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As the world's premier MMA promotion, the UFC attracts the most eyeballs in the world of mixed martial arts. Fans tune in to watch high-level fighters clash inside the octagon to assert their divisional supremacy. While a back-and-forth scrap or slick submission maneuver can earn applause, one stands above both.
Knockouts excite fans like nothing else. It's the easiest thing for fans with no martial arts knowledge to digest. The same cannot be said for submissions. Some submissions aren't apparent to casual fans until the trapped fighter taps out. Whereas the moment a knockout blow lands, it's obvious to everyone.
2022 has been an action-packed year for the UFC. Knockouts aplenty have stolen headlines. While it can be difficult to determine which knockout is superior to the other, this list compiles a list of the five greatest knockouts of 2022.
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#5. Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland, UFC 276
Alex Pereira is the new UFC middleweight champion. However, before he dethroned his longtime rival Israel Adesanya, 'Poatan' faced Sean Strickland in a title eliminator. At the time, it was the toughest test of the former two-division kickboxing champion's MMA career.
However, 'Poatan' passed his test with flying colors. He possessed a nuclear option capable of flattening any foe: his left hook. Meanwhile, Sean Strickland fights using an upright stance. His primary weapon is his jab. To land it constantly, 'Tarzan' parries his opponent's strikes instead of blocking them.
This enables him to immediately return fire after a parry. Pereira caught wind of this in their fight after his left hook was parried. For the next two minutes, the former kickboxer dipped low and jabbed Strickland in the chest. After conditioning his foe to drop his hand low to parry the body-jab, Pereira's trap was set.
He feinted a body-jab and drew 'Tarzan's' hand low—and away from his chin. Before Strickland could realize it, Pereira blasted him with a thunderous left hook over the top. Strickland was sent tumbling to the mat. As he tried to stand up afterwards, 'Poatan' flattened him with a straight right to seal the KO win.
#4. Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz, UFC on ESPN 41
Dominick Cruz is a UFC bantamweight legend. During his peak, 'The Dominator' was virtually impossible to hit cleanly. Unfortunately, his dipping lateral head movement was eventually deciphered by a new generation of fighters. In the past, his constant stance-switching frustrated his foes.
It enabled him to change the alignment of his opponent's strikes as he dipped his head at an angle while exiting from exchanges. This rendered him extremely vulnerable to well-timed high kicks that travel through wide arcs. At UFC on ESPN 41, the former bantamweight king faced Marlon 'Chito' Vera.
'Chito' is a patient and brutally powerful striker. He was not frustrated by Cruz's constant movement. Instead, he conditioned the UFC legend to dip his head deep on the inside of his right cross. In the fourth round, he punished 'The Dominator' for taking the bait.
He faked a right cross, duping Cruz into dipping his head into the path of a monstrous left high kick. The blow crushed 'The Dominator's nose and sent him into the shadow realm of unconsciousness.
#3. Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk, UFC 275
The fight that earned Zhang Weili a second crack at the UFC strawweight title was a rematch between her and the former boogeywoman of the 115 lbs weight class. Joanna Jędrzejczyk is a former champion with whom 'Magnum' had arguably the greatest fight in the history of WMMA.
Their initial outing happened at UFC 248. Their rematch, which was a title eliminator, took place two years later at UFC 275. The two were different fighters by then, and Zhang Weili had improved by leaps and bounds. She showcased high-level wrestling skills as she secured takedowns against the Polish legend.
Eventually, however, she returned to her Sanda roots. In the second round, she battered her foe with side-kicks to the body. Unfortunately, side-kicks carry a risk. If a fighter misses with their side-kick, they expose their backs and open themselves up to counterpunches.
So after Jędrzejczyk evaded her foe’s side-kick, she tried to rush forward and punish her. However, 'Magnum' was ready. Instead, the Polish legend ran into a brick of a spinning backfist that knocked her out cold and into retirement.
#2. Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson, UFC 274
Michael Chandler is the most explosive fighter in the UFC lightweight division. He is a three-time Bellator lightweight champion and a freak athlete. Unfortunately, he made questionable decisions in the cage that hampered his long-term success. Thus far, his run in Dana White's promotion has been one of wins and losses.
He has won twice but lost thrice. Hist most memorable win, however, was against Tony Ferguson at UFC 274. By then, 'El Cucuy' was an over-the-hill fighter still reeling from the career-altering beating he endured at the hands of Justin Gaethje. Meanwhile, 'Iron' was the loser in two consecutive fights.
Both men were in desperate need of a win. After the first round of their clash, Ferguson seemed destined to snap his own losing streak. He outstruck and dropped Chandler in the first five minutes of their bout. Alas, within 17 seconds of the second round, the unthinkable happened.
Ferguson, who had never been knocked unconscious in his career, was flattened by a vicious front kick. He was out cold before he ever fell to the mat and it was one of the most shocking KOs of 2022.
#1. Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman, UFC 278
The main event at UFC 278 was a rematch that was nearly seven years in the making. The two men involved were Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. After their initial meeting, they each embarked on unbeaten streaks of their own. 'The Nigerian Nightmare's successes saw him capture championship gold.
Meanwhile, 'Rocky' amassed enough wins to eventually earn a crack at his rival's crown. At UFC 278, the two crossed swords once again as much-improved fighters. While Edwards did well in the first round and became the first fighter to take Usman down in the promotion, the fight soon swung in the other direction.
The thinner air in Salt Lake City was too taxing on Edwards' lungs. Before long, Usman suffocated him with his patented power-wrestling style. It looked like the beginning of the end. The Englishman seemed broken, but an explosive pep talk from his corner breathed new life into his gasping lungs.
So when the Nigerian great was a minute away from retaining his title, 'Rocky' put in his last-ditch effort. He threw a jab-straight left combination. Usman, as has always been the case throughout his career, dipped his head deep on the outside of his foe's straight left.
Unbeknownst to him, he had slipped his head into the path of a high kick fueled by belief. Edwards smashed his shin into Usman's skull, sending him crashing into the mat. The P4P king was slain and an oft-ignored contender from the trenches of Aston, Birmingham, now sits on his welterweight throne.
