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    Most Knockdowns in UFC History

    1
    Donald Cerrone
    Donald Cerrone
    20 Knockdowns 0.53/fight·10 KO/TKO
    2
    Anderson Silva
    Anderson Silva
    18 Knockdowns 0.72/fight·11 KO/TKO
    3
    Jeremy Stephens
    Jeremy Stephens
    18 Knockdowns 0.50/fight·8 KO/TKO
    4
    Edson Barboza
    Edson Barboza
    16 Knockdowns 0.48/fight·9 KO/TKO
    5
    Dustin Poirier
    Dustin Poirier
    15 Knockdowns 0.47/fight·11 KO/TKO
    6
    Junior Dos Santos
    Junior Dos Santos
    14 Knockdowns 0.61/fight·10 KO/TKO
    7
    Chuck Liddell
    Chuck Liddell
    14 Knockdowns 0.61/fight·10 KO/TKO
    8
    Lyoto Machida
    Lyoto Machida
    14 Knockdowns 0.58/fight·7 KO/TKO
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    9
    Khalil Rountree Jr.
    Khalil Rountree Jr.
    14 Knockdowns 0.78/fight·7 KO/TKO
    10
    Mauricio Rua
    Mauricio Rua
    14 Knockdowns 0.58/fight·8 KO/TKO
    11
    Thiago Santos
    Thiago Santos
    14 Knockdowns 0.58/fight·11 KO/TKO
    12
    Israel Adesanya
    Israel Adesanya
    13 Knockdowns 0.68/fight·5 KO/TKO
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    13
    Thiago Alves
    Thiago Alves
    13 Knockdowns 0.48/fight·8 KO/TKO
    14
    Melvin Guillard
    Melvin Guillard
    13 Knockdowns 0.59/fight·8 KO/TKO
    15
    Anthony Johnson
    Anthony Johnson
    13 Knockdowns 0.68/fight·11 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 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.

    Who has the most knockdowns in UFC history?

    Donald Cerrone, with 20 knockdowns.

    Second: Anderson Silva (18). Third: Jeremy Stephens (18).

    Counted from UFC bouts recorded on MMA.SOCIAL — UFC appearances only, not a fighter's full professional record.