5 of the most brutal knockouts in the history of the UFC women's divisions

#5 Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg

Nobody expected Amanda Nunes to stop Cris Cyborg with a violent knockout

The Superfight between UFC Featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and her Bantamweight counterpart Amanda Nunes was one of the most heavily hyped fights of 2018, but coming in it seemed difficult to imagine a way that Nunes could win. The naturally smaller fighter, it was hard to see how Nunes could outstrike or outgrapple Cyborg, who hadn’t lost a fight since 2005.

Incredibly though, ‘The Lioness’ found a way to win – and in the most violent fashion possible, too. Rather than look to use her technical striking to defeat Nunes, Cyborg evidently believed she could run through Nunes using brute force – and so came out swinging wildly, looking to trade with her smaller foe. It was a huge mistake.

Nunes proved to be the quicker fighter and also the cleaner striker, and she was immediately able to tag Cyborg with some hard counter-punches that had her in big trouble. A four-punch combination dropped Cyborg to her knees, and while the longtime champion was able to get back up, Nunes didn’t waste any time and turned out her lights with a huge right hand that sent her down face-first.

It was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history and one of the biggest title victories too, as Nunes had become a double champion in a way that had almost seemed impossible coming into the event. Nunes had been able to deliver some brutal knockouts before – most notably over Ronda Rousey – but this one was clearly the biggest and best of her career.