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With 42 UFC events in 2025, selecting the best knockouts of the year was not an easy task. Across four ballots submitted by CBS Sports combat experts, seven different fights received top-three votes.

The year was filled with highlight-reel finishes, but this year's Knockout of the Year winner was a simple, thudding head kick from a lightweight with a breakout first year in the Octagon.

A great knockout is simple and visceral; you know it in the moment, and the image -- and possibly the sound -- stays with you.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the winner of our UFC Knockout of the Year for 2025.

More 2025 UFC awards: Fighter of the Year | Fight of the Year

Winner: Quillan Salkilld def. Nasrat Haqparast, UFC 321

Quillan Salkilld won a UFC contract in September 2024 and made his official Octagon debut in February, taking just 19 seconds to knock out Anshul Jubli. Somehow, that 19-second knockout was not what landed Salkilld this year's award.

Salkilld picked up a decision win over Yanal Ashmouz in July before being booked to fight Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 321 in October.

Haqparast entered the fight riding a five-fight winning streak. Less than three minutes after the bell rang, he was on the canvas unconscious after Salkilld connected with a right head kick.

The knockout earned Salkilld his second Performance of the Night bonus in three fights during his freshman UFC campaign, and set him up as one to watch at 155 pounds entering 2026.

Honorable mentions

Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green, UFC 313

Ruffy certainly lived up to his "One Shot" nickname when he faced King Green at UFC 313. As Green attempted to circle around the outside of the cage and use his boxing to control the pace and distance of the fight, Ruffy unleashed a spinning wheel kick that glanced off of Green's temple, putting the UFC veteran down and out.

Like Salkilld, Ruffy came out of Dana White's Contender Series to find success in the Octagon, with the win over Green running Ruffy's Octagon record to 3-0. Unfortunately for Ruffy, that run came to an end in September when he was submitted by Benoit Saint-Denis.

Lerone Murphy def. Aaron Pico, UFC 319

Aaron Pico was once considered arguably the greatest prospect in mixed martial arts history. All that hype came back to bite Pico, as he lost his first professional fight. Pico went on to experience ups and downs during his time in Bellator, where he fought his entire career until UFC 319, though he seemed to have finally pieced together a complete game when he signed on to debut in the Octagon.

Unfortunately, Pico again failed to live up to the hype, with Lerone Murphy connecting with a spinning back elbow that put Pico to sleep. It was another step in the wrong direction for Pico, and a big statement for Murphy, who ran his career record to 17-0-1 and became impossible to ignore as a featherweight contender.

Others receiving votes: Carlos Prates def. Geoff Neal (UFC 319), Ilia Topuria def. Charles Oliveira (UFC 317), Elijah Smith def. Toshiomi Kazama (UFC Fight Night)