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1
- Poirier vs. Gaethje II
- Justin Gaethje | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2023 | UFC 291
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It had to be here, of course it did. I don't think I've ever seen Gaethje even throw a head kick before, but good God did he put some sauce behind this one. This top spot realistically could've gone to any of the top 5, but I think the level of competition, and the fact that this was only the second time Poirier has ever been knocked out in the UFC elevates it to the tops spot for me.
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2
- Ross vs. Aguilar
- Jesus Aguilar | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2023 | UFC 290
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First off, poor Shannon Ross. The guy really shouldn't even be in the UFC, and after getting TKO'd via "ass attack" from Kleydson Rodrigues, he had to deal with this. Knockouts in general are a rarity at flyweight, but this? An honest to God walk-off one punch KO? Give Jesus Aguilar his flowers because he got this monster KO despite having T-Rex arms. His name is Jesus, and he truly showed Ross the face of God.
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3
- Kopylov vs. Ribeiro
- Roman Kopylov | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2023 | UFC 291
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You don't know how badly I wanted to put this KO at #1, and it's not just because Kopylov is ushering in curly hair supremacy. The guy has been having a spectacular year, and this walk-off head kick really should have been the highlight of the night at UFC 291, but, of course, a certain someone had to go and ruin it in the main event.
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4
- McKinney vs. Bonfim
- Ismael Bonfim | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2023 | UFC 283
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I almost forgot that this happened. How could I? Aside from Jamahal Hill beating up old man Glover, this was probably the only notable highlight from UFC 283. Not only was this a picture perfect double knee, but it also hit McKinney without his mouthpiece in. I genuinely thought McKinney's jaw was broken and his career was over with this KO. Excellent debut for Ismael Bonfim. Just a shame how that Benoit St. Denis fight went huh?
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5
- Emmett vs. Mitchell
- Josh Emmett | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2023 | UFC 296
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Welp...there goes Bryce Mitchell. I'm honestly surprised that Josh didn't break something in Bryce's face with this punch because, my God, that punch was hard. Props to Josh Emmett though. He knows to not follow up when he absolutely floors a guy.
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6
- Makhachev vs. Volkanovski II
- Islam Makhachev | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2023 | UFC 294
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There may be more visually impressive KO's below this, but this gets high marks because of what it means in the context of the sport. This was a fight between the consensus two best fighters in the world; two of the best of all time. They had brought each other to the limit earlier in the year, and this was the rematch. For Islam to finish Volkanovski both in the first round and on the feet, and with a head kick of all things is insane. Screw any argument for Jon Jones, Islam Makhachev is the greatest fighter in the world after this performance. I also hope Alex's jaw is okay after getting bounced off Islam's knee like that.
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7
- Miller vs. Butler
- Jim Miller | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2023 | UFC Fight Night
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Did somebody say old man strength? I have no idea who Jesse Butler is, but he is going to forever be known as the man who felt the power of the Miller Mullet for the first time. Insane how the crown of Miller's highlight reel comes after almost 15 years in the UFC, and it was from a monster left hook directly from Hell rather than a submission. Too bad there wasn't a crowd there to see this.
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8
- Johnson vs. Ferreira
- Diego Ferreira | KO/TKO | Round 2
- 2023 | UFC Fight Night
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Deja vu! Michael Johnson doing pretty good in a fight until a wild overhand sends him out cold to the canvas. Now where have I seen this one before? Ferreira summoned his inner Josh Emmett and sent Johnson to space after pretty clearly losing the fight up to that point. As we will soon see, this KO was good enough to overshadow another really good KO that happened on the same night.
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9
- Motta vs. Torres
- Manuel Torres | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2023 | UFC Fight Night
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Best elbow KO of all time? Manuel Torres is turning into a pretty decent prospect. Now, of course, he hasn't fought the best competition, but he's been throwing absolute heat. Between him and Trevor Peek, I think Torres is the better version of just swanging and banging until the horn.
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10
- Pavlovich vs. Aspinall
- Tom Aspinall | KO/TKO | Round 1
- 2023 | UFC 295
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Tom Aspinall may be the fastest 240 pound man I have ever seen in my life. I barely even saw the punch that he hit Sergei with, and before I knew it, Pavlovich was on the ground. I seriously don't know how you beat Aspinall when he is this fast and powerful, and young too. Where you at Jon Jones?
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11
- Pereira vs. Adesanya II
- Israel Adesanya | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC 287
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I like how everybody is still trying to forget that this has happened. Well, it did. And, as much as I don't like Adesanya, this KO was fantastic. Though I'm curious as to where this attack off the fence went in Adesanya's next fight.
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12
- Dariush vs. Tsarukyan
- Arman Tsarukyan | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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13
- Frevola vs. Saint-Denis
- Benoit Saint-Denis | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 295
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14
- Holloway vs. Jung
- Max Holloway | KO/TKO | Round 3 | UFC Fight Night
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15
- Rodrigues vs. Ferreira
- Brunno Ferreira | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 283
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Brunno Ferreira: a man so big he needs two "N's" in his name. This dude is belt like a thermos and hits like a damn bus if this KO is anything to go by.
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16
- Nurmagomedov vs. Barcelos
- Umar Nurmagomedov | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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17
- Solecki vs. Klose
- Drakkar Klose | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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Honorable mention to Cody Brundage, because he basically did this exact same KO right after this, but to a worse fighter. Considering that Solecki is a nightmare on the ground, the fact that Klose pulled this off is pretty impressive. Now if only Klose had a better personality. Don't ******* pelvic thrust next to an unconscious guy.
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18
- Ige vs. Jackson
- Dan Ige | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC Fight Night
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19
- Nakamura vs. Kazama
- Rinya Nakamura | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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20
- Barboza vs. Quarantillo
- Edson Barboza | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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21
- Aliskerov vs. Hawes
- Ikram Aliskerov | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 288
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22
- Royval vs. Nicolau
- Brandon Royval | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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23
- Patterson vs. Ashmouz
- Yanal Ashmouz | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 286
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24
- Dober vs. Frevola
- Matt Frevola | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 288
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I'm not making the joke. You can't make me. For being a guy who was considered a complete can less than two years ago, Frevola has really turned his career around. Even though it could be seen as an early stoppage, it's no small feet to KO Drew Dober given how tough we know he is. Fun fact: this was the first knockout loss of Dober's career. Pretty interesting.
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25
- Fialho vs. Buckley
- Joaquin Buckley | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC Fight Night
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26
- Turner vs. Green
- Jalin Turner | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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I didn't want to put this on here. I really didn't. Obligatory **** the refs here. Anyway, this was really bad, but also pretty slick. If it had ended after the knockdown (like it should've), it porbably would be higher. I feel like Dan Hooker would've done this exact same thing to Bobby Green.
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27
- Andrade vs. Yan
- Xiaonan Yan | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 288
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28
- Zahabi vs. Aoriqileng
- Aiemann Zahabi | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC 289
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29
- Ruziboev vs. Ferreira
- Nursulton Ruziboev | KO/TKO | Round 1 | UFC Fight Night
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Does anybody else remember this? I do. To be honest, this one gets on here for the sound that Ferreira's head makes when it hits the canvas. I'm not exactly sure if it was the punch or hitting the ground that KO'd him, but Brunno went down hard. Add this to the Umar Nurmagomedov list this year of strange KOs that look absolutely terrifying.
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30
- Mullarkey vs. Naimov
- Muhammad Naimov | KO/TKO | Round 2 | UFC Fight Night
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Mullarkey suffered two really bad KOs this year, and I was really debating on whether to put this one or the Nasrat Haqparast KO in this spot. In terms of damage suffered, I'd say the Nasrat one is better, but considering that Naimov came in on short notice up a weight glass and floored a guy with an iron chin while on the back foot, I'll give the nod to the Tajik. Now if Naimov could stop fouling, he might be a pretty good prospect.