidifies the KO as being in my top 15.
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14
- Ulberg vs. Nzechukwu
- Kennedy Nzechukwu | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC 259
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Similar to #15, you could see this victory as a sort-of comeback. Ulberg looked like a kickboxing phenom for a majority of this fight, and I thought Nzechukwu was completely outmatched. In a manner similar to Condit vs. Hardy, both men throw hooks at the same time, and Nzechukwu's lands just a little cleaner and with a little more power, and Ulberg's entire career momentum was killed. A great and wild fight capped off with a great knockout.
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15
- Dawson vs. Santos
- Grant Dawson | KO/TKO | Round 3 | UFC Fight Night
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Might as well start with an interesting one. I honestly thought Grant Dawson was dead to rights entering the last 30 seconds of this fight. Santos dominated this fight, but one errant leg lock spelled his down fall. The sound of Dawson pounding Santo's head into the ground is enough to get it on this list, but the comeback aspect of Dawson's win cements it as a solid #15.
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16
- Poirier vs. McGregor II
- Dustin Poirier | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC 257
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17
- Miocic vs. NGannou II
- Francis NGannou | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC 260
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18
- Edgar vs. Vera
- Marlon Vera | KO/TKO | Round 3 | UFC 268
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19
- Burgos vs. Barboza
- Edson Barboza | KO/TKO | Round 3 | UFC 262
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20
- Ponzinibbio vs. Li
- Jingliang Li | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC on ABC 1
My Summary