Top 5 UFC knockouts of the decade (2010-2019)

#4 Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey, UFC 193 – 11/14/2015

Holly Holm shattered Ronda Rousey's aura of invincibility with one huge head kick

There have been plenty of spectacular head kick knockouts over the years in the UFC, but while there have been more aesthetically pleasing ones than Holly Holm’s 2015 finish of Ronda Rousey, this one perhaps left the biggest mark on the UFC and on the sport of MMA as a whole. Rousey was the UFC’s first female superstar, one of the promotion’s biggest draws, and as UFC Bantamweight champion, she looked unstoppable.

‘Rowdy Ronda’ was unbeaten in MMA at 12-0, she’d defended her UFC title 6 times in just two years, and she’d been destroying anyone in front of her, with her last three wins alone totalling just over one minute. Unfortunately, she’d begun to rely on her burgeoning striking skills a little too much – and against a kickboxer the calibre of former world champion Holm, that was always going to get her into trouble.

And so the story of the fight went; Holm simply played the matador to Rousey’s bull, catching her with clean strikes as she rushed in, and the lone time that ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ was taken down, she was able to reverse to her feet.

The end came a minute into the second round. Rousey had already been stunned by a punch, and with the champion wobbly, Holm went for the kill. She landed a picture-perfect left head kick that sent ‘The Rowdy One’ to the ground, unconscious on impact. Not only had Holm taken Rousey’s title, but she’d shattered her unstoppable aura too.