With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and the winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Year award for 2025.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for Knockout of the Year.
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Honorable mentions
Diego Lopes def. Jean Silva, UFC Fight Night 259
Diego Lopes got back on track when he halted the momentum of Jean Silva in one of the most thrilling fights of the year.
After losing a vacant featherweight title fight against Alexander Volkanovski in April, Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) capped off the third annual Noche UFC celebration in spectacular fashion when he stopped Silva (16-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) with a spinning elbow TKO finish.
Lopes nearly finished Silva with ground-and-pound in the opening round, but then in the second Silva turned the tide and inflicted some serious damage. Just when he got too eager and aggressive, though, Silva walked into the spinning elbow and went down, allowing Silva to land a few more punches and seal the deal.
Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast, UFC 321
Quillan Salkilld (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) landed an all-time-violent high kick that knocked out Nasrat Haqparast before he hit the canvas. The stoppage came at the 2:30 mark of Round 1.
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Haqparast (18-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) was down for several minutes after the blow landed. When the broadcast came back from commercial, he was still stretched out on his back. Eventually, he sat up and rose to his feet.
Salkilld notched a $50,000 performance bonus with the win. He maintains a perfect promotional record as he emerges as one of the lightweight division’s most highly-touted prospects. His first two UFC wins came against Yanal Ashmouz and Anshul Jubli.
Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) put gold around his waist once again when he knocked out Charles Oliveira in 2:27 and claimed a championship – this time, at lightweight.
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The fight was wild for as long as it lasted. Oliveira (36-11 MMA, 24-11 UFC) was cut in the opening minute. When he tried to drag the fight to the canvas, Topuria reversed his attempt and landed on top.
Oliveira attempted a heel hook, which Topuria wiggled away from. Back on the feet, Topuria cracked him with a straight right hand that instantly snatched Oliveira’s consciousness from him. Two more follow-up shots smashed Oliveira’s face before the fight was waved off.
Lerone Murphy def. Aaron Pico, UFC 319
Lerone Murphy spoiled the octagon debut of Aaron Pico in the most spectacular of ways.
Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC) stayed unbeaten at the expense of newcomer Pico (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC). The featherweight bout was discussed as being a potential title eliminator to face Alexander Volkanovski, and although he didn’t get it, Murphy did everything in his power with a legendary highlight.
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Pico went to his wrestling game, but Murphy did well to work up without much issue. Back in space, Murphy landed a beautiful knee to the body as Pico closed in.A moment later, a bomb of a spinning elbow detonated on the chin of Pico. It was a perfectly-timed strike from Murphy that sent Pico crumbling to the canvas. Murphy touched him with one more punch, but he was already out cold.
The winner
Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green, UFC 313
Mauricio Ruffy took advantage of the biggest spot of his career against King Green and delivered the Knockout of the Year.
Ruffy (12-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) added to the early 2025 octagon success of The Fighting Nerds when he uncorked a vicious spinning wheel kick that flatlined Green (32-17-1 MMA, 13-12-1 MMA) at the 2:16 mark of Round 1 in their lightweight bout.
Green went down in a heap from the moment the strike connected, slumping face-first into the canvas in a frightening manner. Eventually he got to his feet, congratulating his opponent as Ruffy celebrated the 16th knockout in UFC history stemming from a spinning wheel kick.
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The result launched Ruffy into a marquee matchup with Benoit Saint Denis in September, which he lost, but the epic highlight still held up as the most award-worthy after a vote from the MMA Junkie staff.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s 2025 Knockout of the Year: Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green
