UFC/MMA best ‘Knockouts of the Year’ 2024 - Top 5 List

Recapping the top athletes responsible for some of the most exciting and legacy-building moments of the years.

Andrew Richardson is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Calif., providing MMAmania.com (and its readers) with expert technical fighter breakdowns, insight and analysis you can't get anywhere else.

Of these recap categories, knockout and submission of the year feel the most subjective. It’s hard to argue anyone aside from Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira as 2024’s premier fighter, for example, but how does one weigh a perfect head kick vs. a picturesque overhand? How strongly do we consider circumstance and main event stature, because there were plenty of regional KOs around the globe more absurd than anything that happened in the Octagon this year. Lastly, does a fighter score bonus points for putting their opposition into a coma? It’s all up for debate, and I’ll admit a preference for style above all.

Let’s checkout 2024’s “Knockouts of the Year.”

5. Rafael Alves vs. James Vick

I wanted to sneak in at least one non-UFC finish onto the list, and this was a clear choice. These two UFC veterans met under very different circumstances in their Karate Combat collision. Alves was recently released by the UFC amidst mild controversy, as a tough schedule booted the very exciting striker after just a few fun fights. Vick, conversely, hadn’t been on the UFC roster since 2019 and was riding a bad losing streak.

It didn’t take long for Alves to land one of the cleanest jumping switch kicks of all time to produce the walk-off KO. Vick has a habit of getting stopped dramatically, and this one really stands out above the rest.

4. Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Realistically, two of the top five knockouts on this list should belong to Ilia Topuria.

What’s better, the Holloway KO or Volkanovski KO? Circumstantially, being the first man to stop Max Holloway is the greater achievement, particularly since Volkanovski had been head kicked just a few months prior by Islam Makhachev. At the same time, Topuria’s finish over “The Great” was much cleaner, a classic “El Matador” combo along the fence that completely shut off the lights. You can’t go wrong with either choice, but for me, Topuria realizing his potential as he walked off from an unmoving legend is the slightly better moment.

3. Carlos Prates vs. Charles Radtke

Carlos Prates had to be on this list. Another excellent choice for “Breakout Fighter of the Year” — a category we are not doing — Prates scored four vicious knockout wins, and each one was quite cool!

I landed on Radtke for a couple reasons. While it may not be the most high-profile of the victories, this column absolutely needed to have a body shot stoppage. Secondly, the finish was so unique. How often have we seen a fighter outright dominate another athlete’s hand with wrist control then immediately finish them with a single knee to the gut?

The KO sequence demonstrated Prates was a higher level of striker than the vast majority of men who ever competed in the Octagon. His next two wins proved further evidence, and it’s hard not to be excited about the Brazilian’s 2025 return.

2. Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola

UFC Paris was Fares Ziam’s coming out party. At 27 years of age, “Smile Killer” is just now coming into his own as a true Lightweight contender. That’s quite an accomplishment since he’s been on the UFC roster since 2019, as we’ve seen the young talent struggle a bit to really put it all together at times.

No longer.

Ziam styled on Frevola. He took the wrestler down, picked him apart, and controlled almost every exchange of the fight. Frevola continued to push in the face of punishment, but then the end result of his aggression was one of the most perfect high-angled knees to the jawline I’ve ever seen (a la Alistair Overeem).

The knee-to-chin connection sounded like a shotgun blast. The only sound louder was the absolute explosion of the Parisian crowd, which combined for a truly jaw-dropping finish — Ziam’s first stoppage win inside the Octagon!

1. Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje

How could anyone else but the BMF hold down the top spot?

I’ve seen Holloway vs. Gaethje on a few “Best Fights” lists, and I’ve never quite understood that appraisal, because the bout was remarkably one-sided. Holloway has handed out many boxing lessons over the years, but this felt like one of his most definitive showcases yet. The Hawaiian walked Gaethje into so many shots on the strength of his range control, feints, and movement, leaving “The Highlight” swinging at air for much of five rounds. He also shattered Gaethje’s nose with a spinning kick in round one, which was awesome!

It was a shutout win, but Holloway decided to give Gaethje one final chance in the closing seconds with his signature point down and trade maneuver. Gaethje obliged — did he even have a choice? — and ate the mother of all overhands right across his jaw and Holloway first attacked the body.

A legendary cap to a legendary performance on the sport’s grandest stage. What more could you ask for in a KO of the year?

Honorable Mentions

• Pereira vs. Prochazka, Hill, AND Rountree
• Poirier vs. Saint Denis
• Oliveira vs. Sopaj
• Magomedov vs. Petrosyan
• Blaydes vs. Almeida

Best Submissions 2024 | Best KOs 2024 | Best Fights 2024 | Best Fighters 2024 | Best Events 2024