Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Single Strikes in MMA History

They represent a holy convergence in hand-to-hand combat, a place where timing, speed, power, technique and creativity meet in glorious displays of violence.

Careers have been made and broken in their wake, legacies cemented and cracked. Mixed martial arts has been scarred and shaped by the often unsettling impact of a single strike -- an elbow, a knee, a punch, a kick. Some have broken bones and sliced flesh; still others have separated the conscious from the unconscious. They are brands burned into the heart of a sport, badges of honor, historical markers, conversation starters. Nothing in MMA carries as much weight, with the ability to stop time and create ripples that last for decades. The latest installment of the Sherdog Top 10 series examines the Greatest Single Strikes in MMA History.

Nominees were taken only from major MMA organizations, with a limit of one entry per fighter. They all have one trait in common: We remember where we were when they happened.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski (Affliction “Day of Reckoning”), Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Filipovic (UFC 70), Shonie Carter vs. Matt Serra (UFC 31), Gerard Gordeau vs. Teila Tuli (UFC 1), Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC 88), Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo (UFC 194), Pete Williams vs. Mark Coleman (UFC 17), Yves Edwards vs. Josh Thomson (UFC 49), Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos (UFC 91), Rich Franklin vs. Nate Quarry (UFC 56), Joseph Benavidez vs. Miguel Torres (WEC 47), Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman (UFC 43), James Irvin vs. Terry Martin (UFC 54), Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve (UFC 130), Hisaki Kato vs. Joe Schilling (Bellator 130), Jon Jones vs. Stephan Bonnar (UFC 94), Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef (Strikeforce “Miami”), David Loiseau vs. Charles McCarthy (UFC 53), Mark Hunt vs. Roy Nelson (UFC Fight Night “Hunt vs. Nelson”), Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey (UFC 193), Dong Hyun Kim vs. John Hathaway (“The Ultimate Fighter China” Finale)

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