30 of the best MMA knockouts of all time [UPDATED AUGUST 2023]
By Amy Kaplan
9. Anderson Silva drops the Phantom Punch on Forrest Griffin
From UFC 101 – 2009
Much like Muhammad Ali did against Sonny Liston in their second fight, Anderson Silva whipped out the famous Phantom Punch, channeling the greatest boxer of all time.
Silva was effectively baiting Griffin, begging him to come forward and hit him. Griffin couldn’t really do much about it, as each strike he threw was eaten or dodged like it was nothing. As Griffin continued to pressure Silva, Silva stepped back and caught Griffin on the chin with a straight right, sending Griffin out of the fight instantly.
Ali pulled off the famous “Phantom Punch” in his title fight with Sonny Liston in May of 1965. While Silva’s strike is obviously different, it’s eerily similar and just as devastating. Silva uses Griffin’s momentum against him and drops him with one clean blow. No ground and pound needed, just pure violence.
Knockouts like these are the reason that Anderson Silva is the best striker in MMA history, and it’s not even that close of a debate. Couple that with his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you get the best mixed martial artist of all time. There is truly no one who can do what Silva did in the Octagon, and it’s a shame that we won't see him fight there again.