The UFC has let several fighters display their MMA skills, but there’s nothing better than a quick finish before a roaring bunch of spectators.
The organization comprises excellent strikers as well as submission artists who put on a show each time they step inside the octagon. But what fans love more than that are the fights that end with vicious TKOs rapidly. We have compiled the 10 fastest knockouts in UFC history.
10. Gray Maynard
UFC Fight Night 11 – 9 seconds
Every UFC fighter dreams to finish their rivals with a strong hook, but very few are able to master it.
Gray Maynard is one of the few fighters who have ended the fight within the first ten seconds of the first round.
And he achieved this record against Joe Veres, whom he put to sleep in the ninth second with a vicious left hook.
At that time, the American mixed martial artist was well known for being a powerhouse, and leaving Veres wobbly with a single strike only fueled his aura.
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Korean Zombie – 9 seconds
A clash between two heavyweights is always an exciting match-up and Jairzinho Rozenstruik lived up to the expectation against Allen Crowder at a UFC Fight Night in 2019.
It took Rozenstruik only nine seconds to TKO Crowder. This was the ninth-fastest knockout in the UFC and the second-fastest in its heavyweight history.
A stinging jab from the Suriname-born was enough to dismantle Crowder’s balance. Once the American fighter was flattened on the canvas, a combination of punches and the intelligent ground game helped The Bigi Boy taste glory.
The 31-year-old was perhaps not a tough competitor against Rozenstruik, but no one expected him to walk out of the octagon with a win this rapidly.
8. Leon Edwards
Fight Night 64 prelims – 8 seconds
Leo Edwards is a well-known name in the welterweight division. He made a strong impact in his early days at the UFC and has been on a roll ever since.
The Rocky stunned the audience in 2015 when he took on veteran Seth Baczynski at the UFC Fight Night 64 prelims and finished him quickly.
All it took Edwards was eight seconds to clinch the eighth spot on our list of fastest TKOs. He was in desperation to bolster his UFC career with an emphatic win and The Polish Pistola’s inattentiveness helped him achieve that.
In an attempt to put pressure on the British fighter, Baczynski came out as the aggressor. He tried a few light jabs on Edwards, but all his rival needed was one haymaker to put him to sleep.
After a strong left-handed strike, Baczynski lost his ground and hit the floor. Edwards then struck two more blows while he was on the ground and the referee did not wait any longer to see the punishment.
Edwards was awarded a lucrative Performance of the Night bonus for clinching the victory in a sublime fashion.
7. James Irvin
UFC Fight Night – 8 seconds
Bang, Bang, Bang! These were the words that James Irvin uttered after knocking out a heavyweight juggernaut within eight seconds of the first round. Irvin landed a super punch in his bout against Houston Alexander at UFC Fight Night in April 2008.
Alex seemed a little sluggish in the very beginning and his opponent made the most of his laziness. The Assassin threw out a lackluster jab that was responded by a jolting Superman punch to his jaw.
Alex’s reaction after the officials halted the fight indicated that his lights weren’t shut. However, match footage shows that the first punch from Irvin followed by three more had cemented his loss.
6. Makwan Amirkhani
UFC on Fox 14 – 8 seconds
Finnish mixed martial artist is yet another entrée to fastest finishes ever recorded in the UFC. The 32-year-old put on a stellar performance on his UFC debut after stopping Andy Ogle in a mere eight seconds.
This was a little amusing to the MMA fans who had followed Amirkhani’s career because he is more of a submission artist instead. The Ogle fight in 2015 was the first occasion when he finished a fight with strikes.
The submission specialist silenced his critics who claimed that his striking game was not good enough. He jolted Ogle with a Masvidal-like flying knee which tagged the 31-year-old so bad that he confused the referee with his rival and grabbed onto the official’s legs.
5. Todd Duffee
UFC 102 – 7 seconds
Todd Duffee (9-3) once used to be the guy that other fighters avoided taking on. He was touted as the next big thing in the UFC after he stunned the world of mixed martial arts on his UFC debut.
Duffee pulled a victory over late Tim Hague in only seven seconds at UFC 102 held in 2009. The heavyweight starlet put Hague to sleep with repetitive blows after forcing him to go down with a left-handed strike.
His relentless hammers were never going to let the referee carry on with the fight for long.
4. Ryan Jimmo
UFC 149 – 7 seconds
In July 2012, Ryan Jimmo made his UFC debut in style as he knocked out Anthony Perosh only seven seconds into the fight.
The Australian veteran was out even before he hit the canvas. Jimmo made only two strikes to get a historic win to his name: the first one to TKO Perosh and the second made sure that he doesn’t get back up.
After the Canadian announced himself at UFC 149 with a display of his vicious power, he performed a robot dance as well to cover all aspects of an entertaining debut.
This was the fifth time Perosh lost in his career. Experts said that the loss proved that the Australian fighter had difficulty avoiding damage. His head movement was nowhere to be seen and his hands were not high enough to block any strike.
3. The Korean Zombie
UFC 140 – 7 seconds
The Scotiabank Arena in December 2011 witnessed one of the quickest finishes to a UFC fight. It was when Chan Sung Jung upset the odds to defeat Mark Hominick.
The Korean Zombie knocked out the Machine in only the seventh second of the first round. Hominick stepped into the contest after going the distance with Jose Also.
He was expected to walk through this fight to challenge for the featherweight championship. At first, a confident Hominick tried to bring the Zombie down with a left punch, but Jung dodged it well. Jung then countered with a right hand and a barrage of punches was enough for referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.
The Korean Zombie handed the Canadian fighter a loss in front of his home crowd to headline UFC 140.
2. Duane Ludwig
UFC Fight Night 3 – 6 seconds
Duane “Bang” Ludwig headlined UFC Fight Night 3 in 2006 with a sublime performance as he defeated Jonathan Goulet in only six seconds. He won with a stellar KO and claimed the record for the fastest TKO for 13 years until Jorge Masvidal turned things around in November 2019.
Goulet rushed towards Ludwig and tried to catch him with a combination of jabs, but the Bang had other plans. He waited for his opponent’s hands to go down after the attempt, took his time, and then sent Goulet down with his right hand.
Even UFC President Dana White was amazed to see the TKO. In 2015, White shared a clip of the fight on Instagram as it holds great importance in the organization’s history.
Previously, a timekeeping error had delayed a few seconds to disrupt the record finish. It was noted as an 11-second finish. But the organization was quick to trace this and list the fight duration as six seconds.
1. Jorge Masvidal
UFC 239 – five seconds
Jorge Masvidal holds the record for the fastest knockout in any division of the UFC. Within a mere five seconds at UFC 239, the Gamebred won against Ben Askren with a knee strike.
As their welterweight bout kicked off, Masvidal almost sprinted towards Askren who bent his upper body in an attempt to stop him. But his hands were nowhere near Masvidal. Askren caught his nasty knee that put him to sleep instantly.
The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas erupted after Askren got finished as soon as the fight started. Their fight was a much-hyped contest that was fueled by trash talk of both parties every now and then.
The Street Jesus made it into the history books with a comprehensive win over his rival, but he was criticized by few. In the post-match conference, journalists suggested that he could have avoided hitting Askren in the face after the TKO.
However, Masvidal insisted it was necessary to continue to thump his opponent and his strikes were not illegal as the referee hadn’t stopped him then.
