Striking leaderboard

Most Knockdowns in UFC History

1171
Luigi Vendramini
Luigi Vendramini
1 Knockdowns 0.25/fight·1 KO/TKO
1172
Ike Villanueva
Ike Villanueva
1 Knockdowns 0.17/fight·1 KO/TKO
1173
Julius Walker
Julius Walker
1 Knockdowns 0.20/fight·1 KO/TKO
1174
Robert Whiteford
Robert Whiteford
1 Knockdowns 0.20/fight·1 KO/TKO
1175
Patrick Williams
Patrick Williams
1 Knockdowns 0.25/fight·0 KO/TKO
1176
Jason Witt
Jason Witt
1 Knockdowns 0.17/fight·0 KO/TKO
1177
Xiao Long
Xiao Long
1 Knockdowns 0.20/fight·1 KO/TKO
1178
John Yannis
John Yannis
1 Knockdowns 0.33/fight·1 KO/TKO
Advertisement
1179
Ashley Yoder
Ashley Yoder
1 Knockdowns 0.09/fight·0 KO/TKO
1180
David Zawada
David Zawada
1 Knockdowns 0.20/fight·0 KO/TKO

All-time knockdown leaders ranked by total knockdowns scored across all UFC bouts.

About UFC Knockdown Statistics

Knockdowns are one of the most decisive moments in a fight, demonstrating a fighter's ability to hurt their opponent with a single strike. This leaderboard ranks UFC fighters by total knockdowns scored across their career, highlighting the most dangerous strikers in the sport's history.

Key Metrics Explained

  • Total Knockdowns: The cumulative number of knockdowns scored across all UFC bouts with recorded statistics.
  • Per-Fight Average: Average knockdowns scored per fight, indicating a fighter's consistent knockout threat regardless of career length.
  • KO/TKO Wins: The number of victories by knockout or technical knockout, showing how often knockdown power translates to fight-ending finishes. This is a career counter and is not narrowed by the division filter.
  • Division Filter: Selecting a division counts only the knockdowns scored in bouts contested at that weight, not the fighter's whole career. Every division a fighter competed in adds back up to their career total exactly.

Methodology

Fighters must have statistics from at least 3 fights (8 on the per-fight view) and at least 1 knockdown to appear on this leaderboard. Knockdowns are recorded per round in official UFC fight stats and aggregated across all rounds and all bouts. All statistics are sourced from official UFC fight data and updated after each event.

Limits worth knowing

A knockdown is a judgement call made live by a statistician, and the edges of the definition are genuinely blurry. A fighter dropped by a clean counter and one who touches down off-balance after a missed kick can both end up recorded the same way, and the call is not always applied identically from card to card. Treat small differences between fighters as noise rather than a ranking.

The count is also flat. A knockdown that ended the fight in the opening minute counts one, and so does a flash knockdown in a bout the fighter went on to lose by decision. That is a feature rather than a fault, because it captures how often a fighter genuinely hurts opponents even when the referee lets it continue, but it means the board should be read next to knockout wins rather than as a substitute for them.

Because knockdowns are rare, totals are small and a single fight can move a fighter several places, so the per-fight average is the more stable measure for anyone with a short record. Per-round statistics exist for roughly 8,750 of the 8,800-plus bouts in our database, and a division view counts only the knockdowns scored at that weight. For opposition-weighted rankings see our ELO ratings, for individual records the fighter profiles, and for related boards the UFC statistics hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly counts as a knockdown in the UFC?
A knockdown is officially recorded when a legal strike drops an opponent to the canvas, forcing them to touch down with anything other than their feet. It is logged by the official scorers separately from a knockout, so a fighter can score multiple knockdowns in a bout that still goes the distance.
Why does total knockdowns matter more than knockout wins on this list?
Total knockdowns capture how often a fighter genuinely hurts opponents standing, even in fights that go to decision or are stopped by the referee before a clean knockout finishes. It is a purer measure of raw one-shot power and the threat a striker carries every time the fight is on the feet.
Does a high per-fight knockdown average mean a fighter is more dangerous?
Per-fight average rewards efficient power punchers who hurt opponents frequently rather than padding totals over a long career. A fighter with a high average is often a bigger immediate finishing threat, though it can be inflated by a small sample of fights.
Why does a fighter's knockdown count drop when I pick their division?
A division view counts only the knockdowns scored in bouts actually contested at that weight. Fighters who moved between divisions built part of their total elsewhere, so the division figure is a slice of the career number rather than all of it, and the divisions a fighter competed in add back up to their career total exactly.
Most Knockdowns in UFC History - top 10 (MMA.SOCIAL): 1. Donald Cerrone (20), 2. Anderson Silva (18), 3. Jeremy Stephens (18), 4. Marlon Vera (16), 5. Edson Barboza (16), 6. Dustin Poirier (15), 7. Chuck Liddell (14), 8. Junior Dos Santos (14), 9. Lyoto Machida (14), 10. Montel Jackson (14)
Most Knockdowns in UFC History - top 10, updated Oct 19, 2026.
Share image

Most Knockdowns in UFC History: top 10

The top 10 as one image. Free to share, updated after every UFC card.