Five Best UFC Knockouts Of 2024… So Far

Everyone loves finishes in mixed martial arts (MMA), whether they’re flat-lining knockouts or sneaky strangulations. So far in 2024, there have been absolutely spectacular KOs ranging from last-second face plants to spinning elbows.

Since we’re halfway through the year (where has the time gone), sit back and enjoy the five best Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) knockouts of 2024 … so far.

No. 5 – Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

Event: UFC 300

Alex Pereira has two highlight knockouts in 2024 thus far. While his most recent brutal head kick knockout of Jiri Prochazka is the more violent of the two (watch it), his finish of Jamahal Hill is more iconic because of the stakes.

Heading into the historic UFC 300 event, ‘Poatan’ was going into his first title defense, and a returning Hill has never been knocked out in his professional career. Well, that changed in under four minutes of the first round.

Pereira got kicked below the belt, but that didn’t faze him. He told Herb Dean to kick rocks and landed his left hook from hell, dropping Hill, and quickly finished after that.

No. 4 – Brunno Fereira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

Event: UFC Louisville

Yes, Pereira’s knockout of Hill had much more stakes than this knockout, but if you’ve read my lists before, style points on finishes sometimes rank higher than stakes. Sorry, a spinning elbow is badass.

At UFC Louisville (June 8, 2024), Brazilian powerhouse Brunno Ferreria clocked Dustin Stoltzfus with a violent spinning elbow that dropped Stolzfus, ruining his face in the process.

Stoltzfus revealed in an Instagram post that his face was fractured, and he has significant nerve damage thanks to that elbow.

No. 3 – Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Event: UFC 298

The Ilia Topuria era started at UFC 298 (Feb. 17, 2024) when he slept five-time defending Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski with a right hand from hell.

Volkanovski won the first round on all three judges’ scorecards; however, “El Matador” adjusted and took the Featherweight belt very violently, ending the Australian’s legendary title reign.

No. 2 – Vinicius Oliveira vs. Benardo Sopaj

Event: UFC Vegas 87

This knockout almost took the top spot for me because of style points, and of course, flying knee finishes are a dime a dozen.

Nevertheless, Vinicius Oliveira vs. Benardo Sopaj went down at UFC Vegas 87 (March 2, 2024) in the UFC Apex. Both Bantamweights made their UFC debut against each other, but it was “Lokdog” Oliveira who left Sopaj slumped against the cage. In the third round, with less than 30 seconds left after a back-and-forth war, Oliveira landed a picture-perfect flying knee that slept his opponent instantly.

No. 1 – Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje

Event: UFC 300

Of course, this knockout had to be number one. Let me set the stage… leading into this fight, most thought Max Holloway would get battered by Justin Gaethje because the last time the Hawaiian fought at Lightweight, he got beat up by Dustin Poirier. Plus, Gaethje had just knocked out Poirier eight months prior at UFC 291.

Well, everyone was dumbfounded because Holloway beat up Gaethje for five rounds and was en route to a lopsided unanimous decision. However, with seconds left in the fight, Holloway pointed to the ground, and both fighters started swinging with everything they had. “Blessed” landed a perfect punch with one second left that face-planted Gaethje.

Holloway walked away with the Baddest Motherfu—er championship and one of the best knockouts ever.

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