5 of the most shocking combat sports moments in of 2024, so far

Now that we are starting to enter the final quarter of the year it is time to start looking at some of the more shocking moments that have taken place in combat sports this year. It has been another brilliant year for MMA and boxing, we have seen some major upsets that have shaken up MMA and boxing. In this article, we will be doing a deep dive into what we think are the most shocking moments in combat sports so far in 2024

5. Anthony Joshua flatlining Francis Ngannou

In 2023, we saw Francis Ngannou take on Tyson Fury which was one of the biggest talking points that year. The former UFC heavyweight champion took Fury to points in dropping champion Fury in the process. Ngannou would narrowly and controversially lose out on a split decision. After Ngannous's success in that fight with Fury, many expected him to return to the boxing ring. In March 2024, Ngannou faced the former world champion Anthony Joshua. The fight gained lots of hype very quickly due to the nature of the event. It was a clash between two colossal heavyweights who carry massive knockout power. With the success that Ngannou had in the Fury fight he had many people believing he could take out Joshua.

The actual result of the fight could not have been more different to Ngannou's first boxing match. Ngannou would go on to lose to Joshua second-round knockout, while Joshua winning was not exactly extremely shocking given he was the boxer out of the pair. The shocking part was how brutal the knockout was and how easily Joshua managed to dispatch Ngannou. Fury, who was the world champion at the time, struggled to solve the Ngannou puzzle. Joshua ran straight through Ngannou with little to no trouble. This result made people question the ability of Fury and whether or not he took Ngannou seriously.

4. Belal Muhammad's one-sided victory over Leon Edwards

In July the UFC made its return to the UK, with a card headlined by a rematch between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. Infamously the first fight between the pair ended in a no contest as Edwards accidentally caught Muhammad with an eye poke. However, before the eye poke Edwards was looking very comfortable in the fight even stumbling Muhammad with a beautiful high kick.

With the nature of the first fight, many fans expected Edwards to beat Muhammad. Edwarda was coming off huge wins against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington and was looking unstoppable. He had a large amount of momentum going into UFC 304. Muhammad was also on an impressive streak but his fighting style meant he was not the most exciting fighter. The result of the fight shocked many fans across the world. Muhammad dominated the champion, he used his pressure-heavy style to negate Edwards' striking. While many fans expected Edwards to beat Muhammad, it was the challenger who went into enemy territory and spoiled the party.

3. Ilia Topuria knocks out Alexander Volkanovski

February 2024 saw UFC 298 take place with the card being headlined by Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria. While the fight on paper was a great stylistic matchup, many fans believed this turnaround was too quick for Volkanovski. This is because he was coming off a knockout loss to Islam Mahkachev in his previous fight at UFC 284 which took place on Oct. 21, 2023.

The quick turnaround was a big concern for fans because of the fashion in which Volkanovski was finished by Makhachev. This was the first loss via knockout in his career. Another concerning factor was at the UFC 284 post-fight press conference Volkanovski gave a very honest insight into his mental health struggles when he is not fighting. This interview gave some fans the impression that Volkanovski was rushing his return and he was perhaps not in the right head space to be fighting.

The result of the UFC 294 was Topuria knocked out Volkanovski in round one, this left Volkanovski with a bad two-knockout loss streak. What was shocking to a lot of the MMA community was that a once dominant champion who has three wins over Max Holloway had now been finished twice in a row, both in rather brutal fashion.

2. Dan Ige saves the day

At UFC 303, a major featherweight clash was scheduled between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes. Ortega was coming off a big win against Yair Rodriguez in his last fight and Lopes was one of the division's brightest prospects on a winning streak.

During the lead-up to the fight, Ortega seemed off in his media interviews and fans could tell that something was not right. Everything was ready to go up until fight night when Ortega fell seriously ill and could not compete. What was supposed to be a disappointing night for Lopes did not turn out that way, as on just three hours' notice Dan Ige stepped in to save the day. The Nevada State Athletic Commission allowed Ige and Lopes to both weigh in at a catchweight of 165 pounds at the arena. The result of this fight did not disappoint, and the pair put on a great show for the crowd, ultimately leading to a Lopes decision victory. However, Ige was commended massively for this bravery and determination to not just save the fight but also give Lopes a very tough test.

1. Max Holloway's crazy UFC 300 knockout

There is one moment that comes to mind when fans think of the most shocking moments of 2024. That moment is Max Holloway's stunning knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. The event needed a boost as it lacked star power, so the UFC decided to put on an unbelievably good matchup for the BMF title. With any Gaethje or Holloway fight there was a lot of hype and fan excitement leading up to it. The pair are both massive fan favorites and are well renowned for their exciting fights.

Some fans questioned how Holloway would do in the fight as he had fought at lightweight previously at UFC 236 and did not look his best. Holloway was also no longer the featherweight champion and this made fans question his ability to win the fight against Gaethje. The fight was as advertised, it was a high-paced fire fight. The first round was fairly even, but in the second round, Holloway landed a huge spinning back kick to the nose of Gaethje in the dying seconds. After this kick Holloway was in control for the majority of the time.

Although Gaethje used his toughness and fought his way back into the fight he even dropped Holloway in the fourth round. This was the first time Holloway had ever been dropped in his career. Coming towards the end of the fight Holloway was in complete control but in a moment of madness and bravery, in the last 10 seconds, he pointed to the middle of the Octagon and asked Gaethje to stand and trade with him. Gaethje accepted Holloway's challenge and the pair started trading bombs, what resulted was what Joe Rogan has called the greatest knockout of all time. Holloway landed a right hand in the last second of the fight which sent Gaethje face-first into the canvas and we now had a new BMF champion.