Vitor Belfort leads all UFC fighters with 11 first-round knockouts in his career. Anthony Johnson ranks second with nine, while Michal Oleksiejczuk has eight. Sergey Pavlovich, Francis Ngannou, Andrei Arlovski, Cain Velasquez, Anderson Silva, and Derrick Lewis are tied with seven first-round knockouts each.
Vitor Belfort stands alone atop one of the UFC's most impressive statistical milestones, holding the all-time record with 11 first-round knockouts across his career.
Belfort, nicknamed "The Phenom," compiled that record over a professional career that spans a 26-14-0 mark. The 49-year-old Brazilian, who trains with Kill Cliff FC, is a southpaw standing six feet tall with a 74-inch reach. His path to that record came despite a striking output of 1.59 significant strikes landed per minute, a figure that underscores how efficiently dangerous he was in the opening frame rather than as a high-volume puncher.
Anthony Johnson ranks second on the all-time list with nine first-round knockouts, while Michal Oleksiejczuk sits third with eight. The 31-year-old Polish fighter, known as "Hussar," carries a 22-10-0 record and trains out of Akademia Sportow Walki Wilanow. Also a southpaw at six feet with a 74-inch reach, Oleksiejczuk lands 5.85 significant strikes per minute at 53 percent accuracy, making him one of the more active and precise finishers in the group.
A cluster of seven first-round knockouts ties Sergey Pavlovich, Francis Ngannou, Andrei Arlovski, Anderson Silva, Derrick Lewis, and Cain Velasquez. Velasquez, the 43-year-old former heavyweight champion from the United States, finished his UFC career 14-3-0 fighting out of American Kickboxing Academy. The six-foot-one orthodox wrestler posted an elite 5.13 takedowns per 15 minutes alongside 57 percent striking accuracy, making his seven first-round stoppages notable given that finishing opponents quickly was only one dimension of his game.
Why it matters
- Belfort's margin over Johnson — two knockouts — is a significant gap at the top of an elite list
- Oleksiejczuk's presence in the top three signals an active fighter still capable of climbing the record
- The seven-way tie in the heavyweight and light heavyweight ranks highlights how first-round power has defined those divisions throughout UFC history
