Jake Yono
JY Journalism
3/23/25
My Opinion On The Top 5 UFC Knockouts Of 2024
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is known for its aggressiveness, high-flying action, submissions, and knockouts. This year, UFC fans saw a lot of crazy knockouts, and in this article, I will give you my top 5 of the year. There were a lot of great moments. From Max Holloway Vs Justin Gaethje, Shara Magomedov Vs Armen Petrosyan, Vinicius Olivera Vs Benardo Sopaj, and 2 Alex (Poaton) Pierreria KO's Jamal Hill and Czech light heavyweight Jiri Procházka. These 5 fights are my nominees for knockout of the year, and in this article, I will rank and showcase them.
All of these could be considered KO of the year, but I’m taking into consideration the skill level of the knockout and how hard it was, how much it rattled the opponent, and the point in the fight the knockout game. Starting at #5 is Alex Pierria Vs. Jamal Hill was in the very first round at UFC 300 in the main event. After referee Herb Dean called time after an alleged groin shot by Hill, after Alex notified him he was ok by pushing Dean's hand aside and kept fighting, and about 2.5 seconds later, he landed a hand-power punch to Jamal's face, which knocked him out and finished him on the ground. This knockout is only #5 because the move was only a left hand-across-the-body punch, but noting the calmness and poise Alex Pierria fights with to know he’s ok and seconds later lands a crazy KO is wild in my opinion, which lands him the #5 spot and his 1st defense of the light-heavyweight title.
The 4th best knockout of 2024 also came from Alex Pereira, 2 and a half months late,r on the main event of UFC 303 when he head-kicked Jiri Procházka to knock him out for his second title defense. This occurred when Poaton was dominating the bout as he had landed 42 more strikes and had already knocked Jiri down twice. I do appreciate and admire how Alex and Jiri took the fight on 2 weeks' notice. The actual head-kick was amusing to watch as Pierria did it so fast, as he was just feeling him out right before. The first 2 entries on this list go to the 2nd best pound for pound fighter in the organization, currently, in my opinion, only behind heavyweight Jon Jones.
#3 is where we get into the real technical and electrifying moments the UFC had in 2024 in terms of knockouts. This position will go to the first main card fight of UFC 308, where Sahra Magamanov knocked out Armen Petrosyan in the 2nd round of an evenly matched fight in terms of control time and strike total. The skill level here is where I take off, this was a double spinning back fist KO, even landing a single spinning back fist in the octagon puts you in a certain category but a double is truly unheard of as it was the first of its kind in UFC history and another note is that there have been 11 single spinning back fist knockouts in the organization's history (UFC Spinning Back Fist Knockouts) showing how rare and remarkable this moment was.
#2 on my list is the most memorable amongst UFC fans, and it was the featured bout of the stacked UFC 300 between high-flying lightweight contenders Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje. These guys agreed to 5 rounds to make the battle more interesting for all watching. This was a classic stand-up fight as no one displayed any control time or attempted a takedown. But the iconic moment of this fight was when the 10-second clickers went off in the final round, Max pointed to the center of the octagon, and wanted to square off with Ganache. The 2 were throwing haymakers at each other, attempting to knock one another out until in the final second of the fight Holloway connected on a right hand, which knocked Gauche out cold, marking it as the 2nd fight in UFC history to finish in the final second with a buzzer-beater style knockout. In my opinion, it’s not like Holloway had to do much because he had the fight won by decision because of the 80+ more strikes he landed on Ganache with but I appreciate the willpower he displayed by wanting to square him with his opponent in the closing stages of the fight. This moment will certainly be remembered by UFC fans down the road.
My UFC knockout of the year is going to go to a pair of lesser-named fighters, Vinicius Olivera and Bernardo Sopaj, 2 young up-and-coming fighters. In the prelims of an apex fight night on March 2nd, making his UFC debut, Vinicius Olivera, in the 3rd round of a questionable result if it were to go to decision, Olivera did not want to leave it in the judge's hands. This performance earned the #1 spot by its skill level and technicality. First, Vinicius landed a calf kick, which hurt Sopaj as he wobbled and tried to get away to recover, but as he did this, Olivera ran right over to him as Bernardo was not expecting it and landed a flying knee which made him unconscious. This is extremely rare for a fighter in his professional debut at the highest level to pull off something like this. After this, he won another bout in the octagon and is currently 2-0 in the promotion.
As an avid UFC fan, I can’t wait to see what these talent-infested fighters do in 2025 and in years to come, as the sport is evolving in terms of new moves and crazy methods, and approaches to fighters competing. take. There were other great knockouts that I couldn’t include on this prestigious top 5, such as Illa Toropia, Jon Jones, and the female sensation from China, Shi Ming. I will provide video links that you can check out if you want a real-time view of these astonishing finishes. Thank you guys for checking this one out. See you in the next one.
5. Jamahal Hill Vs. Alex Pereira KO UFC 300
4. Alex Pereira Vs. Jiri Prochazka KO UFC 303
3. Sahra Magomedov Vs. Armen Petrosyan KO UFC 308
2. Max Holloway Vs. Justin Gaethje KO UFC 300
1. Vinicius Oliveira Vs. Bernardo Sopaj KO UFC Fight Night March 2nd