Most Knockouts in UFC History
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About Most Knockouts in UFC History
Fighters with the most KO/TKO victories, counted from UFC bouts only
This leaderboard ranks UFC fighters by their total number of KO/TKO wins, the most decisive way to end a fight. A knockout is credited whenever a bout is stopped because a fighter can no longer intelligently defend against strikes, whether that means going unconscious from a single shot, absorbing enough damage that the referee steps in, or a doctor calling a halt between rounds. We count every one of those finishes out of a fighter's UFC record, then sort from highest to lowest, breaking ties by overall wins so that the more proven finishers rise to the top.
UFC bouts only, and division means the bout's division
Every number here is counted from bouts fought in the UFC, so a knockout scored on the regional circuit before a fighter signed does not appear, and a bout that has been announced but not yet contested has no result to count. The division dropdown re-counts the figure from the bouts contested in that weight class instead of filtering by the fighter's current division and printing a career total beside it. That distinction is the whole point: a featherweight who moved up to lightweight used to carry every knockout with them, which put wins scored at one weight under the banner of another. Now each row shows what a fighter actually did in that division, and how much of their career total it accounts for, and because the divisions add up to the career figure exactly the number cannot change simply because you touched the filter.
What a high knockout count really tells you
Raw finishing power is one of the rarest and most valuable traits in mixed martial arts, and a long knockout tally usually signals one of two profiles: the one-shot puncher who can end a night with a single counter, or the relentless pressure fighter who breaks opponents down and swarms them late. Either way, fighters near the top of this list tend to share a willingness to take risks in the pocket, trust their power, and hunt for the finish rather than coast to a decision. It is worth reading these numbers alongside how many total fights a fighter has had, since a striker who knocks out half his opponents is far more dangerous than one who racked up the same total over twice as many bouts.
Knockout artists also carry an outsized influence on a division's hierarchy because a single clean shot can erase a betting favorite and reshuffle a title picture overnight. That high-variance, momentum-swinging style is exactly why power punchers draw the biggest crowds and the loudest highlight reels, even when more technical wrestlers or grapplers quietly pile up wins. To see how that finishing threat translates into a fighter's standing against the rest of the roster, compare this page with our ELO rankings.
For fans, this is one of the most fun lists to follow because it rewards the moments everyone remembers: the highlight finishes, the upsets, and the careers built on never letting a fight go to the judges. Use it to settle debates about the hardest hitters in the sport, then dig deeper with fighter profiles and the rest of our UFC stats to understand the styles behind the numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who has the most knockouts in UFC history?
Derrick Lewis, with 16 KOs.
Second: Matt Brown (13). Third: Max Holloway (12).
Counted from UFC bouts recorded on MMA.SOCIAL — UFC appearances only, not a fighter's full professional record.