UFC: Top 10 Knockouts

There is nothing more exciting as a spectator than a highlight reel knockout, and the reaction that it gets is often enormous. All fighters look for it, for both the prestige and the potential of a $50,000 bonus.

With the power that many fighters across the divisions have, it is unsurprising that there are a wealth of options for me to choose from. Nevertheless, these are my top 10 knockouts in UFC history.

10. Thomas Almeida vs Brad Pickett - UFC 189 (flying knee)

Having established a 19-0 record, albeit mostly in lesser organisations, Thomas Almeida was matched against the veteran Brad Pickett in a fight expected to test the youngster. And it certainly did that, with the Londoner flooring the Brazilian in the opening round and forcing him to recover quickly. However, when the bell rang for the second round, it took just 30 seconds for Almeida to land a devastating flying knee to leave his opponent out cold.

9. Paige VanZant vs Bec Rawlings - UFC Fight Night: Maia vs Condit (switch kick)

If there is one thing you don't expect from female fighters, it is outlandish knockouts, with the majority of fights either going the distance or ending by submission. Step forward 22-year old Paige VanZant, who in her ninth professional fight battled Bec Rawlings, who had had a decidedly up and down ride coming off the strawweight season of The Ultimate Fighter.

After an uneventful first round, VanZant landed a picture perfect flying switch kick to the head of Rawlings just fifteen seconds into round two, before finishing her opponent on the ground.

8. Junior dos Santos vs Mark Hunt - UFC 160 (spinning hook kick)

Similarly to the above example, this was a knockout that surprised many. While heavyweights are accustomed to knocking one another into the middle of next week with their fists, there are not all that many that end fights with head kicks - and spinning ones at that!

Nevertheless, in the final minute of a bloody war, JDS used this technique to perfection to stop the notoriously tough Mark Hunt - only the second time in history that the Super Samoan had been stopped by strikes. This propelled Cigano back into the title picture, and a third bout with Cain Velasquez.

7. Rashad Evans vs Chuck Liddell - UFC 88 (punch)

Brutal. That's the best way to describe the knockout of UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell at the hands of Ultimate Fighter winner Rashad Evans. Whether you believe the Iceman should still have been competing at that point or not, it was still painful to watch Liddell crumple under the right hand of Evans, as well as seeing him cradled in the arms of Herb Dean.

Having come into the fight as a considerable underdog, the power and ferocity of the knockout even seemed to surprise Evans, with his celebration a combination of shock and awe at the spectacular finish.

6. Rashad Evans vs Sean Salmon - UFC Fight Night: Evans vs Salmon (head kick)

It seems Rashad Evans doesn't do a normal finish to a fight. Suga finds his way onto this list for a second time with his crunching head kick knockout of decorated collegiate wrestler Sean Salmon in 2007. Having been frustrated throughout the first round, frequently taken down by Salmon, Evans found the perfect, and final, response, catching the 9-1 fighter with what can only be described as a volley to the dome.

Having remained unconscious for several minutes, this KO seemed to have significant consequences for Salmon, who was unable to reclaim his form up to that point. He retired in 2013 with a record of 18 wins and 21 losses.

5. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro Cop - UFC 70 (head kick)

As a specialist of delivering highlight reel head kick knockouts, Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic found himself on the receiving end of a right high kick from Gabriel Gonzaga at Manchester's 'MEN Arena'. With Napau not known for his kickboxing ability, this came as a real shock in what was considered a title eliminator match-up in 2007.

Adding to the brutality was the way that Cro Cop fell. As his eyes rolled back into his head on impact, his knee contorted below his falling body, detaching a ligament in the Croat's knee.

4. Lyoto Machida vs Randy Couture - UFC 129 (jump head kick)

When the movie 'The Karate Kid' came out in 1984, I can guarantee that every martial artist was practicing the perfectly executed crane kick landed by Daniel LaRusso to win his tournament. However, few were ever likely to pull it off in active competition, and once the UFC got started in 1993, it seemed impossible that the move would be successful in the Octagon.

However, no-one told Lyoto Machida. Under considerable pressure having lost his two previous fights, The Dragon applied the technique to perfection, landing on the chin of MMA legend Randy Couture in round two of their 2011 encounter to finish the fight.

3. Dan Henderson vs Michael Bisping - UFC 100 (punch)

The punch that spawned a logo and a rivalry to last seven years. After enduring months of taunts from Michael Bisping while filming the US vs UK series of The Ultimate Fighter, Dan Henderson entered into UFC 100 with a rather large score to settle.

Roared on by a partisan US crowd, Hendo corked up the H-bomb to devastating effect in the second round, leaving Bisping unconscious before he even hit the floor, with the American following it up with a vicious, and perhaps unnecessary, second blow.

2. Edson Barboza vs Terry Etim - UFC 142 (spinning wheel kick)

If this list looked at technique alone, this KO wins hands down. The speed at which the Brazilian's heel hit Etim's chin is terrifying, and the way the British fighter toppled to the floor was almost cartoon-esque.

While a shout out has to go to the recent wheel kick landed by Lando Vannata against John Makdessi, Barboza's remains the standard, and the sheer brutality of the knockout left the Brazilian giving the credit for the move to the man upstairs.

1. Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort - UFC 126 (front kick)

For me, it's a real toss up between this and Barboza's, but the fact that this happened in a highly pressurised title fight, with more than a little animosity between the parties involved, means that this has to take the top spot. Like both the runner up and number four on this list, this was a technique that had never been used to knock someone out in this way, and the speed and ferocity at which it was delivered was simply stunning.

After a cagy first few minutes, Belfort squared up for one second, but that was one second too long. A front kick crashed into the challenger's chin before he could move, putting him on the floor and sending Silva to victory. The KO became synonymous with the UFC over the next few years, being used at the beginning video package of every single pay-per-view, and this only adds to its significance.

Are there any others that should be on the list? What's your favourite KO? Let me know either in the comments or on Twitter @TheWeighInMMA.