5 best UFC knockouts of 2018

#2 Brian Ortega vs. Frankie Edgar – UFC 222 – 03/03/2018

Brian Ortega became the first man to knock out Frankie Edgar in March

Things could’ve been so different for Frankie Edgar. The longtime veteran and former champion at 155lbs was pegged to fight Max Holloway for the UFC Featherweight title at UFC 222 in March, but when Holloway fell off the card with an injury, ‘The Answer’ decided to take a fight with rising star Brian Ortega to cement his spot as the #1 contender in the division.

It was a risk, but early on it didn’t feel that way; Edgar’s fleet-footed striking style seemed to have Ortega confused, and ‘T-City’ just couldn’t get into a rhythm.

It looked like a classic Edgar victory was on the cards – until out of nowhere, Ortega caught him with a brutal left elbow. Suddenly, Edgar was on wobbly legs, and Ortega’s tremendous finishing instincts kicked in.

He waded in with more punches, and then began to unload with uppercuts – one of which knocked Edgar flying.

A series of hammer fists sealed the deal, and Ortega had picked up the biggest win of his career by a mile – knocking out a man who’d shown a granite chin in previous fights and who had literally never been finished in his 29-fight MMA career to that point.

Considering he came in with a reputation as a grappler, the knockout was even more stunning. In a year of pretty crazy UFC moments, this was up there with the best – and was easily one of the best knockouts on offer.