With things winding down for the holidays and the UFC taking a break from hosting events for the next few weeks, now is a perfect time to look back at some of the best performances of this past year in the promotion.
The company held 511 bouts overall in 2022, and while a majority of them ended up going to decisions (240 fights or 47%), the second most common method of victory this year were knockouts.
There were a total of 171 UFC fights that ended via KO or TKO this year, covering 33.5% of all fights in the promotion that occurred in 2022. With so many amazing fight-ending sequences to choose from, it was extremely difficult to narrow down the list to just five spots, so apologies to all of the fighters who didn’t make the cut on this year’s list. These were the five knockouts from 2022 that stood out the most to us for one reason or another:
Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards (vs Kamaru Usman)
Leon Edwards stunned the world at UFC 278 back in August when he landed a stunning head kick in the fifth round to knockout reigning UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to claim the championship for himself. Usman had largely dominated the first four rounds of this fight before Edwards landed a perfectly disguised kick that the “Nigerian Nightmare” never even saw coming. The two are expected to have a rematch at UFC 286 in March when the promotion returns to England.
Michael Chandler (vs Tony Ferguson)
The stakes might not have been as high in this fight as the previous entry on our list, but the outcome was every bit as shocking. Despite the fact Ferguson entered this fight on a three-fight losing streak, the longtime Boogeyman of the UFC Lightweight division had never been put away clean before this matchup against Chandler at UFC 274. After struggling to get going in the first round, Chandler opened the second with one of the most stunning finishes of the year with a perfectly placed front kick under the chin.
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Marlon Vera (vs Dominick Cruz)
Marlon “Chito” Vera is one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC Bantamweight division and he showed why with a stunning fourth-round knockout over UFC legend Dominick Cruz this past August at UFC Fight Night San Diego. Vera picked up his fourth consecutive victory, and arguably the biggest of his career when he landed a beautiful kick to the face that put Cruz out cold for the first time in his professional career. Vera put himself into a great position within the division heading into 2023 after this victory.
Jamahal Hill (vs Johnny Walker)
Knockout victories aren’t exactly a rarity for Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill, who has seven of his eleven professional wins via KO/TKO, but none of them were as shocking as the one he scored over Johnny Walker back in February in their UFC Fight Night main event. Hill landed a clean overhand right that caused one of the most unique reactions that I have personally seen in MMA, as Walker seemed to involuntarily do ”the wave” as he went down to the ground against the cage.
Weili Zhang (vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk)
Knockout victories are a lot less common in women’s MMA, however, that didn’t stop Weili Zhang from stamping her placement on this list with one of the more surprising finishes of the year. Jedrzejczyk and Zhang had previously been in a five-round war against each other back in 2020 that ended via decision, but Weili punctuated their rivalry with a spinning-back fist in the second round at UFC 275. It was only the second KO/TKO loss of Jedrzejcyk’s legendary career and she retired post-fight.
Honorable Mention:
Alex Pereira (TKO vs Israel Adesanya)
While this one wasn’t a clean knockout victory like the previous entries, it was every bit as impressive and entered a place on this list. Entering the fifth round of his UFC Middleweight championship fight against Israel Adesanya, Pereira knew that he would need to dig deep and find a finish to win. After limiting Adesanya’s mobility, Pereira poured on the pressure and forced the referee to step in, ending not only the fight but Adesanya’s previously unblemished record at middleweight.nts for the next few weeks, now is a perfect time to look back at some of the best performances of this past year in the promotion.
The company held 511 bouts overall in 2022, and while a majority of them ended up going to decisions (240 fights or 47%), the second most common method of victory this year were knockouts.
There were a total of 171 UFC fights that ended via KO or TKO this year, covering 33.5% of all fights in the promotion that occurred in 2022. With so many amazing fight-ending sequences to choose from, it was extremely difficult to narrow down the list to just five spots, so apologies to all of the fighters who didn’t make the cut on this year’s list. These were the five knockouts from 2022 that stood out the most to us for one reason or another:
Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards (vs Kamaru Usman)
Leon Edwards stunned the world at UFC 278 back in August when he landed a stunning head kick in the fifth round to knockout reigning UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to claim the championship for himself. Usman had largely dominated the first four rounds of this fight before Edwards landed a perfectly disguised kick that the “Nigerian Nightmare” never even saw coming. The two are expected to have a rematch at UFC 286 in March when the promotion returns to England.
Michael Chandler (vs Tony Ferguson)
The stakes might not have been as high in this fight as the previous entry on our list, but the outcome was every bit as shocking. Despite the fact Ferguson entered this fight on a three-fight losing streak, the longtime Boogeyman of the UFC Lightweight division had never been put away clean before this matchup against Chandler at UFC 274. After struggling to get going in the first round, Chandler opened the second with one of the most stunning finishes of the year with a perfectly placed front kick under the chin.
WagerWire
Marlon Vera (vs Dominick Cruz)
Marlon “Chito” Vera is one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC Bantamweight division and he showed why with a stunning fourth-round knockout over UFC legend Dominick Cruz this past August at UFC Fight Night San Diego. Vera picked up his fourth consecutive victory, and arguably the biggest of his career when he landed a beautiful kick to the face that put Cruz out cold for the first time in his professional career. Vera put himself into a great position within the division heading into 2023 after this victory.
Jamahal Hill (vs Johnny Walker)
Knockout victories aren’t exactly a rarity for Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill, who has seven of his eleven professional wins via KO/TKO, but none of them were as shocking as the one he scored over Johnny Walker back in February in their UFC Fight Night main event. Hill landed a clean overhand right that caused one of the most unique reactions that I have personally seen in MMA, as Walker seemed to involuntarily do ”the wave” as he went down to the ground against the cage.
Weili Zhang (vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk)
Knockout victories are a lot less common in women’s MMA, however, that didn’t stop Weili Zhang from stamping her placement on this list with one of the more surprising finishes of the year. Jedrzejczyk and Zhang had previously been in a five-round war against each other back in 2020 that ended via decision, but Weili punctuated their rivalry with a spinning-back fist in the second round at UFC 275. It was only the second KO/TKO loss of Jedrzejcyk’s legendary career and she retired post-fight.
Honorable Mention:
Alex Pereira (TKO vs Israel Adesanya)
While this one wasn’t a clean knockout victory like the previous entries, it was every bit as impressive and entered a place on this list. Entering the fifth round of his UFC Middleweight championship fight against Israel Adesanya, Pereira knew that he would need to dig deep and find a finish to win. After limiting Adesanya’s mobility, Pereira poured on the pressure and forced the referee to step in, ending not only the fight but Adesanya’s previously unblemished record at middleweight.