Top 5 MMA knockouts of 2024

Fighters across the UFC, PFL, and beyond treated MMA fans to many knockouts throughout 2024, but - as always - some stood out from the rest.

Here are theScore's top five knockouts of the year.

5. Shara Magomedov def. Armen Petrosyan

Event: UFC 308
Date: Oct. 26

It's not often we see something new in a sport that's been around for 31 years. Shara "Bullet" Magomedov's double spinning backfist, though? Yeah, that was a new one.

4. Fares Ziam def. Matt Frevola

Event: UFC Paris
Date: Sept. 28

This was the perfect example of things escalating quickly in a fight. To the average viewer, Ziam was simply controlling Frevola in the clinch, content to ride out the final minutes of a fight he was dominating. But then, boom, perfectly timed knee to the noggin, and suddenly Frevola was taking a nap on the ground. This was - without hesitation - one of the most shocking, creative, and underrated knockouts of the year.

3. Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway

Event: UFC 308
Date: Oct. 26

Two months after Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to claim the UFC featherweight title, he vowed to also knock out Holloway, another former champ. It sounded like a lofty goal considering Holloway had never been knocked out and had one of the best chins in the sport's history. But, uh, maybe Topuria is a prophet or something, because he did exactly what he promised.

Topuria's speed in the pocket proved to be too much for Holloway when they met for the 145-pound title at UFC 308, with a devastating left hand putting him down for good.

2. Vinicius Oliveira def. Benardo Sopaj

Event: UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev
Date: March 2

Style points, style points, style points. That's what Knockout of the Year is all about, right? Because Oliveira deserves them all. He literally ran across the Octagon, jumped up, and drilled Sopaj in the face with a knee, sending him to the land of wind and ghosts. If that isn't vicious, then nothing is.

1. Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje

Event: UFC 300
Date: April 13

Holloway locked up Knockout of the Year honors eight months ago, and there was nothing anybody could do about it.

His buzzer-beating, last-second finish of Gaethje on the biggest card of the year wasn't just the best knockout of 2024; it was one of the most shocking, legendary, and memorable moments in UFC history.

Dana White called it "the ultimate holy shit moment of all time."

With 10 seconds left in the fight, Holloway was comfortably ahead of Gaethje on the scorecards and could have gotten on his bicycle for a decision win. Instead, he took the riskiest path to victory: Holloway pointed at the ground, welcoming Gaethje to the center of the Octagon, and all hell broke loose. Holloway got the better of the wild exchange, capturing the BMF title and delivering a highlight that'll stand the test of time.