Sherdog’s Top 10Sherdog’s Top 10: Fastest Knockouts in UFC History
They elicit a visceral reaction from an audience like nothing else in combat sports.
Sudden knockouts are a staple of the Ultimate Fighting Championship highlight reel and date back to UFC 1 on Nov. 12, 1993 in Denver. There, nearly 8,000 spectators at McNichols Arena let out a collective groan and gasp when Gerard Gordeau sent Teila Tuli’s tooth flying with a kick to the face just 26 seconds into the first-ever fight inside the Octagon. It served as a wakeup call for all those who had considered stepping into the cage and a rallying cry for those who deemed mixed martial arts too barbaric for public consumption. In the more than three decades that have elapsed since, the record books have been filled with fast knockouts, the authors as diverse as the methods they used. From journeymen to champions and everything in between, the bearers of such violence have been many. The one common denominator has been the electricity they send rippling through an arena.
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UFC Fight Night 154
June 22, 2019 | Greenville, South Carolina
Rozenstruik kept his perfect professional record intact and took another step toward heavyweight contention when he punched out Crowder in the first round of their undercard pairing at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Crowder met his end nine seconds into Round 1. Operating in the shadows of the Renato Carneiro-Chan Sung Jung headliner, the brick-fisted Rozenstruik sat down and rendered “Pretty Boy” defenseless with a sharp left jab. Three brutal standing-to-ground-punches followed, prompting referee Blake Grice to circle Crowder with a chalk outline and cordon off the scene with yellow tape.
UFC Fight Night 11
Sept. 19, 2007 | Las Vegas
A three-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Michigan State University, Maynard was not known for his standup prowess when he confronted the MMA Lab’s Veres at the Palms Casino Resort. It was there that “The Bully” gave future opponents another weapon with which to concern themselves. Maynard faked a takedown and planted a lunging left hook on his counterpart’s chin as he dropped his hands to sprawl. The impact was too much for Veres to bear. He hit the deck, and a three-punch volley—two rights and a left—from Maynard brought it to a close a cool nine seconds into Round 1.
UFC Fight Night 64
April 11, 2015 | Krakow, Poland
Edwards rebounded from a contentious split decision loss to Claudio Silva in his promotional debut five months prior and broke into the win column when he torched “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 graduate at Krakow Arena. Baczynski checked out eight seconds into Round 1. Edwards countered a step-in knee from with an exquisite straight left hand that sent “The Polish Pistola” crashing to the canvas, then connected with two follow-up shots before referee Grant Waterman could intervene on the American’s behalf.
UFC on Fox 14
Jan. 24, 2015 | Stockholm
Amirkhani dispatched “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 alum in shocking fashion when he made a dazzling promotional debut in their brief featherweight prelim at the Tele2 Arena. Referee Kevin Sataki called for the stoppage just eight seconds into Round 1. Amirkhani blasted Ogle with a flying knee to the body at the start, sent an uppercut through the stunned Team Alpha Male rep’s defenses and swarmed with punches. Sataki waved it off to prevent any further damage, then was met with a double-leg from the dazed and confused Ogle.
UFC Fight Night 13
April 2, 2008 | Broomfield, Colorado
Alexander burst on the UFC scene with back-to-back first-round finishes against Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, taking care of business in a grand total of 109 seconds. After a technical knockout loss to Thiago Silva slowed his rise, he was matched with Irvin at the Broomfield Event Center. The two light heavyweights touched gloves and reset. Irvin fired first, uncorking a slashing Superman punch that folded Alexander where he stood. Two follow-up right hands knocked “The Assassin” unconscious for a brief moment and resulted in an eight-second stoppage despite his objections.
UFC 8
Feb. 16, 1996 | San Juan, Puerto Rico
It was a gross mismatch on paper and proved even worse in practice when these two were paired in the quarterfinals of the UFC 8 “David and Goliath” tournament at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum. A decorated collegiate wrestler with a black belt in judo and some professional boxing experience on his resume, Frye entered the cage at a chiseled 206 pounds. Ramirez, a Bayamon, Puerto Rico, native, was a pakua-chan stylist who was “undefeated in 200 challenge matches on the islands.” He was 41 years old and weighed 410 pounds. The introductions lasted longer than the match. Frye backed up the woefully overmatched Ramirez with punches and sent a short right hook plowing into his jaw. Ramirez was out cold as soon as he hit the mat, the unwitting victim of a sensational eight-second knockout.
UFC 263
June 12, 2021 | Glendale, Arizona
McKinney announced his arrival in the strongest terms possible when he waylaid the Serra-Longo Fight Team export with punches in the first round of their lightweight prelim at the Gila River Arena. Frevola succumbed to blows just seven seconds into Round 1. A clean one-two combination from McKinney and approximately six follow-up hammerfists unwound the Huntington, New York, native and forced referee Jason Herzog to act. It remains the fastest finish in the history of the UFC’s storied 155-pound weight class.
UFC 149
July 21, 2012 | Calgary, Alberta
A former Maximum Fighting Championship titleholder, Jimmo stamped his name in the UFC record books when he leveled Perosh in the first round of their undercard pairing at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It was a sensational Octagon debut for the Canadian karateka, who needed just one powerful right hand to zip-tie Perosh. The unconscious Australian grappler came to rest against the cage a mere seven seconds into Round 1. More than a decade later, it still ranks as the fastest UFC finish of all-time at 205 pounds.
UFC 140
Dec. 10, 2011 | Toronto
Korean Top Team’s Jung disposed of the former UFC title contender seven seconds into the first round of their featherweight showcase at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The result stunned the partisan Canadian crowd, many of them there to cheer on the popular and affable Hominick. A perfectly timed and delivered straight right hand soiled those plans, as Hominick threw an errant left hand, left his chin unprotected and met with disastrous consequences. Jung followed him to the floor and landed a series of unanswered blows to force the stoppage.
UFC 102
Aug. 29, 2009 | Portland, Oregon
A mountain of a man at 6-foot-3, 251 pounds, Duffee entered his Octagon debut with plenty of hype behind him at the Rose Garden. He sported a perfect 5-0 record and carried the respected American Top Team flag. Duffee wasted no time getting down to business, as he moved in on Hague, floored him with a crushing left jab and followed up with merciless rights and hammerfists. One final left hand rendered the Canadian unconscious and sent Duffee to victory lane in seven seconds.
UFC 239
July 6, 2019 | Las Vegas
Masvidal recorded the fastest knockout in Ultimate Fighting Championship history when he obliterated the former Bellator MMA and ONE Championship titleholder with a flying knee in the first round of their welterweight attraction at T-Mobile Arena. Masvidal sent the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and onetime Olympian into another dimension five seconds into Round 1. Askren shot for takedown right out of the gate and paid an unimaginably steep price. Masvidal took flight, beat him to the spot and connected with full force, the impact of the concussive blow echoing through a stunned arena. Askren fell to the ground stiff and unconscious before being met with a few follow-up punches from the ruthless Floridian.
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