Ouch! Brace yourself for No 1...
Friday 1 January 2016 16:19, UK
It's painful even trying to remember the 10 best knockouts of 2015 in the UFC, but here goes...
Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey both feature on our list (for very different reasons) but there were plenty of other fearsome KOs from a variety of kicks, punches and goodness knows what else.
Here's our top 10 knockouts of 2015...
10. Anthony Johnson KOs Alexander Gustafsson
Wind the clock back to last January as the UFC held its biggest stadium show on European soil, built around Swedish light-heavyweight challenger Gustafsson in Stockholm. Beating Johnson would set up a rematch with champion Jon Jones - but it did not go to plan. The big-punching American landed an overhand right in the first round and Gustafsson was never the same, eventually crumpling under thunderous shots inside two-and-a-half minutes to silence his 30,000 onlooking countrymen.
9. Donald Cerrone KOs John Makdessi
What made this knockout so memorable was Makdessi throwing up the universal 'time out' signal immediately after realising he had broken his jaw. It was a unique way to go out on his shield but, after debating retirement as a result, Makdessi drew plaudits for his honesty to call it a day. Cerrone, for nearly two rounds, had dominated him and the finish came after a sickening head kick connected to the side of Makdessi's face.
8. Mirko Cro Cop KOs Gabriel Gonzaga
Eight years ago Gonzaga used Cro Cop's signature kick against him to register a historic knockout but when they met again this year the finish was equally emphatic. Cro Cop, an MMA legend aged 41 with an eye-watering 45 fights under his belt, has subsequently retired after the righting the wrongs of his heaviest defeat. This knockout came as the Croatian staged a third-round comeback, flooring Gonzaga with an elbow to the dome. More sharp elbows followed on the ground.
7. Joanna Jedrzejczyk KOs Carla Esparza
Esparza won the inaugural women's strawweight title but with that division still taking shape, the jury remained out until the end of 2015 when Poland's Jedrzejczyk made it clear that the belt was hers. Back in March she exposed Esparza as a novice when standing toe-to-toe, picking her apart at will in a whirlwind of kickboxing. Towards the end of the second round with no escape route, Esparza fell down and the championship changed hands.
6. Luke Rockhold KOs Chris Weidman
Middleweight champion Weidman had never been taken off his feet, let alone lost a fight, during his career prior to being dismantled by Rockhold. Quite incredibly, a bizarre refereeing decision forced Rockhold to get the job done twice. He had softened the champion with body shots then out-grappled him to the floor where a barrage of punches seemed to spell the end, but Weidman was spared by the referee's generosity and the end of the third round. In the fourth Rockhold took his foe to the ground and unloaded until the referee stepped in, winning the world title in the process.
5. Conor McGregor KOs Chad Mendes
Could he defeat an American wrestler? The brash Irishman was forced to answer that question with a fortnight's notice in July when Jose Aldo pulled out of their fight citing injury. Mendes stepped up into an interim featherweight title contest and succeeded in holding McGregor to the canvas for much of the first two rounds. But McGregor had sporadically landed enough kicks to the body and, after nine minutes, Mendes was puffing. The finish came as Mendes found himself outclassed in boxing range - and McGregor's left hand put him away.
4. Andrei Arlovski KOs Travis Browne
A wild, heavyweight brawl erupted when friends Arlovski and Browne threw haymakers as if there were no tomorrow. The fight lasted less than five minutes yet swung constantly on a pendulum with both contenders barely recovering from crushing shots. The veteran Arlovski initially appeared to have Browne out for the count but when he stepped in for the kill, the younger man floored him with a punch out of desperation that nearly resulted in a stunning comeback. Arlovski regrouped and a second wind resulted in the thrilling stoppage before he apologised to the beaten Browne.
3. Robbie Lawler KOs Rory MacDonald
One of the bloodiest fights in history turned into a gargantuan battle of wills as Lawler and MacDonald reduced each other into shells of themselves in a back-and-forth thriller for the welterweight championship. The challenger MacDonald's nose was already horribly broken by the third round when a head kick almost won him the belt - Lawler staggered around before nodding to the referee who asked if he could continue. An epic stare-down ensued after the fourth-round bell before Lawler retained his title with a stiff jab to MacDonald's mangled nose. His determination seemed to go forever but his body finally gave up, ending a brutal night at the office.
2. Conor McGregor KOs Jose Aldo
The sensational Irish star delivered on every over-the-top promise he had ever made with a 13-second shellacking of the long-time featherweight champion yet still isn't No 1 on our list! McGregor's long-awaited unification fight against Aldo disappeared in the blink of an eye as he evaded the Brazilian's attack and clattered him with a left hand in the very first exchange.
1. Holly Holm KOs Ronda Rousey
The most jaw-dropping knockout in UFC history, not just in 2015, belongs to Holm who shattered the aura surrounding the previously-undefeated superstar Rousey in a one-sided, six-minute beating. Holm was largely expected to be another faceless, nameless object for Rousey to dismantle on her way to more Hollywood silver screens but the former pro boxer hadn't read the script. She avoided Rousey's trademark judo throws with supreme footwork, picking her apart with straight left hands, before connecting with a vicious head kick that closed the show.
