30 of the best MMA knockouts of all time [UPDATED AUGUST 2023]
By Amy Kaplan
27. B.J. Penn peppers Sean Sherk
From UFC 84 – 2008
If you want to talk about someone who was legitimately born to fight, look no further than BJ Penn. Even legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach called Penn “one of the best strikers I’ve ever been in the ring with.” The Hall-of-Famer is one of the best to ever strap up the gloves.
He proved that in this knockout of Sean Sherk. While the blows were devastating, the beauty is in Penn’s technique. Penn was able to land a stiff left hook and a sharp uppercut on a man who was literally running away from the blows, while still maintaining not only power but the ability to defend counters. Then, as he is falling back, Sherk takes a lazy shot.
Noticing this while having his entire body weight forward, Penn throws one of the hardest knees that I’ve ever seen. The combination of Sherk’s forward motion and Penn’s momentum combine into a devastating knee that has Sherk completely stunned. Penn later follows it up with three perfectly placed punches to the chin of Sherk.
Even Penn knew that the fight was over, and like a true martial artist, knew when the damage had been done. After Mario Yamasaki failed to call the fight after the ground shots, Penn threw a couple more strikes for good measure until Yamasaki had to end it.
One of the more devastating, yet classy knockouts in MMA history. Kudos to you Penn.