If you’ve watched MMA long enough, you’ll understand that the sport can be quite dull from time to time, but every once in awhile someone gets obliterated. This is when you begin to realize that mixed martial arts is a brutally fun sport. We love those crazy, scary knockouts. Below, you will discover the top 20 knockouts from MMA’s past.
#20 Teacher vs. Student
At the time, Quarry should’ve never been put in the octagon with Rich Franklin, which is still true today. Want to find out why? Check out the video and be stunned, when Nate manages to live another day
#19 Off the Cage
This one is really sad. Obviously not a knockout, since Benson Henderson wakes up a few minutes later, but I bet he wishes he didn’t. This one is painful and embarrassing.
#18 Ugly Faces and an Ugly Knockout
You know this one is going to be bad, as soon as you see the stare down. Boy, them are some ugly mugs. About 30 seconds in, Wanderlei sinks in the rape choke and brutally sends Keith Jardine into a peaceful slumber. Of course, Silva would suffer the same fat in the future, again and again
#17 Death of a Legend
Boy, this one looks painful. In fact, it is painful for longtime fans of the sport. Fans grew silent, as Chuck Liddell’s spirit slowly ascended towards the rafters.
#16 Throwing Broken Bows
Well, MMA legends almost always refuse to give it up. Again, Liddell shows us how quickly the sport can deteriorate even the best of fighters, as he follows up a successful KO, with another brutal KO thanks to Rich “Ace” Franklin.
#15 Backwards Elbows, WTF?
Before Anderson Silva became a household name, he was finishing cans in a generic, oversize octagon and he was doing it in style. Still to this day, this is one of the craziest elbow knockouts.
#14 Falling Down – Lawler Style
At the time, Robbie Lawler was an absolute monster, while Nick Diaz was known for his crazy slurred speech and awkward interviews. What happens when the pair meets? Well, a crazy upset and another rambling, incoherent post fight interview, with Diaz. Obviously, there were no drug tests, at the time.
#13 Oh nose!
Although this wasn’t a one-punch knockout, it was still downright brutal and scary. At the time, both were considered the best in the weight class, but it was Franklin, who got his face rearranged, while Silva would go on to dominate the scene for several years, until an unfortunate run in with karma.
#12 But, you no Karate Kid!
Indeed, Lyoto Machida is a piss chugging karate kid and it shows here against Couture. The flying flamingo proves to be an overwhelming success, as Couture goes down and finally retires, for now.
#11 The Rise of the Dragoooon
Sure, The Dragon’s reign didn’t last very long, but it started out with a devastating knockout. Up until this point, Lyoto was hated for his boring, chase me style. After this, well, not much changed, but what a knockout!
#10 Revenge is a Brutal KO
Sometimes, the judges go wrong. In the original fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the judges went into full stupid mode. Thankfully, they weren’t needed in the second bout, as the Dragon’s reign came to a brutal end.
#9 Karma is a MOFO
Boy, that thing called karma can sure be a pain in the butt. For Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, karma came in the form of a big, hairy Brazilian named Gabriel Gonzaga, who used Cro Cop’s most devastating weapon against him.
#8 WWE Frog splash
In some situations, UFC and MMA take on a WWE twist. Here, Dan Henderson pulls off a devastating knockout and preceding frog splash on the much-hated Michael Bisping. At this point, the whole audience got out of their seats and applauded.
#7 Knee Out of Nowhere
Sometimes, brutal knockouts come out of nowhere. The bell rings for the second round and there it is. Despite having the appearance of a genetic freak, James “The Sandman” Irvin never achieved such greatness again.
#6 It’s all about the chin
In many cases, it’s not about your power. It’s about your chin and the amount of damage it has taken. Here, Wanderlei had taken way too much and it shows, as he begins to hump the referee’s leg.
#5 Legends Never Die
In sports like MMA and boxing, legends refuse to go away. Nah, they fight until they’ll barely be able to form coherent sentences. Still, they’re able to pull off some stunning finishes from time to time. Here, Silva comes back from near death to finish the All American, Brian Stann.
#4 Dance Dance Revolution KO
Being cocky is good, when everything is going your way, but it can make you look really stupid, when you find yourself looking up at the ceiling. Chris Weidman capitalized on Anderson Silva’s stupidity and well, made him look stupid, enough said.
#3 Death in the Ring
Back in the day, Wanderlei Silva was known for his brutality and Rampage, his frequent victim. Although that would change in a few years, it is still nice to revisit this beauty.
#2 Don’t Look, Just Throw
Sometimes, the best game plan is having no game plan. We might as well face it, Wanderlei Silva rarely had a game plan, unless it was to wade forward and throw punches. Sometimes it was successful and other times it got him dropped. Here, Cung Le is his victim.
#1 Waving it Off
From time to time, fights take place that should never have been considered. Although tough, Forrest Griffin should’ve never been given the opportunity to fight Anderson Silva and it shows in a laughable way, as Griffin calls off his own fight from his back.
