Strangest Knockouts in UFC History

4. Yair Rodriguez vs Chan Sung Jung

Ok, so there isn’t anything particularly strange about an elbow knockout. Although infrequent, they do happen. It’s the manner in which this knockout happened which made it so breathtaking.

On his way to losing his second straight fight, Yair Rodriguez invited his opponent on the night, Chan Sung Jung, to throw down one last time. The two men had put on an instant classic, with just shy of 600 strikes thrown, it was time to provide for the Denver fans.

Chan Sung Jung was seconds away from winning the bout, which made the finish more brutal. Zombie rushed forward and in a flash, Rodriguez ducked under a shot and in the last second of the 25 minute fight, landed a no-look back elbow, knocking Jung out instantly. A classic, a ‘blink and you miss it’ moment and worthy of a place in our strangest knockouts in UFC history!

3. Jorge Masvidal vs Ben Askren

Strange or shocking? You be the judge. With that being said, what a knockout this was. Type ‘strange’ into Google and you’ll get a definition that includes the words ‘unusual or surprising’, and this knockout was certainly that.

Ben Askren was a dominant ONE Championship welterweight champion and entered the UFC with a ton of hype. In his debut, despite difficult moments, he finished Robbie Lawler in the first round. Then came Gamebread, Jorge Masvidal. The Miami native was coming off the back of a huge comeback victory over Darren Till and due to the starpower of both men, this fight featured just before the two title fights on the main card.

The two men had an entertaining build-up, going at each other at every opportunity given; however, what played out shocked everyone… apart from Team Masvidal.

Standing in what is now an ominous stance, Masvidal began his run up at Askren. He ran, full speed and landed the sweetest flying knee in UFC history, instantly knocking out Askren in the process. At just 0:05 seconds into the fight, it was all over. The quickest knockout in UFC history and certainly one of the most surprising.

2. Jacob Malkoun vs Andre Petroski

Perhaps a forgotten knockout, however, that doesn’t take away from how odd it was, which is why it is sat at #2 on our list for the strangest knockouts in UFC history. Buried on the prelims, Jacob Malkoun took on Andre Petroski at middleweight.

The strange knockout came in the second round, and it wasn’t so much the finish itself, but rather the knockdown beforehand. Petroski looked to land a single-leg takedown, to which Malkoun defended using the limp leg technique. It appeared to be a standard incident which happens multiple times on a fight night card. What happened, however, saw Petroski react like he’s been hit flush on the jaw.

He appeared to freeze, fall to the floor and shell up. Malkoun then landed a soccer kick to the body and two follow-up hammer fists to finish things off.

No one quite knew what happened during the sequence; however, Petroski claims that the knockout was a result of Malkoun’s heel hitting his throat. A nasty one for sure.

1. Shane Burgos vs Edson Barboza

This one is rightfully atop our list of the strangest knockouts in UFC history. Ahead of the fight, fans knew that this one would provide violence. Both men love to stand and bang, and Edson Barboza in particular has some of the most viral knockouts in UFC history.

The third round saw two men who had put on a striking battle that entertained those in attendance; however, it was the finish that really confused people. The Brazilian seemed to land a standard 1-2 combination. Shane Burgos appeared to wear it well as he continued to stay in his fighting stance, on his toes and still looking like he was in the fight. What happened next, however, confused everyone.

Burgos stepped backwards, appearing to simply maintain distance, however, didn’t stop moving backwards. From the middle of the octagon, Burgos stumbled backwards into the fence. The follow-up shots from Barboza weren’t needed; Burgos was out of it. It was truly the strangest knockout in UFC history and one we likely won’t see again.