While some members of the website have chosen their award winners for 2013, I’m going to rank some of the top moments from the past year. Knockouts are considered to be the most exciting moment for most fans and analysts. It can occur in a blink of an eye that could very well catch you off guard. This past year produced so many memorable knockouts compared to 2012, which was mostly a dull year for the UFC’s standards.

The top ten knockouts of the year

It took a few days for me to determine, where to place certain knockouts based on the technique and power of the knockout. I’m going to rank the top ten knockouts of the past year followed by the top submissions of the year later in the week. Then next week, I’ll finish it all up with the top fights of the year.

Lyoto Machida’s head kick on Mark Munoz and Renan Barao’s spinning back kick just missed the cut. Both knockouts would have made it on a top ten list in any normal year for MMA. This was just an extraordinary year for fights and knockouts.

10. UFC on Fox 9: Flyweight Title- Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez

This was the fight that sealed Demetrious Johnson’s fate as fighter of the year for me. It seemed like with every fight passing by, people would find a new way to criticize him. At first, he was just a wrestler then he was someone who has no chin. Then after he got through John Dodson and John Moraga, the new trend was to say that he had pillow fists.

The right hook that he landed on Benavidez proved that his fists are made of cinder blocks. It happened so quickly that it caught everyone off guard. Benavidez had never been finished in his career, which made it even more monumental. Johnson has proven that he is one of the top fighters in the world today. That knockout will be on highlight reels for years to come.

9. UFC on Fuel 8- Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve

I’m not sure what I’m more flabbergasted about. Is it the power of Mark Hunt’s left hook or Stefan Struve’s terrible game plan? Why would you ever stand in front of Hunt? If Struve had kept moving, it would have made Hunt tire out even more. If there were an award for worst game plan of the year, Struve would win by a landslide.

You can’t take away anything from Hunt’s knockout though. It broke Struve’s jaw and it was the start of a memorable year for him. As the fight wore on, he continued to land more shots before going back to his signature left hook. The left hook always proves to be effective for him and it gave him well-deserved national exposure.

8. UFC 162: Middleweight Title- Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva

At first, I was considering in keeping the knockout off the list. It wasn’t very impressive in terms of how it happened. Eventually it had to be on the list, based on the circumstances and how we saw the greatest fighter of all time crumble. It was a simple one-two combination that caught Anderson Silva. What impresses me about Weidman the most is how aggressive he is. He was confident and didn’t shy away like Silva’s past victims.

The reason why it’s low is mainly because of how it occurred. Silva was clearly not taking the fight seriously and the knockout wasn’t anything spectacular. There are simply better knockouts that make you want to rewind that moment. You see Weidman’s knockout now and it makes you shrug saying what’s next. It still deserves a place on the list, due to how monumental it was.

7. UFC 160- Junior Dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt

One of the best heavyweight fights of all time was finished by an incredible knockout. While he didn’t get all of the spinning heel kick, there are two things you have to consider in what Junior Dos Santos did. He is a 250-pound heavyweight that was able to do that. Then you realize he did against one of the toughest fighters in history in Mark Hunt.

There was only one minute left in the fight and Dos Santos was in control. You would think he would play it safe and go for a takedown, similar to what he did against Shane Carwin. Instead he goes for a spinning heel kick, which is so risky against someone as dangerous as Hunt. Nobody saw it coming and it showed that Dos Santos could be unpredictable, after people have criticized him in the past for being too predictable with his striking.

6. UFC on Fox 7- Josh Thomson vs. Nate Diaz

Josh Thomson hasn’t knocked out anyone since 2008. Most people thought the only possibility of him beating Nate Diaz was by out-pointing him on strikes and utilizing his speed advantage. While he used his speed to frustrate Diaz, he finished him in convincing fashion. I’ve never seen Diaz bleed that much in a fight, after he was dominated in the first round.

Then Thomson landed three head kicks, which is rare for any fighter to pull off today. His timing was tremendous, while frustrating Diaz in not engaging in any brawls. That lead to the devastating head kicks, including the last one where Diaz ducked right into it. Diaz was finished for the first time in his career. I’m still amazed at how Thomson dismantled him in such a dominant fashion.

5. UFC Fight Night 29- Don Hyun Kim vs. Erick Silva

If you want to reward knockouts that came literally out of nowhere, this would be my pick for 2013. After the first round where Don Hyun Kim relied on his grappling to control the fight, he got himself into trouble. Erick Silva is one of the top prospects in the UFC today, based on how explosive and well rounded he has proven himself to be. You’ll never see him in a boring fight, even when he was matched up against Jon Fitch.

Silva was frequently landing combinations, before hitting Hyun Kim with a devastating flying knee. Hyun Kim was wobbly and didn’t seem like he was going to get out of the round. His pace had considerably gone down, while Silva kept pouring the pressure on. That came back to haunt Silva, as a left hook cracked him right on the jaw. You can see the look on Joe Silva’s face to show how unbelievable that comeback was. Hyun Kim got up slowly after the knockout showing the effects of the beating he took in the second round.

4. UFC 156- Antonio Silva vs. Alistair Overeem

This fight was made for Alistair Overeem to regain his title shot against Cain Velasquez. Everyone expected him to dominate and show that he’s ready to become the most dominant heavyweight champion of all time like some fans made him out to be. Similar to Anderson Silva, his lack of respect cost him. After being controlled for the first two rounds, Antonio Silva started to find openings and landed some nice punches.

Eventually in the third round, he noticed that Overeem was fatigued and made him suffer for the lack of respect he received. Silva hit him with a few combinations directed towards his right ear, which affected Overeem’s equilibrium. Then he followed up with a few clean uppercuts to finish him off. Overeem dramatically fell to the mat, which led to the infamous moment of Herb Dean having to hold Silva back. A great display of striking and determination led to one of the biggest upsets in 2013.

3. UFC Fight Night 26- Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem

This fight was made for Alistair Overeem to get his momentum back. Besides Nick Diaz and Ronda Rousey, he was the most hyped up fighter to come from Strikeforce.  In the first two minutes, we saw Overeem look like his old self. He got Travis Browne against the cage and started manhandling him. He utilized his devastating knee strikes to the body followed by non-stop punches. It was reminiscent of his dominant victory over Brett Rogers. The difference was that he couldn’t finish the job.

Instead Browne overcame the onslaught, while surprisingly showing no ill effects of the beating he took. Overeem was fatigued and wasn’t really going for the attack. Eventually Browne caught him with a front kick that went right though his stance. It’s rare for any fighter to land a front kick to the face, yet Overeem couldn’t react to it quick enough to dodge the kick. After a few hammer fists to make sure he was out, Browne put himself on the map as a heavyweight to look out for. He showed how resilient he was and how excellent his timing is.

2. UFC Fight Night 33- Shogun Rua vs. James Te Huna

The way James Te Huna dropped still freightens me. I haven’t seen a fighter fall that dramatically, since Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping. He was careless when you look back at the knockout. Te Huna is a very good striker, which is why I was shocked to see him be that careless. He threw a wild uppercut that missed Shogun by a mile and left his entire face wide open.

Shogun was in perfect position to land a left hook that landed right on Te Huna’s chin. It was a well-executed hook that had people freaking out. People have regained some confidence in Shogun now, which he clearly needed following multiple one-sided defeats. This was the most brutalizing knockout of the year, which is why I’m putting it so high. You rarely see great timing and power be executed like that anymore, especially in the light heavyweight division.

1. UFC on FX 8- Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold

Let me clarify that I’m completely against Vitor Belfort’s TRT use. I never even considered of choosing him for fighter of the year, due to his TRT use. I’m sure that some of you will still question this pick. What you can’t deny was that the knockout was absolutely spectacular. I’m aware of Edson Barboza doing the exact same kick a year ago knocking out Terry Etm. The difference is that Barboza is 27 years old and weighs around 170 pounds, while Belfort is 36 years old and probably weighed over 200 pounds when the fight began.

There wasn’t much action in the first few minutes, before he landed the spinning heel kick so smoothly. It hit Luke Rockhold right on the left ear, which seems to be the next best area to knock out your opponent besides the chin. He put the finishing touches on with a few punches to cap off another tremendous performance. Obviously TRT is a performance enhancer, but this is list is directed towards knockouts. That is why he earns knockout of the year. It was the most unique knockout of the year that left people talking about it for days.

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