5 best UFC knockouts in 2022 so far

#4. Tai Tuivasa vs. Derrick Lewis – UFC 271

Tai Tuivasa picked up the biggest win of his career when he stopped Derrick Lewis with a savage elbow

While UFC 271’s main event of Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker for the middleweight title was a big one, it’s probably fair to say that more fans were looking forward to the co-headline bout between heavyweight brawlers Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis.

The two men had a laundry list of knockouts between them, and with both men coming off wild finishes in late 2021, it felt like a brutal finish was inevitable in this one. Naturally, the bout delivered the goods, with Tuivasa coming out on top.

Early on, it didn’t look like the fight would go that way. After some early clinching and exchanging, ‘The Black Beast’ stunned his Australian opponent with a flurry of shots, but incredibly, Tuivasa took them all and unloaded right back.

The fight moved into the second round, and this time, when the two men brawled, it was ‘Bam Bam’ who landed the better shots, leaving Lewis clearly stunned for a second. When the former title challenger clinched, then, Tuivasa was ready and nailed him with a heavy elbow to the side of the head.

Lewis crashed down to the ground face-first, and Tuivasa didn’t even need to follow up – channelling his idol Mark Hunt with a classic walk-off knockout. This was not only the biggest knockout of the Australian’s UFC career to date, it was also the best, and stands as one of 2022’s best finishes thus far.

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#3. Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Carlston Harris – UFC Fight Night 200

Shavkat Rakhmonov became a star with his explosive finish of Carlston Harris

February’s UFC Fight Night 200 didn’t have that much fanfare around it going in, but in the end, the event delivered some great action. However, the man who really stole the show was welterweight prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov.

‘Nomad’ had already picked up two victories in the octagon prior to the event, but most fans believed that fellow prospect Carlston Harris, who was also 2-0 in the promotion, would be able to test him in a way he hadn’t been tested before.

Unfortunately for Harris, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, ‘Mocambique’ found himself on the end of one of 2022’s most violent and flashy finishes.

After a back-and-forth opening round that saw the fighters hit the ground for a brief time, one minute remained when Rakhmonov unleashed hell. ‘Nomad’ whipped his leg around with a hook kick to the head, dropping Harris, and from there, he finished him off with some heavy punches.

The victory not only gave Rakhmonov his first $50,000 bonus cheque, it also launched his career and turned him into a man to watch in one of the UFC’s most stacked divisions. Simply put, his next fight, which will be against Neil Magny, can’t come soon enough.