2013 was an amazing year as far as MMA action went, and one of the main reasons for that is the number of high-quality knockouts that we all got to witness. I’m not going to choose just one knockout in this article, but instead I will list off a number of highlight-reel KOs that I believe are on the shortlist for Knockout of the Year.
- Vitor Belfort knocks out Michael Bisping via head kick at UFC on FX 7.
- Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva KOs Alistair Overeem via punches at UFC 156.
- Emanuel Newton shocks the world with a spinning back fist KO of King Mo at Bellator 90.
- Ben Saunders lands a flush high kick to finish off Raul Amaya at Bellator 90.
- Saad Awad upsets Will Brooks with a vicious KO at Bellator 91.
- Wanderlei Silva knocks out Brian Stann via punches at UFC on FUEL TV 8.
- Also at UFC on FUEL TV 8, Mark Hunt stops Stefan Struve with brutal punches in an amazing third-round KO win.
- Marlon Moraes shows he’s for real with a head kick KO over Tyson Nam at WSOF 2.
- Doug Marshall smashes Brett Cooper’s head through the mat at Bellator 95.
- Cris Cyborg beats down Fiona Muxlow with one of the most vicious stoppages from strikes of 2013 at Invicta FC 5.
- Conor McGregor makes a tremendous UFC debut with a brutal KO on Marcus Brimage via punches at UFC on FUEL TV 9.
- Josh Thomson TKOs Nate Diaz for the first time in his career with a head kick and punches at UFC on FOX 7.
- Clifford Starks is KOed with a flying knee by Yoel Romero at UFC on FOX 7.
- Vitor Belfort obliterates Luke Rockhold with a spinning heel kick at UFC on FX 8.
- Junior dos Santos KOs Mark Hunt with a brutal spinning hook kick at UFC 160.
- TJ Grant KOs Gray Maynard with punches at UFC 160.
- Chris Weidman defeats Anderson Silva to win the UFC middleweight title with brutal punches at UFC 162.
- Brian Melancon has a UFC debut for the ages with an incredible KO over Seth Baczynski on the UFC 162 preliminary card.
- Robbie Lawler KOs Bobby Voelker with a nasty head kick at UFC on FOX 7.
- Michael Chandler destroys David Rickels in seconds at Bellator 97 with punches.
- Travis Browne ends Alistair Overeem with a front kick at UFC Fight Night 26.
- Brandon Thatch finishes Justin Edwards with an incredible onslaught of violence in his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 26.
- Hyun Gyu Lim crumples Pascal Krauss to the floor with a knee at UFC 164.
- Derrick Mehmen ends Rolles Gracie’s night with a one-punch KO at WSOF 5.
- Douglas Lima knocks out Ben Saunders with a head kick in the main event of Bellator 100.
- Renan Barao finishes Eddie Wineland with a spinning back kick to keep his UFC interim bantamweight title at UFC 165.
- Vinicius Queiroz shocks the world with a stunning KO of Lavar Johnson at Bellator 102.
- Anthony Hamilton upsets Smealinho Rama with a head kick KO at MFC 38.
- Dong Hyun Kim floors Erick Silva with a huge left hand at UFC Fight Night 29.
- Hector Lombard finds new life at 170 with an amazing KO of Nate Marquardt at UFC 166.
- Tim Kennedy picks up his first KO win in years with a leaping punch knockout over Rafael Natal at UFC Fight Night 31.
- Joe Warren collects a KO win via knees over Travis Marx at Bellator 107.
- Dan Henderson is KOed for the first time in his career with an incredible head kick from Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night 32.
- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has a tremendous debut for Bellator with a KO of Joey Beltran at Bellator 108.
- Also at UFC Fight Night 32, Jeremy Stephens ends Rony Jason’s run up the featherweight ladder with a brutal head kick KO.
- Tyron Woodley KOs Josh Koscheck at UFC 167 to move up the UFC welterweight rankings.
- Demetrious Johnson moves up the P4P ranks with a surprising KO of Joseph Benavidez at UFC on FOX 9.
So, what was your 2013 Knockout of the Year in MMA? Leave a comment below or Tweet me with your pick.