Top 5: Head Kick Knockouts in UFC History

It represented a seismic shift in women’s mixed martial arts.

Holly Holm knocked out Ronda Rousey with a second-round head kick and follow-up punches, as she captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 193 main event on Nov. 14, 2015 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The shocking conclusion came 59 seconds into Round 2, with the previously unbeaten Rousey—her reign atop the sport at an end after 1,074 days—supine on the canvas.

The tone was set early. Holm circled away from the champion throughout the first round, countering with accuracy and power. She tipped her spear with a surgical left cross but also mixed in a beautiful stepping standing elbow and a surprising takedown. Rousey returned to her corner after the first five minutes with a bloody lip and reddening around the nose and mouth, a look of bewilderment on her face. Early in the second round, Holm clipped the judoka with another straight left. Rousey briefly turned her back and let down her guard. A kick to the neck came next and put the decorated American judoka on the canvas in a semi-conscious state. Holm pounced with punches and hammerfists, leaving referee Herb Dean no choice but to intervene.

“I visualized if a head kick was there to go for it. We didn’t want to go out of our way searching for it. I didn’t want to force it,” Holm said at the post-fight press conference. “She can come straight forward with your leg in the air and you can be off-balance, so there’s times to use them and times to not. If it was there, I wanted to take it, and it was there.”

During the weeks and months leading into the showdown, many observers questioned whether Holm—a multiple-time world boxing champion—was ready to face a woman who had beaten her three previous opponents in 64 seconds combined.

“This fight was a lot for me mentally,” Holm said. “I couldn’t tell you how many times I cried in the gym leading up to this fight. It’s a lot to take in. Those kinds of fights are the ones that a loss is that devastating but a win is that sweet of a victory. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, but I just really like to take the chance, believe in myself and give myself a chance.”

Nearly a decade later, it ranks as one of the greatest head kick knockouts in UFC history. Here are four more to consider:



Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim
UFC 142
Jan. 14, 2012 | Rio de Janeiro
It was a beautiful and frightening moment. Spinning wheel kicks rarely made appearances at the time, so they were sights to behold. After two rounds and two minutes of a terrific back-and-forth battle, Barboza electrified all who were watching when he ducked down and unloaded the kind of kick that gets Chuck Norris out of his seat. His spinning wheel kick at the HSBC Arena landed so perfectly and in such devastating fashion that Etim never knew what hit him. Once Barboza’s heel connected to the face, the Brit stiffened and plummeted to the canvas, his head slightly turned, his face twisted by tension. Barboza pocketed $130,000 in post-fight performance bonuses for his efforts, and his knockout became a permanent fixture on UFC highlight reels. It remains one of the standards by which all head kick finishes are measured.

Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture
UFC 129
April 30, 2011 | Toronto
Machida channeled his inner Daniel LaRusso when he knocked out the revered hall of famer with a spectacular jumping front kick in the second round of their light heavyweight showcase at the Rogers Centre. Couture, in his final Octagon appearance, bowed out 65 seconds into Round 2. Machida kept the five-time UFC champion at bay with straight lefts, quick combinations and knees and kicks to the body throughout a one-sided first round. The 47-year-old Couture, one of the sport’s most decorated competitors, tried in vain to lure his counterpart into the clinch. Machida shrugged off those attempts without much trouble. In the middle stanza, Machida waited for his opening. His kick found its mark with stunning precision and pace, knocking the dazed Couture backwards. Machida pounced to finish, but referee Yves Lavigne beat him there, saving “The Natural” from further punishment. Afterward, Couture announced his retirement.

Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay
UFC Fight Night 179
Oct. 10, 2020 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Buckley ensured his permanent residence on future Ultimate Fighting Championship highlight reels when he wiped out the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with a spinning back kick to the face in the second round of their middleweight prelim at the Flash Forum. A short-notice replacement for Abu Azaitar, Kasanganay hit the deck 2:03 into Round 2. The two men engaged in a firefight, until Buckley authored an all-time finish. Kasanganay blocked a head kick and caught the Bellator MMA veteran’s foot. However, he held on to it for too long. The resourceful Buckley immediately transitioned to a spinning back kick, his heel connecting to the face with concussive force. Jaws dropped across the MMA universe, as Kasanganay froze and collapsed backward. No follow-up shots were necessary.

Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson
UFC 274
May 7, 2022 | Phoenix
When Chandler detonated a front kick underneath the Californian’s chin in the second round of their action-packed lightweight attraction, time seemed to stand still for all involved. It carried the underpinnings of an IED attack, minus the shrapnel. No one knows the reality of the situation any better than Ferguson, who woke up to a flashlight in his face and a horde of medical officials surrounding him. A chaotic first round gave way to the middle stanza. There, Chandler circled to his right, stepped into a front kick from his right leg and sent it slicing through a defensive gap, the ball of his foot slamming into the underside of the “The Ultimate Fighter 13” winner’s exposed chin. An out-cold Ferguson nosedived into the canvas a mere 17 seconds into Round 2, coming to rest on a prone position. The sheer suddenness of it all had a car-crash quality to it and caught even the most seasoned observers off-guard.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, UFC 126; Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman, UFC 278; Yves Edwards vs. Josh Thomson, UFC 49; Kevin Lee vs. Gregor Gillespie, UFC 244; Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Filipovic, UFC 70; Pete Williams vs. Mark Coleman, UFC 17; Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt, UFC 160; Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm, UFC 239; Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon, UFC Fight Night 8; Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye, UFC 238; Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon, UFC 144; Tim Sylvia vs. Tre Telligman, UFC 54; Stephen Thompson vs. Jake Ellenberger, “The Ultimate Fighter 21” Finale; Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold, UFC on FX 8; Rose Namajunas vs. Weili Zhang, UFC 261; Gerard Gordeau vs. Teila Tuli, UFC 1