5 UFC fighters who are lethal finishers (and 5 who struggle to put their opponents away)
UFC president Dana White always advises his fighters to “never leave things in the hands of the judges,” but in the world of the octagon, finishing an opponent isn’t as always easy as it’s made out to be.
Right now, the UFC is home to some truly ruthless finishers, but it’s also home to some fighters who have a tendency to go the distance more often than not.
Does this make those finishers better fighters than those who struggle to put their foes away? In all honesty, no. Often, fighters who don’t manage to pick up a finish are those near the top of their division. It also doesn’t always affect popularity, although sometimes, it might.
Here are five UFC fighters who are lethal finishers – and five who struggle to put their foes away.
#5. Vicente Luque – UFC welterweight contender
Welterweight contender Vicente Luque might be on somewhat of a slump right now, losing his past two bouts to slip out of title contention, but ‘The Silent Assassin’ remains one of the most dangerous finishers in the UFC.
While the Brazilian lives up to his nickname, never talking trash and rarely even speaking to the media, in the octagon, Luque is simply deadly in all areas.
Since his arrival in the octagon in 2015 following his stint on TUF 21, Luque has picked up a total of 14 victories, with just one of them going the distance – his split decision win over Mike Perry in their brawl in the summer of 2019.
More to the point, ‘The Silent Assassin’ does not care whether a fight remains standing or hits the ground. Of his 13 finishes, five have come via submission while eight have come via KO or TKO.
Every Vicente Luque finish in the UFC
[THREAD] https://t.co/hNMCgIj9kb
Given his penchant for putting foes away before the final buzzer, it’s hardly surprising that the Brazilian has become a favorite with the promotion’s brass, too. No fewer than eight of his fights have seen him receive bonus awards, making him a grand total of $400k richer over his tenure in the octagon.
#4. Jiri Prochazka – UFC light heavyweight champion
Current UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka might have only had three bouts inside the octagon thus far, but it’s clear already that the native of the Czech Republic is an incredibly dangerous finisher.
Anyone who checked his record prior to his arrival in the promotion could’ve guessed that this would be the case. Of his 26 wins before that point, just one had seen him go the distance, with 23 of them ending in knockout or TKO.
However, it probably would’ve been fair to question whether ‘Denisa’ would be able to keep up that kind of form against stiffer competition. Thus far, at least, he’s passed that test with flying colours.
After knocking out Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes to earn a title shot, Prochazka captured his title by submitting Glover Teixeira in June. His win over Teixeira was remarkable for a number of reasons, as the Brazilian had never been submitted previously, and the victory came with just 28 seconds remaining in the final round of their thrilling bout.
#UFC275PROCHAZKA SUBMITS TEIXEIRA TO WIN THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE 🏆 #UFC275 https://t.co/YwrwkxBuoh
Whether Prochazka’s title reign goes on for a lengthy time remains to be seen, but it’s highly likely that we’ll see the Czech native finish at least a few more opponents during his time in the octagon.
#3. Francis Ngannou – UFC heavyweight champion
Given that he arguably hits harder than any fighter to have ever stepped into the octagon, it should hardly come as a surprise to see current UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou on this list.
Put simply, ‘The Predator’ has a list of knockout victims that basically puts any other fighter in the history of his division in the shade.
Debuting in the octagon back in 2015 with a KO of Luis Henrique, Ngannou has gone onto stop no fewer than 10 more opponents in the years that have followed. In fact, of his 11 octagon victories, just one, his most recent title defense against Ciryl Gane, has gone the distance.
More importantly, he’s dispatched a total of eight opponents in the first round, including three former heavyweight champions in Andrei Arlovski, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
WOW!
@Francis_Ngannou gets it done in Arizona! #UFCPhoenix https://t.co/xGF4ziuAZA
Just like the Ivan Drago character in Rocky IV, whatever Ngannou hits, he tends to destroy, meaning that he’s definitely one of the most lethal finishers competing in the octagon today.
#2. Marlon Vera – UFC bantamweight contender
Marlon Vera is one of the UFC bantamweight division’s fastest rising stars. After his recent win over Dominick Cruz, there’s even a chance that the native of Ecuador could end up with a title shot in the near future.
CHITO VERA JUST KNOCKED OUT DOM CRUZ WITH A NASTY HEAD KICK #UFCSanDiego https://t.co/P6YS1RP15P
Even if he doesn’t, though, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a staple of the promotion for years to come, as he’s one of the most lethal finishers we’ve seen inside the octagon in recent years.
Like the best finishers, ‘Chito’ is adept at both submitting and knocking his opponents out. Thus far, he’s scored seven wins via knockout and five via submission, giving him a total of 11 finishes during his tenure with the promotion.
More importantly, when he does finish an opponent, it tends to be in devastating and memorable fashion. His head-kick knockout of Cruz was one of the most violent finishes of 2022 and his front-kick knockout of Frankie Edgar instantly went viral when still photos of Edgar’s mangled face emerged.
Essentially, Vera’s killer instinct is second to none in the bantamweight division right now, making him a must-see attraction every time he fights.
#1. Charles Oliveira – former UFC lightweight champion
Perhaps the most lethal finisher currently operating in the UFC is former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. When it comes to the Brazilian, the numbers speak for themselves.
‘Do Bronx’ has finished off 19 of his bouts inside the octagon, more than any other fighter in the promotion’s history. 16 of those finishes have come via tapout, putting him ahead of the likes of Royce Gracie and Demian Maia as the most prolific submission artist to ever step into the octagon, too.
All of this would be impressive even if Oliveira were dispatching lower-level foes, but remarkably, he’s been just as proficient at taking out highly ranked opponents as he was in crushing lesser ones.
In his last three bouts, we’ve seen him take out three of the world’s most dangerous lightweights in Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. He knocked out Chandler, submitted Poirier, and basically did both to Gaethje, dropping ‘The Highlight’ before choking him out.
#UFC274OLIVEIRA SUBMITS GAETHJE IN THE FIRST ROUND 😨 #UFC274 https://t.co/2biMysZ8in
Basically, Oliveira has a killer instinct like no other, and given the fact that he’s still just 32 years old, we could be seeing him finish foes in the octagon for many years to come.
On the other hand, while the following five fighters are all excellent in their own right – some even holding UFC titles – it’s safe to say that when it comes to finishing their foes, they’re not quite as devastating as some of their peers.
#5. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion
Okay, so it’d be unfair to say that Israel Adesanya was never a great finisher inside the octagon. After all, the reigning UFC middleweight champion has scored some tremendous knockouts in his time, with his complete dissection of Derek Brunson and his knockouts of Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa being outstanding.
However, it might surprise fans of ‘The Last Stylebender’ to learn that outside of those three wins – and a knockout of the overmatched Rob Wilkinson in his octagon debut – every other one of his 12 victories have come via decision.
What’s the explanation for this? Essentially, Adesanya is a counter-striker, and many of his more recent foes have cottoned onto that fact. That means that they’ve been wary of really pushing the action against him, reducing him to being unable to land his best shots.
Instead, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has been content to pick them apart from the outside en route to a decision, something that hasn’t exactly been earning him many fans as of late.
AND … STILL THE UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMP 🏆
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya defeats Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision #UFC276 https://t.co/ghRBAlC1DU
Regardless, he remains the top 185lber on the planet. As long as he keeps winning, he’ll remain one of the promotion’s top stars regardless.
#4. Dominick Cruz – Former UFC bantamweight champion
While he appears to be coming towards the end of his storied career at this stage, as he fell to Marlon Vera via knockout this past weekend, in his prime, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
However, for all of his sublime skills, ‘The Dominator’ was never the best finisher inside the octagon, even at his very peak.
Of his 24 career victories, just eight of them have come via some kind of stoppage, with six of those finishes coming prior to him joining the WEC and his lone one in that promotion being via doctor’s stoppage.
Since arriving in the UFC, meanwhile, Cruz has finished just one opponent despite picking up a total of seven wins. That stoppage came against Takeya Mizugaki in late 2014, in a fight that appeared to showcase a more angry ‘Dominator’ after he’d spent nearly three years on the shelf.
Dominick Cruz walking out here to Cypress Hill's "How I Could Just Kill A Man."
Last time he walked out to this?
UFC 178.
He knocked out Takeya Mizugaki in 61 seconds that day. #UFC249
For the most part, though, Cruz has always been content to pick his opponents apart using his slick footwork, unorthodox angles and skilled striking. While that approach has meant fewer finishes for him, it’s definitely been effective, as he remains one of the best bantamweights of all time.
#3. Katlyn Chookagian – UFC flyweight contender
A traditional – and largely outdated – knock on women’s MMA was always that female fighters didn’t have as much punching power in comparison to their male counterparts.
That idea has been proven badly wrong over the years by the likes of Amanda Nunes, Jessica Andrade and Weili Zhang. However, one female fighter currently competing in the UFC who does struggle to put her opponents away is Katlyn Chookagian.
‘Blonde Fighter’ is one of the best flyweights on the planet right now, as she boasts an outstanding record of 11-4 and has beaten fighters such as Jennifer Maia and Alexis Davis since arriving in the promotion in 2016.
Katlyn Chookagian defeats Cynthia Calvillo 30-27 across the board. Feels like this division keeps trying to move on without her, and she keeps maintaining her place near the top. Yes, she lost to Valentina and Andrade, but any other 125er is going to have her hands full.
However, not one of her 11 victories has come via stoppage, and in fact, she was only able to finish three of her opponents prior to joining the UFC.
In this case, it’s not that Chookagian doesn’t have any kind of killer instinct, it's more that her point-fighting style simply isn’t adept at finishing opponents, and she doesn’t quite have the striking power to make up for that.
#2. Colby Covington – UFC welterweight contender
One of the most controversial fighters currently competing in the UFC, Colby Covington has embraced a villainous persona to the point where some fans would attempt to talk down his fighting skills altogether.
However, while his position as one of the best welterweights in the world is undeniable – the only fighter to beat him in recent years is current champion Kamaru Usman – it’s also fair to suggest that he’s not the best finisher out there.
‘Chaos’ has won a total of 12 bouts in the octagon since his arrival in the promotion in 2014. While he started off with four finishes in his first five fights, since stepping up in competition, he’s struggled to put his opponents away.
Scorecard data from that fight.
Colby Covington put on a dominant performance against Robbie Lawler one year ago today.
Here's the 🌎 Scorecard data from that fight. https://t.co/fkwy48eHnC
In fact, the only foe that he’s finished since the end of 2016 was Tyron Woodley, who ended up being stopped due to a rib injury suffered in the fifth round.
In Covington’s case, the reason for his lack of finishes seems to be purely down to his punching power. Few fighters in the welterweight division can match his incredible output both standing and on the ground, meaning he’s remarkably successful, but he simply doesn’t possess the kind of one-shot kill power that some of his rivals do.
#1. Leon Edwards – UFC welterweight contender
This weekend will see Leon Edwards challenge for the UFC welterweight title in a rematch with Kamaru Usman, who defeated him back in 2015. If ‘Rocky’ can pull off an unlikely victory, he’d almost definitely go down as one of the best in the division’s history.
However, while the native of Birmingham, England has rounded out his game impressively over the past few years and is riding a fantastic unbeaten run, one area that he doesn’t really shine in is finishing his opponents.
Edwards has beaten a total of 11 foes since joining the promotion back in 2014, but he’s only been able to put three of them away, with his most recent finish coming way back in March 2018 in a fight with the overmatched Peter Sobotta.
At 4:59 of round 3 ..
@Leon_EdwardsMMA! #UFCLondon https://t.co/ePtsRnDV7N
Essentially, it seems that while adding more tools to his overall game has made ‘Rocky’ a far more effective fighter, it’s also meant that he’s been able to grind wins out where he might’ve struggled in the past.
Therefore, in this instance, a lack of finishing ability hasn’t really held him back at all. If anything, his lesser reliance on his striking has allowed him to climb to the top of the division.