5 most lethal knockout artists in the UFC right now

#4. Valentina Shevchenko – UFC women's flyweight champion

Valentina Shevchenko has solidified her status as one of the best fighters in the world in recent years, irrespective of gender. The lifelong martial artist has enjoyed an incredible martial arts career so far and is also one of the most dominant champions in all of combat sports.

Shevchenko spent almost half her career competing at 135 pounds before dropping down to the 125-pound weight class. Despite clearly being undersized for bantamweight, ‘Bullet’ emerged as one of the best fighters in the division, picking up wins over current champion Julianna Pena and former titleholder Holly Holm.

Her impressive run in the bantamweight division pre-dated the UFC’s 125-pound bracket altogether. When the division was eventually created, she secured a shot at the title with a win over Priscila Cachoeira and defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant belt. She has been defending her flyweight belt ever since.

Shevchenko holds an overall MMA record of 22-3, with eight of her wins coming via KO/TKO. Notably, she appears to take pleasure in using her opponent's strengths against them. In her fights against Julianna Pena and Jessica Andrade, two grappling specialists, 'Bullet' took both fighters down and dominated the exchanges on the mat before securing finishes.

Despite her obvious improvements in the grappling realm, Shevchenko's bread and butter lies in the striking arts. The multi-time kickboxing world champion's stand-up is arguably the best in all of MMA. Her headkick knockout against Jessica Eye remains one of the greatest finishes in women's MMA history.

Check out Valentina Shevchenko's UFC highlight reel below:

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#3. Derrick Lewis – UFC heavyweight

Derrick Lewis owns the record for the most knockout wins in UFC history (13). His incredible sense of humor, coupled with his intensity and penchant for jaw-dropping finishes, has seen him emerge as a fan favorite.

So far, 'The Black Beast' has knocked out the likes of Shamil Abdurakhimov, Travis Browne, Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Alexey Oleynik, Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus. His victory over Blaydes last year remains one of the most vicious knockouts in the history of the weight class.

Following his victory over Chris Daukaus in December 2021, Lewis became the record-holder for most knockouts in the history of the promotion. While his power is respected and feared by his peers, his largely one-dimensional style has cost him in big moments.

Nevertheless, he will go down in history as one of the most intimidating knockout artists in all of MMA.

Watch a compilation of Derrick Lewis' best knockouts in the video below: