There were many spectacular knockouts that occurred in every fight promotion on the planet in 2015, but there were a couple that shocked the world.
MMAWeekly.com polled its readers to find out what they thought was the 2015 Knockout of the Year. Two knockout finishes drew 91-percent of the votes between them: Conor McGregor’s 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo, and Holly Holm’s head-kick KO of Ronda Rousey.
McGregor became the first fighter to defeat former featherweight champion Aldo in more than a decade when he put the Brazilian face down on the canvas in the UFC 194 main event on Dec. 12.
McGregor became only the second 145-pound champion in UFC history, but his quick finish of Aldo came in as runner-up, garnering 38-percent of the votes.
The readers voted Holm’s UFC 193 knockout of Rousey the 2015 Knockout of the Year.
Rousey was the first and only UFC women’s bantamweight titleholder until that November night in Melbourne, Australia. Holm dismantled Rousey. She even defended the former Olympic Medalist’s infamous arm bar.
Rousey had looked unbeatable in her previous 12 outings. She had stopped 11 of her first 12 opponents in the first round.
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After losing the first round in her fighting career, Rousey came out in the second frame against Holm confused and desperate. She pressured the former boxing world champion and was briefly knocked down during an exchange. As she stood up, out of position, Holm delivered a head-kick that sent Rousey’s title reign and body crashing down.
Holm is expected to put her title on the line for the first time at UFC 197 on March 5 in Las Vegas against former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate.
