5 UFC fighters who only needed a glancing blow to knock out their opponent
In the world of the UFC, there's nothing quite as cool as a really brutal knockout. At times, some of the shots thrown by some of the hardest-hitting fighters look capable of knocking out a rhino.
It's arguable that some of the scariest UFC fighters, though, have the ability to knock their opponents out without even landing cleanly.
Over the years, we've seen a number of glancing blows used to knock out tough fighters, with the shots seeming more like 'death touches' than concussive strikes. Often, these knockouts were hard to even spot on first viewing.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who only needed a glancing blow to knock out their opponent.
#5. Carlos Prates vs. Neil Magny - UFC Fight Night 247
Next weekend's UFC event will see Carlos Prates take on Ian Machado Garry in a key welterweight headliner. If Garry is to win, he'll need to be very wary of Prates' striking power.
'The Nightmare' holds 16 wins via KO or TKO, and everyone was aware of his power when he faced Neil Magny in his last bout in November.
Few fans, however, realised quite how hard he could hit.
Prior to the fight, Magny had been knocked out just three times in a 41-bout career. Despite that, it was painfully clear from the early going that he was in trouble, as Prates knocked him around the octagon with his strikes, dropping him with a right at one point.
Magny got up, but it didn't take 'The Nightmare' long to finish him off for good. The shot that landed, though, was one of the weirdest knockout blows in UFC history.
On first view, Prates' left hand appeared to have missed Magny altogether, but 'The Haitian Sensation' collapsed face-first and was clearly unconscious.
A replay, though, revealed that the punch appeared to have grazed Magny's left temple, and that was enough to turn his lights out.
It was a truly insane finish, and a stark warning to future opponents of Prates of just how hard the Brazilian could hit, even without landing cleanly.
#4. Francis Ngannou vs. Cain Velasquez - UFC on ESPN 1
It's arguable that Francis Ngannou is the hardest hitter in UFC history.
The former heavyweight champion was responsible for some of the scariest finishes ever seen in the octagon during his five-year run with the promotion.
In his bouts with Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem, his opponents were hit so hard that it was a wonder they weren't decapitated.
Unsurprisingly, then, 'The Predator' packed so much power that even a glancing blow could be enough to end the night of his foes. That's what happened to former heavyweight kingpin Cain Velasquez when the two matched up in 2019.
Velasquez hadn't fought for nearly three years prior to the bout, and he was looking to prove that he could still be relevant to a division that'd seemingly moved on without him.
It didn't take Ngannou long to prove him wrong, though. In the opening seconds of the bout, Velasquez looked for a takedown, but 'The Predator' defended. In the scramble that followed, Velasquez collapsed to the ground, forcing the referee to step in.
After the fight, the explanation given initially by the commentators was that Velasquez had blown out his knee in the takedown attempt. However, a replay showed that wasn't the case.
Instead, Ngannou had caught him leaning down with a short, glancing right hand that knocked the former champ silly. The shot happened so quickly that it was easy to miss on first viewing.
It was Ngannou's most significant win to that point of his UFC career, and without hitting Velasquez cleanly, it was a dramatic display of his deadly power.
#3. Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir - UFC Fight Night 85
Renowned as the 'King of the Walk-Off' thanks to his ability to know when he'd knocked his opponents out even before the ref could step in, Mark Hunt quickly became a cult hero during his UFC tenure.
'The Super Samoan' was responsible for some incredible knockouts during that period, dispatching the likes of Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, and Antonio Silva.
However, it was his 2016 knockout of former heavyweight champ Frank Mir that demonstrated his scary power. The shot he used to finish off the grappling ace didn't even seem to land cleanly.
The punch in question was a right hand that appeared to just about miss its target, instead glancing off the back of Mir's left ear.
Unfortunately for the former champ, it was still enough to have a devastating effect. Mir collapsed to his back, and before the official could step in, Hunt waved off the fight himself and walked away.
It was yet another example of Hunt's ridiculous striking skills, and it unsurprisingly earned him a $50k bonus.
#2. Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Andrei Arlovski - UFC 244
While Jairzinho Rozenstruik never quite reached the top of the UFC's heavyweight division, 'Bigi Boy' did score several highlight-reel knockouts during his stay with the promotion.
His finish of Alistair Overeem, for instance, was vicious, basically tearing the Dutchman's lip in half. Allen Crowder, meanwhile, basically ran right into a ramrod left hand from the Surinamese fighter.
Rozenstruik's most unique finish, though, came against UFC legend Andrei Arlovski in late 2019.
The fight was only 30 seconds in when Arlovski stepped forward to throw a combination. Rozenstruik slid back to avoid it and threw a left hand that seemed to move in slow motion, barely touching the side of Arlovski's head.
That was all he needed. 'The Pitbull' fell face-first, and 'Bigi Boy' didn't even need to follow up, as it was clear that the veteran was done.
In this instance, it wasn't even like Arlovski ran into the shot, as it came from the side. It was more a demonstration of a perfectly-placed punch to the temple that didn't even need to land cleanly or with too much brute force.
Arguably, it was the closest thing we've seen in the octagon to a Hollywood-style 'death touch'.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier - UFC 178
One of the most dangerous strikers in UFC history, at his peak, Conor McGregor carried power that was simply unusual for a smaller fighter.
'The Notorious' tended to credit his timing, speed, and accuracy for the effectiveness of his punches, but in reality, his left hand was a coffin-nail shot that could take out any foe.
While that left hand landed cleanly to take out Chad Mendes, Eddie Alvarez, and Jose Aldo in scary fashion, though, the best example of his power was his first bout with Dustin Poirier.
At the time, McGregor had never fought an opponent on the level of 'The Diamond', with many observers questioning his ability at the top level.
'The Notorious' needed less than a minute to answer his critics, though. After some feeling-out exchanges, McGregor threw a quick left hand that seemingly missed its target.
That wasn't the case, though. Poirier fell face-first, and 'The Notorious' quickly finished him with some hammer fists.
A replay was able to show precisely what happened. Somehow, it looked like Poirier had ducked the punch, only for McGregor's left wrist to graze his temple, and that alone was enough to finish him off.
Given Poirier had always shown a strong chin before this - and has done in the years that have followed, too - it was a scary finish, and a warning to every other fighter of the power possessed by McGregor.