Is there anything more exciting in mixed martial arts than a knockout? Watching someone beat their opponent into unconsciousness triggers a certain primal note in the back of our brains, horrifying and amazing us in equal parts. And the UFC is full of them — after 41 events in 2015 featuring 473 fights, 153 of them ended via violent KO. And now we take a look at the best ones from a crazy year in the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
5. Andrei Arlovski KOs Travis Browne
On May 23 at UFC 187, Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne engaged in what might have been the most exciting round of mixed martial arts of the year. They battled back and forth, blasting each other with powerful shots that would have felled lesser fighters several times over. In the end, Andrei Arlovski came out on top, re-establishing himself as a contender in the heavyweight division and erasing doubts he could no longer take a punch.
4. Frank Mir KOs Todd Duffee
Speaking of the most exciting round, how about the most exciting minute? You’d think that award would go to someone like Ronda Rousey, but this year I think you have to give it to Frank Mir and Todd Duffee for their 1:13-long fight at a small UFC Fight Night on July 15. The two were dropping bombs with Duffee coming out on top, but out of nowhere Frank slipped Todd’s punch and then blasted him with a counter that dropped Duffee like a redwood tree.
3. Uriah Hall KOs Gegard Mousasi
Uriah Hall is a fighter who continues to display flashes of sheer brilliance in the cage, and he did it again at a UFC Fight Night in Japan on September 27, hitting the extremely durable Gegard Mousasi with a jumping spinning back kick and following it up with a flying knee and punches to finish the fight. Sadly, the fighter is like a chain saw that is extremely hard to start. His follow-up fight on the undercard of Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm saw him drop a decision to Robert Whittaker. Let’s hope 2016 sees Uriah learning to master his inconsistent superpowers.
2. Conor McGregor KOs Jose Aldo
After nearly a year of hype, Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo finally stepped into the cage to fight each other at UFC 194 on Dec. 12. The mixed martial arts world was divided into those who believed Conor McGregor was the real deal and those who thought Jose Aldo would tear the brash Irishman limb from limb. In the end, it took McGregor only 13 seconds to knock Aldo out with a counter, ending Aldo’s 10-year reign as the best featherweight in the world and earning himself the fastest finish in UFC title fight history.
1. Holly Holm KOs Ronda Rousey
The biggest knockout of the year and possibly in the history of the UFC was Holly Holm’s devastating head kick KO of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 on Nov. 14. Holm fought the perfect fight, using her boxing footwork and movement to keep out of Rousey’s hands, nullifying her judo. And every time Rousey bullrushed her way forward, Holm tagged her with jabs, bloodying the once dominant champ. It all ended in the second round when Holm finally set up one of her patented head kicks, catching Rousey flush to the jaw and ending the reign of the most dominant force in mixed martial arts.