20 Fastest Knockouts in UFC History – Including video evidence

One of the main reasons we are fans of combat sports is the uncertainty of the outcome of each fight. They don’t call MMA the game of inches for no reason because just one punch is enough to destroy a fighter’s three-month preparation, no matter how prepared he is. We always wonder if we will watch a 25-minute war or if there are only ten seconds to enjoy the fight due to quick knockouts. Regardless, enjoyment is guaranteed.

Conor McGregor vs. José Aldo (0:13)

The first one on the list is one of McGregor’s fan base’s favorite knockouts against long-time featherweight king Jose Aldo. Conor McGregor finally got his chance to attack the title after an enviable career paved with knockouts at UFC 194 held on December 12, 2015, in the main fight of the evening.

The dominant champion was undefeated for eight years with numerous title defenses, and the only reason for his rapid fall was the desire to take the barking Irishman’s head off his shoulders as soon as possible.

Conor had already planned this and knew what to expect. In the middle of Aldo’s first attack, he sent his murderous left, intercepting the combination and sending it straight to the champion’s head, giving him the first knockout loss of his career. The match ended in an incredible 13 seconds; McGregor’s reign thus began, and history was written.

Glover Teixeira vs. Anthony Johnson (0:13)

The fight between Glover Teixeira and Anthony Johnson was one of those fights where you don’t want either fighter to lose. The match occurred at the legendary UFC 202 event on August 20, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada, headlined by Diaz and McGregor for the second time. In the light heavyweight co-main fight of the night, headlined by the Brazilian giant and the American knockout artist, a title shot was on the line.

Although anything could have happened, and a lot was expected from a match like this, the Rumble still made things quick and easy. Just 13 seconds into the match, Glover put pressure on Anthony but landed straight on his uppercut to end the match.

Most will agree that it was not easy to see Glover mercilessly knocked out, and to make matters worse, one of the Brazilian’s teeth flew out of his mouth when Johnson connected.

Gary Goodridge vs. Paul Herrera (0:13)

In 1996, the aforementioned UFC 8: David vs. The Goliath event saw two quick knockout finishes. Before Don Frye quickly incapacitated his opponent in the main fight of the night, there was another swift and brutal knockout that had never been seen before or since.

Herrera and Goodridge made their middleweight UFC debut in the tournament’s quarterfinals. Paul Herrera opened the match with a double-leg attempt, which Gary immediately sprawled and, with a quick transition, caught one of the opponent’s hands with his hand and the other with both legs.

The American had both hands neutralized with his head exposed, and the fighter from Trinidad and Tobago completely destroyed his opponent with an incredible and brutal eight elbows. The referee didn’t get to stop the match right away, but if it hadn’t been for him, Herrera could have lost his life in the octagon.

Walt Harris vs. Aleksei Oleinik (0:12)

In the co-main event of the night on UFC on ESPN 4 held on July 20., 2019, in San Antonio, Texas, homegrown fighter Walt Harris entered the match against the always tough and dangerous Russian Alexei Oleinik. At the very start of the match, the fighters did not give each other space and immediately began to exchange.

After Harris measured the distance well, he flew in with a flying knee to Alexei. Although Oleinik received the blow like a warrior, he did not expect the knee to be accompanied by a sharp cross that caused the Russian to lose the ground on his feet.

With two additional blows to the unconscious opponent, Walt waited for the referee to finish the match and did not give Alexei time to regain consciousness. 

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks (0:12)

Every hardcore and old-school MMA fan must have remembered what dynamite former welterweight title challenger Johny Hendricks had in his hands. At UFC 141, held on December 30, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hendricks clashed with combat sports veteran Jon Fitch on the main card.

That night, the welterweight division was enriched for another quick knockout, after which the fans justifiably went crazy. After 12 seconds of timing, Bigg Rigg threw a heavy and wide rear hook that landed squarely in the chin of the hapless Fitch and spilled him on the floor.

The only thing more brutal than a knockout was Jon’s fall, where he hit his head and bounced off the canvas, and Hendricks ran in to hit him again to make sure his opponent was unconscious.

Rob Emerson vs. Manny Gamburyan (0:12)

Although he is not a power puncher, American fighter of Armenian roots Manny Gamburyan against Rob Emerson showed he can still knock down his opponent. At UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 9., 2008, on the main card in a lightweight bout, Gamburyan celebrated with a big knockout victory.

American fighter Emerson rushed to finish the bout without thinking to protect his head while throwing punches. The Armenian fighter took advantage and exposed the weak defense of the opponent with a powerful right hand.

Rob “The Saint” did not lose consciousness completely and tried to get up, but he was stopped by the accurate left hand of Manny “The Anvil”. The referee waved it off, and Emerson could not believe that the match that had just started had already ended, to his regret.

BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno I (0:11)

They don’t call BJ Penn “Prodigy” without a reason. On November 2, 2001, at UFC 34: High Voltage in Las Vegas, Nevada, he showed why again. The lightweight fight on the Main Card lasted only 11 seconds, and the unlucky one of the evening was the opponent from Japan and a veteran of the sport who today has over 50 matches, Caol Uno.

Uno bravely opened the match with a run and a flying kick but could not threaten Penn. After a few seconds of measuring, BJ ruthlessly shortened the distance with a combination and knocked the Japanese out of consciousness with a killer uppercut.

Penn drove an unconscious opponent into the fence and landed a few brutal punches to seal his quick victory for his third consecutive knockout win. After two years, the two had a rematch in which, after five quality rounds, the judges could not mark the winner with a split decision.

Mark Weir vs. Eugene Jackson (0:10)

We also have one quick knockout in the middleweight division, which happened at the UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall event held on July 13, 2002, in London, England, UK. As the host, Mark Weir celebrated with an express knockout on his home turf against the American fighter Eugene Jackson in just ten seconds on the main card.

At the very start of the match, The Wizard masked his attack well with a strange axe kick. After The Wolf went for a quick counter, he ate a solid jab from an Englishman, lost his consciousness, and received two more blows on the ground.

Fortunately, the referee swooped in in time to prevent further punishment of the unconscious opponent. Mark Weir had the honor of celebrating a phenomenal victory in front of his home crowd.

Allen Crowder vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (0:09)

On June 22, 2019, we could once again witness heavyweight one-punch power. It is a match between Surinamese knockout artist Jairzinho Rozenstruik and American fighter Allen Crowder at the UFC on ESPN+ 12 event that took place in Greenville, South Carolina.

The heavyweight clash was held in the preliminary fights, and the spectators didn’t have time to warm up their seats. At the first close contact after only nine seconds, Rozenstruik sends Crowder to the floor and knocks the opponent unconscious with just one punch.

The next two punches were a bonus to the unconscious opponent. Jairzinho Rozenstruik continued his phenomenal knockout streak in the next two fights when he knocked out Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski. Allen, on the other hand, did not even recover from the defeat in 2019 and did not return to the arena again.

Joe Veres vs. Gray Maynard (0:09)

UFC Fight Night 11 was held on September 19, 2007, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, and one of the highlights of the night was a quick knockout between two American lightweight fighters. That night, Joe Veres and Gray Maynard met in the octagon, and their warm-up for the match lasted longer than the match itself.

The tension was felt initially, but only one cleverly placed front hook was enough to knock down Veres, which Maynard followed up with punches on the unconscious opponent. Although large for his category, Maynard’s score of 13 wins has only two knockouts, which shows that he is not a power puncher but that this blow landed well and unexpectedly.

Joe’s career ended the following year with another knockout loss. Gray reeled off eight straight wins against quality competition in the lightweight division.

Don Frye vs. Thomas Ramirez (0:08)

With this knockout, we return to the old martial arts days at the eighth-held UFC Event called David vs. Goliath. The event was held on February 16, 1996, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in the main event of the evening, which ended with a quick knockout, the legendary Don Frye and Thomas Ramirez clashed, justifying the event’s name.

Although the opponent was twice as heavy and had no gloves, Frye had only one task, and that was to incapacitate the giant as quickly as possible. He succeeded after putting pressure on the opponent at the very start of the fight and placing a sharp right hand over the opponent’s guard to knock him out cold. UFC’s old events were the days of fierce and always eagerly awaited fights.

Leon Edwards vs. Seth Baczynski (0:08)

The current welterweight champion, Leon Rocky Edwards, has one of the fastest knockouts in the UFC, in addition to his impressive performances and victories. On April 11, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 64, which was held at the Tauron Arena Kraków in Kraków, Poland, Edwards was welcomed by the local fighter due to his Polish roots, Seth Baczynski.

After Seth rushed at the start of the fight with light but frequent combinations, the famous English Sniper intercepted the opponent’s carefree low kick with a perfectly placed cross straight to the head. Leon stabbed his opponent two more times while he was unconscious and walked away from him before the referee could get between them.

Baczynski has four consecutive losses on his record and hasn’t fought since 2021. Edwards, as we all know, has started his UFC championship reign fresh.

James Irvin vs. Houston Alexander (0:08)

Another quick finish from the light heavyweight division comes from the main card at UFC Fight Night 13, which took place on April 2, 2008, at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado, United States. The fight between two compatriots, James Irvin and Houston Alexander, was short and fierce. After touching the gloves, Houston tried to throw a one-two combination.

Still, when throwing a jab, Irvin cut off the attack with a sharp counter with a rear-hand Superman punch in which he obviously put all his strength, completely knocking down Alexander. As if that wasn’t enough, from the top position, Irvin throws three more merciless punches at his opponent.

He hits him twice, and Houston’s head is saved by the referee, who was in the right place at the right time.

Makwan Amirkhani vs. Andy Ogle (0:07)

On January 24, 2015, UFC on Fox took place at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, which will be an unforgettable night for the Finnish fighter Makwan Amirkhani. In the featherweight duel, standing on the other side of the octagon was the English fighter Andy Ogle.

Seven seconds was all it took, and the way Makwan knocked out his opponent is reminiscent of Masvidal’s flying knee knockout that wounded his opponent enough to open up space for a killer uppercut and a couple of punches until the referee intervened.

Amirkhani took home the Performance of The Night bonus, and Andy retired after three straight losses and 15 total matches. Makwan is still active but has a blemish on his record, marred by five losses in his last six fights in the UFC.

Terrance McKinney vs. Matt Frevola (0:07)

And the UFC lightweight division has its own quick knockout to boast that happened in the not-so-distant past. On December 6, 2021, at UFC 263 held in Glendale, Arizona, United States, in the preliminary fight, the young prosperity of MMA Terrance McKinney comes to the UFC debut as an underdog against the favorite Matt Frevola and that on short notice.

After losing at the 2019 Dana White Contender Series, Terrance returns to right the wrong with an express knockout in just seven seconds with a basic but swift one-two technique. Both punches ended up in the face of Frevola, who was treated with additional hammer fists as he struggled to regain consciousness.

This victory catapulted Terrence into the stars, and it obviously awakened the consciousness of Frevola, who subsequently recorded three victories against quality fighters.

Chan Sung Jung vs. Mark Hominick (0:07)

Quick knockouts are not excluded even in the lower categories, as proved by Chan Sung Jung, better known as Korean Zombie, in the fight against Mark Hominick after everyone agreed that Mark would destroy Zombie. At UFC 140, which took place on December 10, 2011, at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, the featherweight category match lasted only seven seconds.

After a deceptive glove touch, Hominick immediately attacked with a front hook that wasn’t fast enough to threaten Chan. Zombie capitulated on his opponent’s rush in the start only to punish him with a swift counter rear cross, sending him to the ground and cementing his victory with five ground-and-pound strikes.

Korean Zombie said goodbye to the sport in 2023 after a warrior career, and Hominick also retired but after two more defeats after this one.

Tim Hague vs. Todd Duffee (0:07)

When discussing the weight of heavyweight hands, it is necessary to mention the clash between Tim Hague and Todd Duffee at UFC 103, which took place on August 29, 2009, in Portland, Oregon. In the preliminary fights, Duffee, with a six-fight winning streak, made his UFC debut as quickly as possible against the much more experienced Tim Hague, with a five-fight winning streak, who is also a boxer.

It didn’t even take ten seconds for Duffee to decapitate his opponent with one quick jab after refusing to touch gloves with Hague, which must have awakened additional satisfaction in Todd’s walkthrough debut victory. Duffee fights for KSW today and is still active as a fighter. Sadly, Hague passed away in 2017 after receiving a lethal uppercut in a boxing match.

Duane Ludwig vs. Jonathan Goulet (0:06)

Today, Duane Ludwig is one of the world’s best striking coaches. As an experienced MMA fighter, he can boast of a quick knockout in the world’s leading martial arts organization. At UFC Fight Night 3, held on January 16, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ludwig faced Canadian Jonathan Goulet, who was on a 10-fight winning streak.

The welterweight bout on the preliminary card ended very quickly, and the price was Goulet’s winning streak. A master striker and an intelligent martial brain like Duane needed only 6 seconds to find a hole in the opponent’s attack.

With a brilliantly placed rear cross from a reliable angle, he sent the opponent unconscious and face flat to the ground. In addition, he also showed respect for his opponent, whom he did not want to pound when he felt that the match was over.

Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh (0:05)

The second knockout comes from the not-so-close UFC 149, which occurred on July 22, 2012, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Although many believe this event is one of the worst ever due to five injuries to fighters on the main card in the last hour, which led to late replacements and a low pay-per-view.

However, on the preliminary card, there was a record knockout in five seconds where the host from Canada, Ryan Jimmo, extinguished Anthony Perosh from Australia with just one vicious punch. Ryan had a quick performance in his UFC debut at light heavyweight, and his post-fight celebration with a robot dance was one to remember.

Let this knockout be our tribute to Ryan Jimmo, who was run over by a truck in 2016 by a driver with whom Ryan had an altercation a few moments before his death.

Jorge Masvidal vs Ben Askren (0:03)

The first on the list is surely the fastest knockout in the history of the UFC. It happened between the backyard fighter from Miami, Jorge Masvidal, and the American wrestler Ben Askren. On July 7, 2019, at UFC 239 in the Welterweight category, a long-awaited match with a stylistic matchup between a striker and a wrestler.

The battle came to the fore because of the bad blood between the two fighters, and that’s exactly how it ended. We all know that Jorge is not a man who will take a verbal jab so easily to sell a pay-per-view. It didn’t take him more than five seconds (if you look at the video, you’ll see that the ko was in just three seconds) to knock down a barking Askren on the first takedown attempt at the start of the match, which he quickly followed up with a flying knee and three kicks to the unconscious Ben’s head.

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