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 2024.

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

Fares Ziam def. Matt Frevola at UFC Fight Night 243

Fares Ziam scored his first UFC finish in emphatic fashion against Matt Frevola in their lightweight bout at September's UFC Paris event.

Ziam was in firm control throughout the fight, stunning Frevola on multiple occasions. He mixed up his attack with some takedowns, before landing a thunderous knee in the clinch which put Frevola out cold. Frevola was on his back for several minutes, but eventually left the cage on his feet with the help of medical officials.

Ming Shi def. Xiaocan Feng at UFC Fight Night 248

Ming Shi scored an all-time knockout in the strawweight division at UFC Macau in November to win the “Road to UFC” tournament, shutting the lights off on Xiaocan Feng for several minutes.

Shi lined up a beautiful right head kick that connected square to the jaw and led to the highlight finish. Feng was down for several minutes after the knockout, and was taken out of the octagon on a stretcher. Although happy about her victory, Shi said her concern went around the safety of Feng, who eventually fully recovered after being transported to a hospital.

Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway at UFC 308

Ilia Topuria lived up to his promise to become the first to knock out Max Holloway in MMA when he defended his UFC featherweight title for the first time at UFC 308 in October.

Just like Topuria also promised, he pointed to the ground in the middle of the octagon. Then he started to scrap, and by the third round found a home for his punches on Holloway's chin, landing a big overhand then a left hook that spelled the end of a stunning performance.

Vinicius Oliveira def. Bernardo Sopaj at UFC Fight Night 238

Vinicius Oliveira delivered a memorable octagon debut in his bantamweight bout with Bernardo Sopaj at UFC Fight Night 238 in March, landing a knockout that will live on UFC highlight reels for years to come.

After an entertaining contest that was trending heavily in Oliveira’s favor, “Lok Dog” charged at Sopaj with a perfect flying knee that landed clean to the chin. Sopaj immediately folded to the canvas, and Oliveira left with an extra $100,000 after winning both Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night honors.

The winner

Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje at UFC 300

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Max Holloway earned the BMF title and one of the most violent knockouts in UFC history.

In the waning seconds of the anticipated fight at UFC 300 in April, Holloway pointed to the center, swung, and face planted an obliging Justin Gaethje unconscious – with one second left on the clock in Round 5.

Both fighters were perhaps more cautious than anticipated in Round 1. Holloway showed off calculated patience and beautiful point-fighting, while Gaethje returned with some hard boxing of his own.

A pivotal moment occurred at the end of Round 1. As the horn sounded, Holloway landed a jumping back kick. His heel dug into the nose of Gaethje, who held his face as he walked back to his corner. The damage was apparent as the cut man attended to him between rounds.

Things got worse for Gaethje in Round 2. As if being unable to breathe wasn't bad enough, Holloway poked him twice, once in each eye. Referee Marc Goddard called timeout on each foul, but didn't take a point.

In Round 3, Holloway landed some hard shots. Gaethje struggled to find rhythm. The speed advantage was obvious in Holloway's favor.

Things got a little more interesting in Round 4 as the monotony of a Holloway striking showcase was broken. Gaethje landed a right hand that knocked Holloway down. It was the first registered knockdown against Holloway in. his career.

Before Round 5, coach Trevor Whitman tried to motivate his fighter, Gaethje, and called for aggression throughout the final five minutes.

Holloway flipped that script though and stunned Gaethje with a violent, speed-changing combination. Holloway drilled the body with two punches, but Gaethje stayed upright and waved Holloway on.

In the final seconds, Holloway turned back time to his famous swing-for-the-fences moment with Ricardo Lamas from 2016 – only this time with an alternate ending. Holloway knocked Gaethje unconscious with a massive overhand right.

Holloway's finish was unanimously voted as Knockout of the Year by the MMA Junkie staff, and it will go down as one of the greatest moments to ever take place under the UFC banner.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie’s 2024 Knockout of the Year: Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje at UFC 300