A few of these knockouts ended title reigns; others came from contenders who never wore the belt at all.
1Alex PereiraWon the vacant light heavyweight title by TKO of Jiří Procházka at UFC 295 in 2023 and regained it with an 80-second TKO of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 in 2025.1000pts
2Chuck LiddellUFC light heavyweight champion from 2005 to 2007 who knocked out Randy Couture twice and Tito Ortiz twice.927pts
3Rashad EvansKnocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 in 2008 and won the light heavyweight title by TKO of Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 that December.877pts
4Jan BłachowiczKnocked out Luke Rockhold at UFC 239 in 2019 and Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 in 2020 to win the vacant light heavyweight title.600pts
5Maurício "Shogun" RuaKnocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 97 in 2009 and Lyoto Machida at UFC 113 in 2010 to win the light heavyweight title.600pts
6Lyoto MachidaTook the light heavyweight title by knocking out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 in 2009 and retired Randy Couture with a front kick at UFC 129 in 2011.466pts
7Anthony JohnsonTwo-time light heavyweight title challenger whose KO wins include Alexander Gustafsson in 2015 and a 13-second finish of Glover Teixeira at UFC 202 in 2016.466pts
8Jiří ProcházkaFormer light heavyweight champion who knocked out Dominick Reyes with a spinning back elbow in 2021 and stopped Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320 in 2025.466pts
9Dominick ReyesKnocked out Chris Weidman in 2019 and, after a long skid, stopped Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith in 2024 and Nikita Krylov at UFC 314 in 2025.466pts
10Quinton "Rampage" JacksonWon the UFC light heavyweight title by first-round knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 in 2007.0pts
11Khalil Rountree Jr.Muay Thai-based striker who stopped Chris Daukaus and Anthony Smith in 2023 before challenging Alex Pereira for the title at UFC 307.0pts
12Volkan OezdemirEarned a 2018 title shot after knocking out Misha Cirkunov in 28 seconds at UFC Fight Night 109 and Jimi Manuwa in 42 seconds at UFC 214 in 2017.0pts
Photo credits
- Chuck Liddell — U.S, CC BY 2.0
- Jan Błachowicz — Artur Andrzej, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Maurício "Shogun" Rua — [1], CC BY-SA 2.0
- Lyoto Machida — Marcos Joel Reis, CC BY 2.0
- Anthony Johnson — Ringside cameraman, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Jiří Procházka — Show Jana Krause, CC BY 3.0
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson — Monkinvideos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Khalil Rountree Jr. — Slsinc, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Volkan Oezdemir — MMAnytt, CC BY 3.0
