30 of the best MMA knockouts of all time [UPDATED AUGUST 2023]
By Amy Kaplan
28. Johny Hendricks puts Martin Kampmann to sleep
From UFC 154 – St. Pierre vs. Condit – 2012
Before Johny Hendricks became the UFC welterweight champion, he was putting dudes in their graves on a fight-by-fight basis.
The former Oklahoma State wrestler lived up to his “Bigg Rigg” nickname by hitting like an actual mack truck. Leading into his UFC 154 co-headliner with Danish kickboxing specialist Martin Kampmann, Bigg Rigg had racked up three first-round knockouts in his UFC career. In that time, he scored one of the fastest finishes in UFC history with his knockout of John Fitch in 12 seconds.
It was no surprise that Bigg Rigg was going to try to trade with Kampmann, despite Kampmann’s reach advantage and striking ability. While it might not be the best knockout of Hendricks’ career, it’s certainly the most technically sound.
After shielding a high round kick from Kampmann, Hendricks charged forward with a lead right hook to set up the devastating left hand. He caught Kampmann with the right hook while covering about a foot and a half of distance, and then crunched the front of Kampmann’s soul patch with the giant left hand. Immediately upon impact, Kampmann fell to the canvas like a falling redwood tree. Dan Miragliotta had seen enough after 46 seconds.