5 most memorable knockouts by female UFC fighters

Ronda Rousey (left) and Holly Holm (right) [Image via @espnmma on Twitter]

Back in 2011, in a now-infamous interview with TMZ Sports, UFC president Dana White revealed that he had no intentions of ever letting women compete in his promotion. Oh, how times have changed.

With the emergence of Ronda Rousey in 2012, the UFC finally opened the door for women to compete on the biggest stage. Since then, we've had numerous female champions and stand-out mixed martial artists who've taken the sport by storm.

In 2020, the 'Fight of the Year' award was awarded to the incredible five-round strawweight championship bout between Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Zhang Weili, taking the progress of women's MMA to new heights.

🏆 Fight of the Year - Weili Zhang v Joanna Jedrzejczyk

What a jawdropping fight! @MmaWeili and @JoannaMMA put on the #OpenMatAwards Fight of the Year! https://t.co/GmQ78hehbK

The growth of women's MMA has been incredible to watch. We've witnessed some outstanding bouts between female fighters that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. We've seen some jaw-dropping knockouts as well.

On that note, we thought we'd take a look at the five most memorable knockouts by female fighters in MMA's premier promotion.

Honorable mentions include Amanda Nunes' KO win over Holly Holm, Rose Namajunas' TKO win over Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Irene Aldana's KO win over Ketlen Vieira and Jessica Andrade's KO win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

#5. Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas 1 - UFC 261

Rose Namajunas emerged as the new queen of the women’s strawweight division in 2021. She previously won the title in 2017, but famously struggled with the pressure of being a world champion.

Rose Namajunas continues to tell herself "I'm the best" as she makes her way to the Octagon 💯 #UFC268 https://t.co/xxdot5GGfX

The strawweight belt, unlike the women’s flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight titles, has been constantly changing hands. After winning the title in 2017 and defending it in 2018, Namajunas lost the belt to Jessica Andrade a year later.

China's Zhang Weili defeated Andrade in 2019 and reigned as champion until UFC 261, where she took on Namajunas. Many believed that 'Magnum' would be too powerful for The Ultimate Fighter alum and that the Chinese ace would continue her reign as the strawweight queen.

However, Namajunas produced one of the most memorable moments of 2021 as she caught Weili with a clean head kick in the very first round. 'Thug' Rose finished the fight with a series of ground-and-pound strikes to become a two-time UFC champion.

Does this @RoseNamajunas get your vote for #UFCHonors KO of the Year? 🏆 https://t.co/59lLJyhhek