8 Fighters With The Most KO Wins In UFC
The UFC is filled with knockout wins, but some fighters are more likely to dominate their opponents than others. When you start creating knockout after knockout the other fighters begin to sweat, wondering if they even have a chance to stay conscious in the fight.
The MMA betting odds would light up whenever these 8 knockout champions entered the ring.
1. Derrick Lewis – 13 Wins by KO
With 13 knockout wins under his belt, no one has beaten Lewis’ claim to fame. However, there are many fighters hot on his heels.
The previous owner of “The Fighter With The Most KO Wins” was Vitor Belfort, but in 2021, Lewis stole the title for himself. Between 2014 and 2021, Lewis has dominated the ring, and his amazing power continues to beat even the best.
Lewis’ style is to hit them hard and hit them fast, preferring to end the battle quickly rather than compete in an endurance test.
2. Vitor Belfort – 12 Wins by KO
In total, throughout his martial arts career, Belfort has won 18 times through knockouts, but today we are just looking at the UFC.
His most recent knockout win was in 2015 against Dan Henderson. This fight was the highlight of the night, and even won the award “Performance of the Night” too. But since then Belfort has had a couple of Total Knockout defeats too.
His last fight was in 2018 and retired as the fighter with the most KO wins of all time in UFC. In just 3 years, that title would be taken away from him.
3. Matt Brown – 12 Wins by KO
Although Brown comes in joint second with these 12 wins by KO, he only achieved this number in 2021, which means Belfort got there first. That is the only reason why Brown is underneath this fellow winner though, as Brown has only been defeated through a knockout 3 times.
Brown’s last win through a knockout was in 2021 against Dhiego Lima after 3:02 minutes in the second round. The fight earned the “Performance of the Night” title, in the Las Vegas ring.
4. Anderson Silva – 11 Wins by KO
In his whole mixed martial arts career, Silva won 23 fights through knockouts, but just 11 of those were in the UFC.
He competed in the UFC between 2006 and 2020, leaving the ring due to an injury that required major surgery. Healthy and happy, Silvas has made a marvelous recovery, but probably won’t make it to another fight.
Silva’s last knockout win was in 2012, and at that point, he was the leading knockout king.
5. Anthony Johnson – 11 Wins by KO
Throughout his mixed martial arts career, Johnson has had 17 wins through a knockout and just 1 loss from the same feat. In the UFC that translates to 11 wins through a knockout, making the UFC his preferred fighting arena.
Johnson’s latest KO win was in 2021 against José Augusto Azevedo Barros. The fight lasted 2 rounds, and in the second round, the Knockout came after exactly 1 minute 30.
His most impressive knockout was in 2016 against Glover Teixeira when Johnson won the fight in just 13 seconds. As you can imagine, that fight won Johnson the “Performance of the Night” title.
6. Thiago Silva – 11 Wins by KO
Siva has won 15 fights through a knockout, but just 11 of them were in the UFC. His most recent knockout win was in 2017 against Daniel Toledo, but unlike the others on this list, this knockout was a fight of endurance.
After 2 rounds of fighting, Silva had to keep punching for a further 4:29 minutes before Toledo’s body finally gave in. This win wasn’t even in the UFC but showed just how much stamina Silva has.
His most recent UFC KO was in 2013 against Rafael Cavalcante, and the fight won “Knockout of the Night” and “Fight of the Night”.
7. Michael Bisping – 10 Wins by KO
10 of Bisping’s 18 KO wins have been in the UFC. His most recent victory through a knockout was in 2016 against Luke Rockhold. The battle was in Inglewood California and the match was so intense that Bisping won “Performance of the Night ”, but that’s not the most impressive part.
This fight was a battle for the UFC Middleweight Championship. A fight this important should have been a tough battle of strength, but after just 3:36 minutes in the first found Rockhold collapsed from an all-powerful punch by Bisping, earning this 10 KO hitter the UFC Middleweight Championship!
8. Cain Velasquez – 10 Wins by KO
Velasquez’s last KO win was in 2016 against Travis Browne. The fight lasted one round and after 4:57 minutes, Browne couldn’t take the beating any longer. The fight won them both the “Performance of the Night” award and pushed Velasquez into the top 4 for most KO wins.
Summary
Technically, Junior Dos Santos, Donald Cerrone, Dustin Poirier, and Francis Ngannou should also be mentioned as each of them had 10 wins by a knockout in their UFC career. But Bisping’s and Velasquez’s fights were so entertaining that we pushed them above the rest.
