Every UFC Knockout That Happened in 10 Seconds or Less

For most UFC fans, the knockout remains the most satisfying way for a fight to end. A lightning-quick knockout can be especially satisfying.

How about we take a quick look back at the fastest knockouts in UFC history?

On eight occasions, fights have ended in 10 seconds or less, dating way back to the UFC's early tournament days. Some of the knockouts were preludes to successful MMA careers. Some were silly flukes.

So, who is in this illustrious crew? Who scored the fastest knockouts in the promotion's history? How the heck did they pull it off?

Find out right here!

Date: February 16, 1996
Event: UFC 8
Fight Length: Eight Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

Don Frye entered UFC 8 with a resume that included an impressive amateur wrestling career, a black belt in judo, some boxing training and the best mustache in the Western Hemisphere. The 410-pound Thomas Ramirez, meanwhile, had seen every episode of Kung Fu starring David Carradine and was a very safe driver. It was an on-paper mismatch and certainly lived up to it in the cage.

Frye clipped Ramirez with a right hand as soon as he got within range, identified he was hurt and went in for the kill. A young, beardless John McCarthy would separate them almost immediately after Ramirez hit the mat.

Lasting Impact

The fight was Frye's MMA debut. He defeated Sam Adkins and Gary Goodridge later that day to win the UFC 8 tournament in just three minutes and 10 seconds of fighting time. Frye went on to have a celebrated career defined by his fight with Yoshihiro Takayama.

Date: July 13, 2002
Event: UFC 38
Fight Length: 10 Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

British kickboxer Mark Weir went full-blown Bronson Arroyo when he threw out a hook kick and followed it with a jab. The punch was perfectly timed and landed right to the teeth, sending Eugene Jackson to the mat. Weir finished off Jackson with punches shortly thereafter.

Lasting Impact

Weir, by a large margin, is the least successful fighter on this list. The knockout came in his UFC debut, and he was cut from the promotion less than a year later after dropping back-to-back fights to Phillip Miller and Dave Loiseau. From there, he largely served as a token UFC veteran on random regional cards in England with the occasional foray back to North America. He is semi-retired at this point and sits on a pedestrian 21-18-1 record largely buoyed by his early success.

Date: January 16, 2006
Event: UFC Fight Night 3
Fight Length: Six Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

Jonathan Goulet and his cotton-candy hair pressed forward as soon as the bell sounded and threw a sloppy left hook. Duane Ludwig, a formidable counterpuncher, did his thing and caught him flush on the chin, putting him on all fours. Referee Mario Yamasaki immediately stepped between them, and Goulet quickly shook his head to signal that he thought the decision was premature—which it kind of was.

Lasting Impact

An error by the Nevada State Athletic Commission's timekeeper left Ludwig's spot in UFC history in limbo for several years and became a point of contention between UFC President Dana White and NSAC Director Keith Kizer. Officially, this fight is marked down as having lasted 11 seconds, though you can just click on the replay and count it yourself—no way the fight is 11 seconds long. 

Right or wrong, White himself would go on to declare Ludwig the man to beat Don Frye's record, announcing that, in his book, the fight lasted just six seconds. Officially, the record is held by three different guys who scored seven-second knockouts. (More on them later.)

Date: September 19, 2007
Event: UFC Fight Night 11
Fight Length: Nine Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

After stalking some guy—Joey something—for a few seconds, Gray Maynard leaped into a lead left hook that landed on his opponent's chin. The other guy was on his back instantaneously, and one more big right would render him completely unconscious. 

Lasting Impact

The big knockout helped everyone forget about Maynard's self-inflicted KO in his UFC debut. (For those who don't remember, he face-planted while slamming Rob Emerson to the mat, rendering himself unconscious and Emerson unable to continue with busted ribs.) It was his first UFC win, and it remains his most recent knockout to this day. The other guy, meanwhile, would wash out of the UFC after losing to a comparably forgettable fighter whose name escapes me at this moment (and most other moments too).

Date: April 2, 2008
Event: UFC Fight Night 13
Fight Length: Eight Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

Remember when Jack Slack talked about how, contrary to what MMA boxing coaches say, a lazy jab really isn't a safe technique? A great example is James "Sandman" Irvin's knockout of Houston Alexander. Alexander threw out a half-jab, half-feint to set up a right hand. Irvin, while that semi-punch was still out there, launched into a Superman punch that landed hard and followed it up on the ground until Alexander went limp.

Lasting Impact

Irvin built up a strong reputation as a power puncher as the WEC heavyweight champion and brought it with him to the UFC...but then lost it immediately after this bout. He proceeded to go on a three-fight skid that got him booted from the UFC and started down the path of the hard-juicing heavyweight journeyman that he walked until seemingly retiring in 2012.

Date: August 29, 2009
Event: UFC 102
Fight Length: Seven Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

Todd Duffee certainly looked the part of a beastly heavyweight, with his hulking frame that was so big that he began TRT use at age 24 for totally legitimate reasons. He punched like one too, landing a stiff jab to Tim Hague's teeth in the first few seconds of his UFC debut. Duffee would climb on top of his wounded foe and land punches until Hague went limp.

Lasting Impact

Duffee instantly became the hottest commodity in the heavyweight division but lost a shocker to Mike Russow at UFC 114 and was mysteriously cut afterward. He would take one fight in Dream, getting fed to Alistair Overeem, and would then kick off the chapter that has become the story of his career: injuries eating up years at a time. 

Date: December 10, 2011
Event: UFC 140
Fight Length: Seven Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

Mark Hominick, coming off a loss to Jose Aldo and still mourning the loss of one of his coaches, Shawn Tompkins, wanted a win—a big win. He figured that the best way to do that was trying to sucker-punch his opponent, "The Korean Zombie" Chan-Sung Jung, off the glove touch. He whiffed badly and ate a hard right that got him knocked out in embarrassing fashion.

Lasting Impact

For Chan-Sung Jung, it was a win that transformed him from fan favorite to legitimate title contender. He would go on to headline a Fuel TV card alongside Dustin Poirier, which would, in turn, set him up for a title shot against Jose Aldo.

For Hominick, a pioneer among North American featherweights, it signaled the beginning of the end. He would lose twice more, to Pablo Garza and Eddie Yagin, before hanging up his gloves.

Date: July 21, 2012
Event: UFC 149
Fight Length: Seven Seconds

How'd That Happen?!

Ryan Jimmo closed the distance before Perosh could even get his back off the cage. He landed one big overhand right that knocked the Aussie out cold, and the ref immediately waved it off. Simple, right?

Lasting Impact

A seven-second knockout is always a shock. A seven-second knockout by Ryan Jimmo, though? Jimmo had developed a reputation as one of MMA's most notorious decision-focused fighters in the Canadian MFC promotion, where he beat a wide variety of fighters in a small variety of ways: He racked up wins consistently by clinching opponents to the ropes again and again.

He has gone 3-2 in the UFC thus far and most recently knocked out Sean O'Connell. He will next face Strikeforce staple Ovince St. Preux at UFC 174.