There’s just something fulfilling about witnessing the sudden halt of an MMA bout.
While grinding decisions bore most viewers, knockouts and submissions act as high points on almost any fight night, particularly in the UFC, where the world’s most venomous fighters routinely lock horns.
Just in the past year, much has changed in terms of the sport’s most elite finishers. UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman stopped arguably the best finisher in the history of the sport, Anderson Silva, twice in 2013. In May, UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw polished off Renan Baro, who had finished three straight opponents in title fights.
While it’s sure to change radically again by next year, here’s a list of the nine best finishers in the UFC right now.
All fighters on hiatus from competition were left off this list, with the exceptions of Vitor Belfort and Anthony Pettis. Belfort was included based on the facts that he fought in November and was scheduled to fight on July 5 at UFC 175 before Chael Sonnen failed a random drug test. Pettis was included because he fought in August and is expected to return this summer.